11 Printer Tips and Tricks

Printers are a useful bit of technology and as computers have advanced and become everyday objects, so have the printers that we use with them. Nearly everyone owns or uses a printer regularly, and if you have one then you’ll know how expensive they can be to run, not just that but the problems and errors can sometimes drive you to insanity. So to help you with your printer we’ve put together a short list of some printer tips and tricks.

1. You may or may not have heard of drivers depending on how much you know about computers. A driver is basically a piece of software that operates and controls a device that is connected to your computer, in this case a printer. If you have lost the driver disk for your printer and need it to re-install the driver then don’t worry, most of the manufacturers have archives of their drivers on their websites, you will probably end up getting a newer version of the driver this way too.
2. On some printers you can print out a test page without even going through your computers print interface. It varies depending on the model, for example on the Photosmart C3180 if you hold down the ‘x’ button and the colour button then a test page will print. Have a look through you printers manual and see if your printer has this feature.
3. If you ever have any problems or errors when it comes to printing (in most cases everyone who owns a printer has had some sort of problem at some stage), then try rebooting both your printer and computer, check all the wires that connect your PC and printer and provide them with power are plugged in correctly and if all else fails then update/re-install your driver.
4. Ink can sometimes dry up and cause small blockages within the print-heads nozzles, this can lead to your prints being streaky and faded. If this happens to you, you can buy cleaning cartridges that will clean the print-heads within a inkjet printer, they will break up and remove any ink that has dried inside the nozzles within the print-head.
5. Web sites, emails and other documents often have ads and other clutter that you generally don’t want to print. PrintFriendly.com allows you to make any web page or document print friendly by getting rid of the unneeded clutter, saving you a lot of ink and money in the long run. There are also some installable alternatives, but personally I find using PrintFriendly.com the easiest/quickest way of getting rid of clutter.
6. When buying a new printer, always check the ink cartridge prices before you buy. It is common to buy a printer that is extremely cheap only to find out that the ink costs more than the printer did. It is this razor and blade style business model that a lot of the printer manufacturers use to make their money (they sell the main product for very little and make up the money in the consumables), it’s a clever business model, but it drives the customers insane.
7. If you can buy re-manufactured ink cartridges or can get them re-filled professionally then do so. Re-manufactued/re-filled/compatible cartridges do not void the printers warranty and as long as you check for reviews of the company you are buying from first then you should get similar or the same print quality for a lot less.
8. If you have a laser jet printer, and your toner cartridge is beginning to show signs of running out (streaks and lighter print outs), take out your toner cartridge and shake it lightly, the same way you probably had when first inserting your cartridge. This should redistribute the toner dust that is left inside and will hopefully let you print out a few more pages before it totally runs out.
9. If you are wanting to save money, then try changing to the print quality to ‘draft’ or ‘grey-scale’ in your printer settings to save ink and print double-sided (also called duplex printing) if your printer allows it, to save paper.
10. If your ink cartridge dries up and as a result isn’t printing well then try dipping the print-head on the cartridge (this only applies to the cartridges that come with the print-head built-in) into some warm/hot water for a few seconds, this should break up the dried ink. After doing so dab the print-head on some tissue paper, if you get a solid line of ink then dry the cartridge off and place it back in the printer.
11. If your printer tells you, you are running low on ink, but you still are getting good quality prints with no streaks or fading, then carry on printing as you will probably still get a few more pages from it. The estimation of how many pages your cartridge will print is just that, an estimation, more than often you will get more prints that it says.

Configuration of Passbook Printer

Print Spooler services is not running

When I trying to take print error showing " Operation could not be completed . Print spooler service is not running
Solution- :
1. Click on the Start Button , then Go to Run option and Type - Services.msc
2. Double -Click on the Print Spooler on the Services Window

Increase the Printing Speed of your Printer

You can improve the printing speed of your printer with managing the print spooler option. Basically printer spooler holds your prints for some time then send to printer for print out. By default on most printers, printer spooler option is enabled but you turn off to specify that the file should be sending to the printer and not spooled. 

Here printer spooler option might be different location in your printer but on most printers you can turn off by going to Start, Setting then Printers. Now right click on the icon of the printer that you are using. Click Properties and select the Advanced tab. Here click on “Print directly to printer” option. This will tie up your application until the printer has all the data, but your print job should finish more quickly. Printing directly to the printer will also come in handy if your print spooler crashes and you need to print before you reboot your PC.

OLIVETTY PASSBOOK PRINTER CALIBRATION

How to calibrate Olivetti PR2/PR2E Passbook Printer

Olivetti passbook printers are widely used printer in post offices. Sometimes we find problem with printer when it stops printing. In that case, calibrating the printer can solve your problem. Follow the steps to calibrate Olivetti PR2/PR2E passbook printer:

• Switch off the printer.
• Open the top cover of the printer and keep Head of printer at extreme left side.
• Press all three buttons ("Station 1", "Local" and "Station 2") and then switch on the printer. Printer will give a beep sound.
• Now close the top cover of the printer and press "Station 1" two times. The print Head will start moving and roller will start rolling.
• Now press "Station 2" once and then add a paper to the printer and again press"Station 2".
• Printer should take paper inside and all LEDs should blink within 5-10 seconds.
• If not, then keep pressing "Station 2" until all LEDs glow.
• Now switch off the printer and take test print. To take test print, press "Station 2"and power on the printer. If printer gives you the proper test page then congratulations, your printer has been troubleshooted.
• Note: Calibrating a printer is not an easy task and you may do these steps three-four times to calibrate the printer properly

Troubleshooting A Printer

-If you own a printer that sees a lot of action you most likely have had problems with it. Most of the troubleshooting in a printer is the software of the settings of the printer in your software. The second culprit is just dirt and grime. This is called preventive maintenance for the most part. People simply do not clean there work space nor there printers. Laser Printers -Laser printers are the worst for getting nasty and causing all kinds of problems in printing. The first thing you should look into is cleaning the printer. Using a paint brush (not a used one) and some compressed air and you are in business. A Q-tip here and there is also a good idea. -The main reason a laser printer will act up is the toner itself. The toner is loaded with iron oxide making it somewhat dirty to begin with and abrasive. The static charges that are involved in laser printing can attract dust on top of all the other problems. Clean your printer! -Also a note about cleaning the printer is never use liquid or a liquid solvent when cleaning. You are running a risk of making things worse. Use a clean paint brush and Q-tips. Ink Jet -Your most typical problems with the inkjet printer isn't so different from the laser. You will also get a build up of dirt, hair, paper, and any other act of god on the inside. Cleaning a ink jetprinter is a breeze and should be done with compressed air. Getting Out Easy -Here are some easy outs when diagnosing the printer and what the problem is. 1.     Check the printer cable first off. 2.     Check power. This sounds stupid but it happens. 3.     Check and make sure printer is online. 4.     Check paper, toner, ink. These are common to go out and need replacement. 5.     Try a print test page. There may be a button on the printer itself that will do a test page for you. If the page prints out you know that the problem isn't the printer itself. 6.     Look at your printer settings. Make sure you are sending to the proper printer. Is the right one installed? 7.     Inspect any pass through device such as parallel switchers. Inspect the cable itself. I have bought new printer cables that were faulty. Not So Easy Outs -Well now you have to get to the nitty gritty. -We want to see first off if the printer is properly installed. Follow the steps below. 1.     Go to control panel in windows and select Printers. 2.     Select your printer and then click file, properties. 3.     Choose Details 4.     Look and see if the printer is pointed towards LPT1 port. If not then change it. -Now if that isn't the problem and the printer is pointing towards the LPT1 port we need to look at Windows Device Manager. 1.     Go to control panel windows and select Systems. 2.     Select Device Manager Tab. 3.     Look down the list and sport ports. Double click. 4.     Check for any exclamation points or a question mark. If this exist you may have a conflict. 5.     If so double click the port with the problem and choose resources tab. 6.     Under the resources tab look at the last box. Does it say "conflicts"? 7.     If a conflict exist simply uncheck "automatic settings" and click "Change settings" 8.     You can now change the IRQ. If unsure which to try then click one at a time and see if it will show a conflict on the return dialog box. -If you changed an IRQ setting you will need to go into the BIOS and change this also. 1.     Reboot Computer, hit delete key or corresponding setup key before windows starts. 2.     Look for peripheral settings and change the settings for the LPT1 port to what you changed in the windows device manager. -Hope that helped.

Printing problems and printing errors

Automatically diagnose and repair when you cannot print, or for problems installing a printer, connecting to a network printer and related errors. Find other automated solutions

Instruction to Run

• Click the Run now button below


• Then follow the onscreen prompts to launch

What it fixes...

• You are unable to install a printer, connect to a printer, or print more than one job at a time



• You receive an error indicating your Print Spooler service is experiencing problems


• You receive an error indicating your <PRINTERNAME> is not the default printer


• You receive an error indicating: <PRINTERNAME> cannot be contacted over the network


• Identify if your printer is turned off


• Identify if your printer toner is low or empty causing your print job to appear faint or it does not print at all


• Identify if your printer paper is low or empty


• Identify if the printer has a paper jam which is preventing it from operating normally


• Identify if a print job that is in the print queue is preventing other print jobs from printing


• Identify if you need to update your print driver


• You receive an error stating that your Plug and Play printer %PRINTERNAME% has encountered a driver problem

Download

Source : http://support.microsoft.com/mats/printing_problems/

How to Troubleshoot a Printer

Sometimes your printer prints without problem, other times throws at you error messages. In worst cases, it neither says anything nor does anything. There can be several reasons for such problems. In the following account, you will find ten most common things that cause all these problems in a printer. If you will follow them, you fix at least 95% of the printer problems then and there. You can, of course offer an IT support ticket for assistance. So, go through this account that tells you how to troubleshoot a printer.

Troubleshooting a Printer

Here are some tips for troubleshooting a printer-

1. Ensure that the Printer is Plugged in: Undoubtedly, your printer is plugged in. still, check it and after plugging in the printer, try printing once again.

2. Ensure the Printer is Turned on: Find out whether it is turned on and all its status lights are green.  Problem like a low toner, paper jam, no paper, etc. are indicated by a yellow or red light.


3. Find out Whether Printer is connected to the Network: Ensure about the connectivity of your printer with the network unless it is directly connected to your PC. A network cable that may enter into the back of your printer; also ensure green light.

4. Execute a Test: Maximum printers have a self-diagnostic program. It prints out a test page having printer information. Toner levels, errors and other diagnostic data may be included in it.

5. Send your Print Job to the Correct Printer: Occasionally the default printer may be altered by a security update or by another user. Set/reset your default printer by clicking Start>Settings>Printers/Faxes. Right-click the printer you need. Select ‘Set as Default’ from the list of options.

6. Check your Computer’s Connectivity to Network: Sharing the printer with other computers in a networked environment is vital. go to a website you don’t visit often after opening an internet browser. Some computers may store your common destinations and you may get some help you look for.

7. Look for an Application Error: Sometimes Word/Excel or any application you use can hang up and result in a problem. Save your work, restart the application and print again.

8. Find whether the Printer shows it is Online: Go to: Start>Settings>Printers/Faxes and double-click the printer you are sending your job to and check its status. If you find it online, try to print a test page if it goes through. If the printer is offline, then turn the printer on, wait for 30 seconds and turn it on again. Sometimes reboot the printer to re-register on the network. If it doesn’t display online status after rebooting, it can’t be mapping suitably and you may have to call your IT support for help.

9. Restart your Computer: May be the machine is troubling you. Restart your computer but don’t use hibernate or sleep and try printing again.

So, if from now on your printer has some trouble, you need not wonder how to troubleshoot a printer. You can fix all its problems by yourself with the help of tips mentioned above.

Fix: Unable to or cannot print Web pages in Internet Explorer

There are times when you need to print a web page. But if you find that you are unable to print or print preview web pages, when you are using Internet Explorer 9or IE8 on your Windows 7 or Vista, this article may interest you.

The reason this occurs is because your C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Temp\Low folder may have been deleted due to certain reasons. It could be because of some disk cleaning utility which you may be using.

Well, firstly you could restart Internet Explorer and try again and see if it works this time.

If not, the try to re-create this folder manually. To do so, type %Temp% in start searchand hit Enter to open the Temp folder. Now in this folder, create a new folder and name it Temp. That’s it!

If you are unable to re-create this folder manually, download and apply this Microsoft Fix it 50676. It will re-create the folder automatically.

Now see if it works.

If it still does not help, KB973479 recommends that you reset low integrity level on the Low folder.

To do so, open command prompt as admin, type ICACLS “%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Temp\Low” /setintegritylevel (OI)(CI)low and hit Enter.

Alternatively, you can download and apply Microsoft Fix it 50677 to do so automatically.

Restart the computer.

How to Enable Plug and Play detection ( LPT Port )

How to Enable Plug and Play detection ( LPT Port )

To enable Plug and Play detection:

1. Right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop, and then click Properties.
2. Click the Hardware tab, and then click Device Manager.
3. Click to expand Ports, right-click Printer Port (LPT1), and then click Properties.
   
   Note If have more than one printer port installed on your computer, click LPT2 or LPT3.
4. Click the Port Settings tab, click Enable legacy Plug and Play detection, and then click OK.
5. Restart your computer when you are prompted to do so.

After you restart your computer, Windows detects your Plug and Play hardware and the New Hardware Installation Wizard starts if the hardware is connected to the computer.

How to print to a network printer from an MS-DOS-based program in Windows XP

By default, most MS-DOS-based programs print directly to either the LPT1 port or to the LPT2 port. However, the output is not automatically routed across a redirector to a print share unless you use one of the following methods.

Method 1

Use the net.exe command to establish a persistent connection. To do this, use the following syntax at a command prompt

net use lptx \\printserver\sharename /persistent:yes

where x is the number of the printer port that you want to map, where printserver is the print server that is sharing the printer, and where sharename is the name of the printer share.

For example, to map LPT2 to a printer shared as Laser1 on a print server that is named Pserver, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type cmd, and then click OK.
3. Type net use lpt2 \\pserver\laser1 /persistent:yes, and then press ENTER.
4. To quit the command prompt, type exit, and then press ENTER.

Note In Windows XP, non-administrative users cannot map an LPT port to a network printer path when the LPT port exists on the computer as a physical parallel port.

For more information about how to map LPT ports as a regular user, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

313644  Non-administrators cannot remap an LPT port to a network printer

Method 2

Print directly to the printer share by using the following syntax at a command prompt

print /d:\\printserver\sharenamedrive:\path\filename

where printserver is the print server sharing the printer, where sharename is the name of the printer share, and where drive:, path, and filename make up the complete path of the document that you want to print.

For example, to print a document that is named letter.doc from the root directory of drive C to a printer shared as Laser1 on a print server that is named Pserver, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type cmd, and then click OK.
3. Type print /d:\\pserver\laser1 c:\letter.doc, and then press ENTER.
   
   The following command-line message appears:
   C:\letter.doc is currently being printed
4. To quit the command prompt, type exit, and then press ENTER.

Because Novell NetWare's CAPTURE command is not supported in Windows XP, use the following command to map the LPT port to a Novell NetWare print queue:

net use lptx \\server\queue

If the LPT port is redirected successfully, you receive the following message:

The command completed successfully.

To disconnect persistent LPTx connections, use the following syntax:

net use lptx /delete

Troubleshoot printer problems

Here are solutions to common problems with printers. For a step-by-step tutorial to help you identify and fix common printer problems, go to Printer problems in Windows.

You can also try running a program from Microsoft that automatically diagnoses and repairs problems with printing, installing a printer, connecting to a network printer, and other related errors. To do so, click this link and follow the instructions:

Diagnose and repair problems with printing

‌

My printer doesn't print.

This is a difficult problem to diagnose because there are many printers on the market and numerous reasons why one might not print.

First, make sure your printer is powered up and connected to your Windows computer according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Next, try updating the printer driver on your computer. Printer problems sometimes stem from out-of-date driver software, and can be solved by installing, or reinstalling, the latest driver.

To find the latest driver for your printer, first check Windows Update, which is designed to detect the hardware connected to your computer and automatically notify you when new drivers are available:

1. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Open Windows Update by clicking the Start button , clicking All Programs, and then clicking Windows Update.
2. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   In the left pane, click Check for updates, and then wait while Windows looks for the latest updates for your computer.
3. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   If any updates are found, click Install updates.  If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

If you don't see an updated printer driver listed, it's still possible that one exists: Your printer manufacturer may not have provided it to Microsoft yet.

Most printer manufacturers offer up-to-date drivers on the support sections of their websites. Drivers are typically organized by Windows edition and printer model. Once you find the proper driver, download and install it according to the manufacturer's instructions. For more help, see Update a driver for hardware that isn't working properly.

If your printer still doesn't print, consult the support section of your printer manufacturer's website for model-specific troubleshooting tips.

I see an error message about "spooler" problems, or the printer is printing more slowly than usual.

A print spooler is software that temporarily stores print jobs on the computer hard disk or in memory until the printer is ready to print them. If you've been waiting an unusually long time for a document to print, or if you see an error message about the print spooler, spooler subsystem, or spooler resources, you might need to change and then restart the Print Spooler service on your computer.

To do this, we recommend that you save your work, and then restart the computer to restart the Print Spooler service. If you don't want to restart the computer, try these steps instead.

To change or restart the Print Spooler service

You must be logged on as an administrator to perform these steps.

1. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Open Administrative Tools by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Administrative Tools.
2. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Double-click Services.  If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Right-click the Print Spooler service, and then click Properties.
4. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   On the General tab, next to Startup type, make sure that Automatic is selected.
5. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   If the service is not already running, under Service status, click Start, and then click OK.  If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

The printer only prints part of a page, prints blurry ink, or prints faded or inaccurate colors.

You might need to replace an ink or toner cartridge. Check the status information in the print queue for low ink or toner messages. If the printer has a status or display area, you can also check for low ink or toner messages on the printer itself. For more information, see Change an ink or toner cartridge and View the print queue.

The printer is out of paper.

Reload the paper tray or, if the printer has more than one tray, make sure that you reload the tray that contains the paper size you selected. To see how to load printer paper for your printer, refer to the information that came with the printer. Some printers also provide steps in a status or display area on the printer itself.

If you add paper but still receive an out-of-paper message, check the print options for the document to see if you've selected the correct paper tray or source.

Paper is caught in the printer (paper jam).

To prevent damage to the printer, check the information that came with the printer to see how to remove paper jams. Depending on the printer and where the problem occurred, you might want to try one of these options:

• 
  
  
  
  Go to the printer, check for messages in the status or display area on the printer that might tell you where the problem occurred, and then complete any steps provided to remove the paper jam. If the printer does not display information about the problem, check the information that came with the printer. If the printer is connected to a network domain, contact a system administrator or your company support desk for assistance.
• 
  
  
  
  Some printers offer a button that you can press and hold, or another paper feed option that you can use to try to extract paper without damaging the printer.
• 
  
  
  
  You might need to open the printer casing and remove the paper that is causing the problem. Before you do, check the information that came with the printer to see if you should turn off the printer or take other steps to prevent injury to yourself or damage to the printer.
  You should also check if opening the printer casing will void the warranty or any repair agreements that you've purchased or that came with the printer. For information about agreements, check the retail and manufacturer information that came with the printer.