How-to Tutorials and Basic Guide to Troubleshooting Printers

General Printer Maintenance

 Download and install the latest printer drivers from the manufacturer’s website on
a regular basis. Try scheduling routine updates on the first Friday of the every
month.
 Ensure adequate consumables (paper and ink) and printer maintenance kits are
at hand.
 Be aware of your printers’ maintenance plan by researching printer
documentation on the manufacturer’s website.
 Use printers’ automatic clean settings every few months, or clean printer
manually.
 Clean the outside of a printer with a damp cloth – make sure you do not use
ammonia-based cleaners!
 Clean the inside of a printer with dry cloth.
 Clean the print-heads gently with a soft damp cloth – do not use tissue or
alcohol!
 Be careful with printer jams – do not pull out paper roughly, use printer directions
and use printer wheels to slowly feed out the paper when you can.
 Turn off the printer when it’s not in use.
 Replace low ink cartridges immediately to prevent ink drying and clogging print
heads.

How to Install a Local Printer with a Cable

 Attach printer cable to the computer through a port: it can be a parallel port, serial
port, Firewire port or USB port.
 Install printer drivers via printer’s bundled CD-ROM/DVD-ROM or use the
operating system’s installation wizard. Follow directions from printer software, or
use the wizard by clicking on Start>>open Printers & Faxes>>click Add a
Printer>>follow wizard’s prompts>>select Local printer>>click automatically
detect and install my Plug and Play printer.
 Install printer management software via bundled CD-ROM/DVD-ROM. Insert disc
into correct drive and follow installation instructions.
 Print a test page by opening the Printers & Faxes window>> right-click on newly-
installed printer>>click Properties on shortcut menu>>click General tab>>click
Print Test Page button.

How to Install a Local Printer Using Wireless Connections

 Turn off the printer.
 Install printer drivers via bundled CD-ROM/DVD-ROM and follow the installation
instructions.
  If using Bluetooth, plug the Bluetooth adapter into a USB port or PC Card Slot on
the computer. Connect printer adapter to the printer’s parallel port, connect and
plug in the power supply.
 Turn on the printer. Windows will automatically identify the printer via Plug and
Play.
 Print a test page to verify that the printer was installed correctly. (Use steps
outlined in Installing Local Printer with Cable section.)

How to Share a Network Printer

 In Windows, open Printers & Faxes window by clicking on Start>>select Printers
& Faxes>>right click the printer you want to share>>click Sharing.
 When Properties window is open, click Share This Printer>>enter a name for
printer in text box>>Press Ok.
 To share drivers, click on Additional Drivers button>>select operating systems by
computers that will use the printer>>Press Ok twice to close windows.
 Double-check to see that your preferred printer is shared by looking for a hand
icon.

How to Connect to a Shared Printer

 To install shared network printer drivers on a remote PC, you can either use the
bundled software to install the drivers or use the printer drivers from a host PC.
 To install via bundled software, open Printers & Faxes window>>click Add a
Printer>>follow Add Printer Wizard directions>>click A Network printer>>click
Next.
 Enter the name of the host PC and the printer’s name. Use the following format:
\\nameofPC\nameofprinter. An alternative way is to browse for printer, search the
printer directory on the network, and select the printer.
 The operating system will search for the printer drivers. If it cannot find them,
click OK on the search prompt. Either install manually with the disc, or use
Windows drivers by selecting the manufacturer and printer model from a list of
supported printers.
 If the wizard finds the drivers, it will ask you if you want to set the printer as the
default. Click Yes>>click Next>>and click Finish to complete wizard installation.
 To verify printer installation, look for printer icon in Printers & Faxes window.
 Test the printer by right-clicking on the printer icon>>select Properties>>click
General tab>>click Print Test Page.

Troubleshooting the Printer

 Make sure the printer is on and print a self-test page.
 If the self-test page prints correctly, it is not the printer.
 If the self-test page does not print or parts are only printed, check for the
following:
 o Paper jams
o Open printer covers
o Low ink or toner

Troubleshooting Printer Cables

 If the self-test page worked, print a test page from the printer Properties window.
If the self-test page does not print, it may be a problem with the printer cable.
 Check cable connections at the printer and computer.
 Use a different computer with the same printer and cable to print a second self-
test page. If the self-test page does not print, make sure that the parallel cable is
IEEE 1284-compliant. Switch to a shorter cable and connect it to the original PC.
 Enter CMOS setup and check for parallel port configurations. Enable the port,
and switch the port to EPP or bidirectional if it is set to ECP.

Troubleshooting Wireless Connection

 Print a test page by pushing the TEST button on the print adapter.
 If the test page prints, the printer and its Bluetooth adapter are working.
 Try to reduce the distance between the printer and Bluetooth adapter and
eliminate items in between that may interfere with the signals.
 If the test page does not print, check the cable and power supply connections.
 Do a cold boot by pressing down on the TEST button to shut down and restore
the printer.
 Check documentation if you still cannot print, or contact manufacturer, or bring
the printer to a repair shop.

Troubleshooting Local Printers

 Questions to ask when investigating a local print problem –
o When did the problem first occur?
o Has the user successfully printed to the printer before?
o Have there been new configuration changes to printer settings on the PC?
o Were any changes made to hardware, software, or configurations of the
computer before the printer problem occurred?
o Do error messages show up when user tries to print?
 Verify the printer is set as the default printer.
 Right click on default printer>>click Properties>>click Print Test Page>>check to
see if test page printed properly, then click OK.
 Close Printer & Faxes window>>Click Start>>Select All Programs>>Click
Microsoft Word. Enter some text in a blank document, click File>>select Print.
 Make sure that the local printer is in the Name field when the Print Box appears.
Click OK and print. If document prints, close the MS Word without saving the test
document.
Troubleshooting Networked Computers
 Ask the same troubleshoot questions under Local Printers section.
o Has the user experienced other networking problems?
o Does anyone else in the same department/home have any networking
problems?
 Double-check which printer you are printing to. Make sure that printer is on.
 If your default printer does not print, try printing to a different printer.
 Print a test page on the local printer. Look for error messages. If the local printer
does not print, troubleshoot that printer before printing over the network.
 Go back to the remote computer. Delete the local printer from the Printers
directory and use My Network Places to reconnect to it.
 Verify that your computer can access the local printer by attempting to open
shared folders on the printer’s computer. Double-check user ID and password.

Troubleshooting Printing with Windows

 If a self-test page prints but you cannot print to a local printer via Windows, try
the following:
o Delete all print jobs in the queue by double-clicking on the printer icon in
Printers window. Click Purge Print Documents on printer menu.
o Print a test page using Printers window, right click on the printer>>click
Properties>>click Print Test Page. Verify that you are using the correct
default printer.
o Make sure that the printer is on.
o Check cable connections and reboot the PC.
o Check port settings and printer configurations via CMOS setup.
o Remove and re-install printer and printer drivers. To uninstall printer
drivers, right click on printer icon>>select Delete.

Troubleshooting Printing with Application Software

 If you can print a Windows test page but cannot print from an application, try the
following:
o Check that the correct printer is in use.
o Print a document from a different application.
o Delete print jobs in queue.
o Reboot the PC, and reprint a file via Notepad.
o Open the application and print again.
o If you can print from other applications, reinstall or upgrade the
problematic application.
o Close any applications not in use.
o Add more memory to the printer.
o Remove and reinstall printer drivers.
Major Printer Support Sites
Brothers-USA Printer Support
Canon Printer Support
Dell Printer Support
Epson Printer Support
HP Printer Support
Lexmark Printer Support
Panasonic Printer Support
Samsung Printer Support
Sharp Printer Support
Xerox Printer Support