March 2011, 220-702: 1.5 – Given a scenario, detect and resolve common printer issues

Discussion in 'A+' started by co.ador, Feb 12, 2011.

  1. co.ador

    co.ador Bit Poster

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    I want to start a new series of monthly help, where we could go over the A+ objectives for exam takers like me. Here we can clear some of the doubts we might have before taking the exam.

    Thank you good luck in your test.


    1.5 Given a scenario, detect and resolve common printer issues

    • Symptoms

    o Paper jams
    o Blank paper
    o Error codes
    o Out of memory error
    o Lines and smearing
    o Garbage printout
    o Ghosted image
    o No connectivity

    • Issue resolution o Replace fuser

    o Replace drum
    o Clear paper jam
    o Power cycle
    o Install maintenance kit (reset page count)
    o Set IP on printer
    o Clean printer
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2011
  2. co.ador

    co.ador Bit Poster

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    Paper Jams

    so Far I have read about paper jams in a
    1- Laser Printer
    2- InkJet printer
    3-Dot matrix printer


    The laser printer

    resons:

    ✦ Paper is the incorrect media for the printer.
    ✦ The feeder wheels are dirty and need to be cleaned.
    ✦ The feeder wheels are worn down and need to be replaced.
    ✦ The paper tray is overloaded.

    I don't see how the paper in a incorrect media can cause a paper jam.

    I was wondering that.

    I understand how the feeder wheels could be worn and dirty and could slow the paper journey to exit. Paper tray could be over loaded and cause two or three paper go in at the same time and not let the wheels do its job. It could be to much force for the engines that moves the wheels if there is a a thick paper going in composed of several paper. but the incorrect media causing a jam?
     
  3. greenbrucelee
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    You can indeed have the wrong media in the trays i.e the wrong make of paper. Some paper is designed to be used in thermal printers and can't be used as far as I know in a normal printer. The paper you put in dot matrix printers like the form feed stuff would just tear up inside a lazer or deskjet printer.

    The no connectivity issue wouldn't neccessarily be resolved by setting the ip address for the printer. It could be something a lot more simple like resetting the printer etc.
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2011
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  4. soundian

    soundian Gigabyte Poster

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    Incorrect media can also be related to the gsm of the paper. If you put 160 gsm paper in a tray that can only handle 80-90 gsm you might have problems, and void your warranty at the same time.
     
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  5. co.ador

    co.ador Bit Poster

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    Ok, the media would be different type of purposes, or what for the paper is going to be used for, for pictures, documents, invoice, print architecture projects etc..

    I was thinking on the basis of working in a office where landscape or portrait blank paper to print out regular word documents is used. but I was not thinking about other places where different medias of type of paper is used like a architecture officed, or a photo shop, etc. I guess that in one of this plalces different types of paper could be used.

    I was reading about inkjet printer where jams usually happen for similar reasons

    ✦ Incorrect paper for the type of printer
    ✦ Dirty feeder wheels that need to be cleaned
    ✦ Worn feeder wheels that need to be replaced
    ✦ Overloaded paper tray

    "Now inkjet printer present a differnt issue where may result from the way the paper is loaded into the printer. I have read that many inkjets have a compartment where paper is added rather than a separate, removable paper tray" (408 A+ bible), How does it differ from the other types of printer? for instance in a big office printer where you can fax, print, make a phone call, etc, I have observed they have differnt trays one for normal size paper and another for a longer size of paper, but they are separate but how is in the inkjet printers is different? in the book says that: "sometimes the inkjet printer is presented with the options to whether paper shift or creep away from the fron edge of the "paper compartment" the feeder wheels cannot properly grip the paper and may pull a shee in at angle." Don't quite get that.
     
  6. greenbrucelee
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    When you put paper into a printer most lazer and inkjet printers have (not sure what they are called) bits that are supposed to keep the paper level and together. If the paper isn't tight in these bits it may not go in straight and could get jammed.

    Another issue why paper might get jammed is moisture. If the paper gets a bit of moisture on it then two or more pieces of paper can get fed into the printer and then there could be a jam. Moisture can be from the person who handled the paper or dodgy air con units or where the paper was stored.

    Dust can cause rollers to jams too.

    If you go into a company and have a look about you would see that there are many different types of printers for various jobs.

    Invoives and such usually get done on dot matrix printers where as word documents can get done on lazer and inkjet printers and things like pictures usually get done on lazer printers. Then you get to specialized printing where highly detailed stuff can be printed and this can invloved thermal printers which usues highly specialized expensive paper.
     
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  7. co.ador

    co.ador Bit Poster

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    I remember we have talked about the different types of media and how a different media can produced a jam. That would be good if a printer could detect what type of media it is carrying to avoid that type of jam, but then we would not have a job. lol.

    I can imagine moisture in a paper would caused the paper to shrink on its wait out, stucking the flow.

    I think the dot matrix jam would be really easy to fix but the reasons would very similar to those of the type of printers we have dicussed so far.
     
  8. co.ador

    co.ador Bit Poster

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    0- Blank Paper.


    I imagine here that it could be related to a lack of ink in the cartridges or a bad kaser component.

    What are your input on this objective presented for the A+?
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2011
  9. Sparky
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    The user hasnt taken all the packaging off the cartridge before installing it! :biggrin
     
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  10. greenbrucelee
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    Paper is in the wrong tray.
     
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  11. Bluerinse
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    That could be the case if we are talking about thermal *fax* paper rolls?

    Laser printer.. problem with charge or transfer corona, maybe not properly in place or broken corona wire.

    Lack of toner, should bring on the out of toner light but it is possible to have a faulty toner sensor and no toner would give very pale or blank copies.

    Inkjet.. I am with Sparky ^

    Edit.. Sorry GBL i misread your post and responded as if you said, paper is in the wrong way *faceplams
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2011
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  12. co.ador

    co.ador Bit Poster

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    You mean that there is not problem with the catridge related to blank paper? don't quite get what you saying.

    where does the ink comes in a laser printer? So it means that since the corona wire is defected it could cause blank sheet paper? so if that's the case the answer to where ink comes from laser printer would be the corna wire?
     
  13. co.ador

    co.ador Bit Poster

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    when paper is the wrong way it causes blank paper don't, I thought that if the paper is blank in both sides of the sheet I thought it didn't matter in which one the paper was. correct me if I am wrong please.
     
  14. Bluerinse
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    Laser printers don't use ink, they use toner, which these days is a black powder.

    Nope, the toner does not come from the corona wires. The toner is attracted to areas of the drum that have been left charged by the charge corona wire. Like a magnet, the toner is attracted to the drum and then it is attracted to the paper during the transfer process.

    A better explanation can be found here..

    http://mimech.com/printers/laser-printer-technology.asp
     
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  15. Bluerinse
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    As i said before, it doesn't matter in inkjet or laser printers what way round the paper is.

    It only matters in FAX machines that use THERMAL paper, ie paper that responds to heat and will turn black and is only coated on one side. So, put the roll in the wrong way around and you have blank sheets coming out.
     
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  16. greenbrucelee
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    Doesn't matter :) but since this is the A+ I would suspect damaged corona or something more simple.
     
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  17. co.ador

    co.ador Bit Poster

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    Damage corona could be related to a blank page,

    even though there is toner or ink if the corona is damage there might not be any result in the page right?

    From Bluerinse reference on laser printer, I have realized that the paper need to be warm up first for the powder of the toner blend in the paper.

    From what I understand The paper first goes through the fuser--- then through the photo conductor right?

    Correct me if I am wrong.

    The laser kind of record the info and write it at the same time, then use it in conjuction with the toner?
     
  18. Sparky
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    With some inkjet cartridges there is plastic film that needs to be removed before installing the cartridge. This can be overlooked and therefore blank pages are produced.
     
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  19. greenbrucelee
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    it dpends on what printer you use.

    Lasers have a corona wire or drum which gets charged with static, which makes the toner get attracted to the paper. if the corona has light on it then its is no longer charged when light is on it so if theres loads of light when your trying to print you might not see anything ona printout.
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2011
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  20. soundian

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    That's the final stage of the process.
    It basically goes
    Clean: The drum is cleaned of any excess toner

    Charge: The drum is given a uniform electrical charge using the charge corona wire

    Write: The laser shines on to the drum and discharges it where it "writes" the text/graphics

    Develop: The discharged parts attract the electrically charged toner (normally the toner is charged to the same voltage as the drum so the parts which haven't been written to don't attract toner)

    Transfer: The paper is charged by the transfer corona so that it can attract the toner off the drum. This then has to be discharged or the paper may jam so there is a discharge wire after the toner is on the paper.

    Fuse: The toner is heated so it melts on to the paper. I believe the toner has some sort of plastic substance in it which allows it to melt and "fuse" to the paper. This is why photocopiers and laser printers give you lovely, toasty-warm pages. The fuser is normally teflon coated so the toner sticks to the paper and not the fuser.

    The laser printing process is something you really need to memorise and understand, both for the A+ and the real world.

    Looking at that process some typical faults could be:
    Clean: You may get ghosting (faint image of previous prints, or more likely the same page but lower down). This might also happen if you're printing a graphics heavy page. The fix for this is to print a couple of blank pages. Sometimes you may get a nick on the scraper which would give you black/grey vertical lines, possibly intermittent, down the page.

    charge: if the charge corona is goosed you should get a black, not blank, page. A dirty wire will result in black vertical lines.

    write: it's rare for the laser to fail, and even rarer for it to fail without an error message, but that would give you a blank page.

    develop: Toner cartridges work on pages printed rather than actual contents (or at least, that's the way they worked in the printers I supported) so it is possible to run out of toner before you get any low/out of toner messages if you've been printing a lot of pages heavy on text/graphics. Normally the amount of toner is associated with an ISO standard page which is about 4-5% coverage if I recall correctly. There is a removable plastic strip on toner cartridges to stop the toner spilling out in transit, if this is not removed when the cartridge is installed then obviously you'll get a blank page.

    Transfer: if the transfer corona wire is goosed then you will get a blank page and a full waste toner container pretty quickly. If it's dirty you'll get vertical white lines.

    fuse: if the fuser is goosed the print will smudge.
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2011
    Certifications: A+, N+,MCDST,MCTS(680), MCP(270, 271, 272), ITILv3F, CCENT
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