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Dealing with printer problems

As a technology Guru I receive many calls and emails from customers having trouble printing documents on their computer. Sometimes the problem is quite difficult but often there are some tricks you can use to get your printer up and running again, which I am going to share with you today.

Is the printer getting power?
If the power light on the printer does not come up when you press the power button, you have a power fault. Try unplugging the power cord from the back of the printer and plug the other end into a different power socket and plug the printer back in. If that doesn't work, try plugging a lamp into the same power socket. If the lamp lights up then the issues is probably a faulty printer power adaptor.

Power adaptors for a printer can be very expensive so see the section below on replacing your printer.

Refresh the connection to the computer
If the printer has power but still won't print you can restart the connection to the computer.

First turn the printer off and remove the cable connecting it to the computer. If you have a wireless printer, turn off your wireless router as well.

Then turn the printer back on. Wait until it is completely finished starting up and then plug it back into the computer (or turn on the wireless router).

Do your documents start printing?
If not, turn the printer off again and unplug it from the computer. Then on your computer navigate to the Control Panel and open the Printers section. Locate your printer by the model number. You should see a message saying the printer is offline and showing how many documents are waiting to print. Double click on the printer to open it and choose File menu > Cancel All Documents. Wait for the documents to delete, then turn on your printer, plug it in and try printing again.

Reinstall the Printer software
If the steps above have failed you can remove the printer and set it up again as if it was new. Turn off the printer and unplug it, then go back to the Control Panel > Printers. Right click on your printer icon and choose delete. Then restart your computer.

When the computer has restarted, turn your printer on and plug it back in to the PC. It should ask you to install the 'driver' software and may do this automatically. You might need to insert the CD that came with the printer when it was purchased. Once this is finished try printing again.

If you have lost the CD you can download the software from the manufacturer's website.

Printing Errors
If your documents do print out, but have poor or no colour on the page, you may need to clean your cartridges. Look in your owner's manual for a section on running a cleaning cycle. If this does not improve your printing you should replace the ink cartridges and try again.

Replacing a Printer
If you still cannot print after all of this, you should contact your local techie company to assess the printer. Alternatively, if the printer is an entry level model (under $200) it may be more economical to purchase a new printer instead.

Replacement parts (such as a power adaptor) for an entry level printer can cost half or more of the original purchase price.