Happy Tuesday everyone! Today, we will discuss various things you may run into with your copier, and whether or not you need a technician to come and resolve it.

There you are, waiting for a print job to come out, or making some copies, and your copier suddenly stops and gives you an error or some other information. Your first thought is to call your copier dealer for help, But, many small things that happen are often user resolvable. Let’s talk about a few of those:

PAPER JAMS: The enemy of productivity. Paper jams can be annoying, but a lot of the time, can also be quickly fixed! Here’s a few things to check:

* PAPER: Make sure the paper you are using is not stuck together, or damaged in any way. Fan it out, make sure each sheet moves independently. Check the edges. Make sure they are flat. If you see any waviness, replace the paper.

* TRAY GUIDES: When putting paper in the tray, make sure the guides are tight against the paper. Loose guides not only cause jams, they can also cause skewed/distorted prints and copies. On newer machines, this can cause the machine to misread the size of the paper loaded in the tray, resulting in errors.

* TOO MUCH PAPER: There is indeed such a thing. Overfilling your paper trays can not only result in jams, but potential damage to the machine.

* PAPER SETTINGS: Make sure your copier’s paper settings match what you have in the machine. This goes for both size and type. Running the wrong paper type setting can not only cause jams, but also print quality issues, such as smearing.

* WRONG DRIVERS: Bad or wrong print drivers can also cause jamming. Ensure that you have the manufacturer’s drivers installed.

CLEARING A JAM: The machine will tell you exactly where the paper is jammed, and how to get it out.

If you’ve checked all of these, but are still getting persistent or random jamming, then give us a call!

QUALITY ISSUES:

* SMEARING/SMUDGING: Check your paper TYPE settings, on both the copier AND your PC. This can happen when running a thicker paper, such as cardstock, as just plain paper. Adjust your settings accordingly.

* COLOR IS OFF: This is often the result of using the wrong print drivers. Ensure that you have the manufacturer’s drivers installed.

* LIGHT/DARK COPIES: Check the DENSITY settings on both the copier AND your PC. The default setting is usually 0 (On a scale of -5 to +5). Ensure that you have the manufacturer’s drivers installed. Some machines will also have an Ecoprint option (Which saves ink/toner). Make sure that this feature is NOT enabled.

* STREAKS IN COPIES: This is usually the result of dirty scanner glass. Give the glass (Both the strip and the main scan bed) a good solid cleaning.

If you’ve checked/done all of these, and are still seeing quality issues, OR you’re seeing issues such as random dots, edge-to-edge streaks and lines, or your whole document looks like a weak analog TV signal from the 80s, give us a call!

ERRORS:

This one can be a bit of a tricky area. Definitely call us with any error codes, and we will gladly help you out with them!

Of course, if you’re not comfortable tackling these on your own, then of course, give us a call! We’ll be more than happy to help!