## Troubleshooting

This chapter gives helpful information for what to do if you encounter an error.

This chapter includes:

- Redistributing toner

- Tips for avoiding paper curls

- Tips for avoiding paper jams

- Clearing paper jams

- Solving other problems

## Redistributing toner

When the toner cartridge is near the end of its life:

- White streaks or light printing occurs.

- The LED blinks red.

If this happens, you can temporarily improve print quality by redistributing the remaining toner in the cartridge. In some cases, white streaks or light printing will still occur even after you have redistributed the toner.

1. Open the front cover.

2. Pull the toner cartridge out.

3. Thoroughly roll the cartridge five or six times to distribute the toner evenly inside the cartridge.

   If toner gets on your clothing, wipe it off with a dry cloth and wash clothing in cold water. Hot water sets toner into fabric.

   Do not touch the green underside of the toner cartridge. Use the handle on the cartridge to avoid touching this area.

4. Hold the toner cartridge by the handle and slowly insert the cartridge into the opening in the machine.

   Tabs on the sides of the cartridge and corresponding grooves within the machine will guide the cartridge into the correct position until it locks into place completely.

5. Close the front cover. Ensure that the cover is securely closed.

## Tips for avoiding paper curls

1. Open the rear cover.

2. Pull down the pressure lever on each side.

   | Pressure lever

   Keep the rear cover opened during printing. Only use when the printout has more than 20 mm curl.

## Tips for avoiding paper jams

By selecting the correct media types, most paper jams can be avoided. When a paper jam occurs, refer to the next guidelines.

- Ensure that the adjustable guides are positioned correctly. (See Loading paper in the tray.)

- Do not overload the tray. Ensure that the paper level is below the paper capacity mark on the inside of the tray.

- Do not remove paper from the tray while your machine is printing.

- Flex, fan, and straighten paper before loading.

- Do not use creased, damp, or highly curled paper.

- Do not mix paper types in a tray.

- Use only recommended print media.

- Ensure that the recommended side of the print media is facing down in the tray, or facing up in the manual tray.

## Clearing paper jams

If a paper jam occurs, the LED on the control panel lights orange. Find and remove the jammed paper.

To resume printing after clearing paper jams, you must open and close the front cover.

To avoid tearing the paper, pull the jammed paper out slowly and gently. Follow the instructions in the following sections to clear the jam.

### In tray

Click this link to open an animation about clearing a jam.

1. Open and close the front cover. The jammed paper is automatically ejected from the machine.

   If the paper does not exit, go to the next step.

2. Pull out tray.

3. Remove the jammed paper by gently pulling it straight out.

   If the paper does not move when you pull, or if you do not see the paper in this area, check the fuser area around the toner cartridge. (See Inside the machine.)

4. Insert tray back into the machine until it snaps into place. Printing automatically resumes.

### In the manual tray

Click this link to open an animation about clearing a jam.

1. If the paper is not feeding properly, pull the paper out of the machine.

2. Open and close the front cover to resume printing.

### Inside the machine

Click this link to open an animation about clearing a jam.

The fuser area is hot. Take care when removing paper from the machine.

1. Open the front cover and pull the toner cartridge out, lightly pushing it down.

2. Remove the jammed paper by gently pulling it straight out.

3. Replace the toner cartridge and close the front cover. Printing automatically resumes.

### In exit area

Click this link to open an animation about clearing a jam.

1. Open and close the front cover. The jammed paper is automatically ejected from the machine.

   If you do not see the jammed paper, go to next step.

2. Gently pull the paper out of the output tray.

   If you do not see the jammed paper or if there is any resistance when you pull, stop and go to the next step.

3. Open the rear cover.

4. Pull the pressure levers down and remove the paper.

   Return the pressure levers to their original position.

   | Pressure lever

   If you do not see the jammed paper, go to next step.

5. Pull the fuser cover levers down and remove the paper.

   Return the fuser cover levers to their original position.

   The fuser area is hot. Take care when removing paper from the machine.

6. Close the rear cover.

7. Open and close front cover, printing automatically resumes.

## Solving other problems

The following chart lists some conditions that may occur and the recommended solutions. Follow the suggested solutions until the problem is corrected. If the problem persists, call for service.

### Power problems

Click this link to open an animation about power problems.

Condition | Suggested solutions
--- | ---
The machine is not receiving power, or the connection cable between the computer and the machine is not connected properly. | Plug in the power cord and press (power) on the control panel. Disconnect the machine cable and reconnect it. For Local Printing For Network Printing (Dell 1130n only)

### Paper feeding problems

Condition | Suggested solutions
--- | ---
Paper jams during printing. | Clear the paper jam. (See Clearing paper jams.)
Paper sticks together. | Check the maximum paper capacity of the tray. (See Print media specifications.) Make sure that you are using the correct type of paper. (See Print media specifications.) Remove paper from the tray and flex or fan the paper. Humid conditions may cause some paper to stick together.
Multiple sheets of paper do not feed. | Different types of paper may be stacked in the tray. Load paper of only one type, size, and weight.
Paper does not feed into the machine. | Remove any obstructions from inside the machine. Paper has not been loaded correctly. Remove paper from the tray and reload it correctly. There is too much paper in the tray. Remove excess paper from the tray. The paper is too thick. Use only paper that meets the specifications required by the machine. (See Print media specifications.)
The paper keeps jamming. | There is too much paper in the tray. Remove excess paper from the tray. If you are printing on special materials, use the manual tray. An incorrect type of paper is being used. Use only paper that meets the specifications required by the machine. (See Print media specifications.) There may be debris inside the machine. Open the front cover and remove any debris.
Transparencies stick together in the paper exit. | Use only transparencies specifically designed for laser printers. Remove each transparency as it exits from the machine.
Envelopes skew or fail to feed correctly. | Ensure that the paper guides are against both sides of the envelopes.

### Printing problems

Condition | Possible cause | Suggested solutions
--- | --- | ---
The machine does not print. | The machine is not receiving power. | Check the power cord connections.
The machine is not selected as the default machine. | Select your machine as your default machine in your Windows.
Check the machine for the following: The front cover is not closed. Close the front cover. Paper is jammed. Clear the paper jam. (See Clearing paper jams.) No paper is loaded. Load paper. (See Loading paper in the tray.) The toner cartridge is not installed. Install the toner cartridge. If a system error occurs, contact your service representative.
The connection cable between the computer and the machine is not connected properly. | Disconnect the machine cable and reconnect it.
The connection cable between the computer and the machine is defective. | If possible, attach the cable to another computer that is working properly and print a job. You can also try using a different machine cable.
The port setting is incorrect. | Check the Windows printer setting to make sure that the print job is sent to the correct port. If the computer has more than one port, make sure that the machine is attached to the correct one.
The machine may be configured incorrectly. | Check the Printing Preferences to ensure that all of the print settings are correct. (See Opening printing preferences.)
The printer driver may be incorrectly installed. | Repair the machine software. (See Installing USB connected machine’s driver, Installing network connected machine’s driver.)
The machine is malfunctioning. | Check the LEDs on the control panel to see if the machine is indicating a system error. Contact a service representative. Checking an error message is also possible from the Printer Status Monitor on your computer.
The machine does not print. | The document size is so big that the hard disk space of the computer is insufficient to access the print job. | Get more hard disk space and print the document again.
The output tray is full. | It can hold up to 80 sheets of plain paper. Once the paper is removed from the output tray, the machine resumes printing.
The machine selects print materials from the wrong paper source. | The paper option that was selected in the Printing Preferences may be incorrect. | For many software applications, the paper source selection is found under the Paper tab within the Printing Preferences. Select the correct paper source. See the printer driver help screen. (See Opening printing preferences.)
A print job is extremely slow. | The job may be very complex. | Reduce the complexity of the page or try adjusting the print quality settings.
Half the page is blank. | The page orientation setting may be incorrect. | Change the page orientation in your application. See the printer driver help screen.
The paper size and the paper size settings do not match. | Ensure that the paper size in the printer driver settings matches the paper in the tray.Or, ensure that the paper size in the printer driver settings matches the paper selection in the software application settings you use.
The machine prints, but the text is wrong, garbled, or incomplete. | The machine cable is loose or defective. | Disconnect the machine cable and reconnect. Try a print job that you have already printed successfully. If possible, attach the cable and the machine to another computer that you know works and try a print job. Finally, try a new machine cable.
The wrong printer driver was selected. | Check the application’s printer selection menu to ensure that your machine is selected.
The software application is malfunctioning. | Try printing a job from another application.
The operating system is malfunctioning. | Exit Windows and reboot the computer. Turn the machine off and back on again.
If you are in a DOS environment, the font setting for your machine may be set incorrectly. | See Changing font setting (Dell 1130n only).
Pages print, but they are blank. | The toner cartridge is defective or out of toner. | Redistribute the toner, if necessary. If necessary, replace the toner cartridge.
The file may have blank pages. | Check the file to ensure that it does not contain blank pages.
Some parts, such as the controller or the board, may be defective. | Contact a service representative.
The machine does not print PDF file correctly. Some parts of graphics, text, or illustrations are missing. | Incompatibility between the PDF file and the Acrobat products. | Printing the PDF file as an image may enable the file to print. Turn on Print As Image from the Acrobat printing options.
It will take longer to print when you print a PDF file as an image.
The print quality of photos is not good. Images are not clear. | The resolution of the photo is very low. | Reduce the photo size. If you increase the photo size in the software application, the resolution will be reduced.
Before printing, the machine emits vapor near the output tray. | Using damp paper can cause vapor during printing. | This is not a problem. Just keep printing.
The machine does not print special- sized paper, such as billing paper. | Paper size and paper size setting do not match. | Set the correct paper size in the Edit... in the Paper tab in the Printing Preferences. (See Opening printing preferences.)

### Printing quality problems

If the inside of the machine is dirty or paper has been loaded improperly, there might be a reduction in print quality. See the table below to clear the problem.

Condition | Suggested Solutions
--- | ---
Light or faded print | If a vertical white streak or faded area appears on the page, the toner supply is low. You may be able to temporarily extend the toner cartridge life. (See Redistributing toner.) If this does not improve the print quality, install a new toner cart The paper may not meet paper specifications; for example, the paper may be too moist or rough. (See Print media specifications.) If the entire page is light, the print resolution setting is too low or the toner save mode is on. Adjust the print resolution and turn the toner save mode off. See the help screen of the printer driver. A combination of faded or smeared defects may indicate that the toner cartridge needs cleaning. (See Cleaning the inside.) The surface of the LSU part inside the machine may be dirty. (See Cleaning the inside.)
Toner specks | The paper may not meet specifications; for example, the paper may be too moist or rough. (See Print media specifications.) The transfer roller may be dirty. Clean the inside of your machine. Contact a service representative. The paper path may need cleaning. Contact a service representative.
Dropouts | If faded areas, generally rounded, occur randomly on the page: A single sheet of paper may be defective. Try reprinting the job. The moisture content of the paper is uneven or the paper has moist spots on its surface. Try a different brand of paper. (See Print media specifications.) The paper lot is bad. The manufacturing processes can cause some areas to reject toner. Try a different kind or brand of paper. Change the printer option and try again. Go to Printing Preferences, click Paper tab, and set type to Thick. (See Opening printing preferences.) If these steps do not correct the problem, contact a service representative.
White Spots | If white spots appear on the page: The paper is too rough and a lot of dirt from a paper falls to the inner devices within the machine, so the transfer roller may be dirty. Clean the inside of your machine. (See Cleaning the inside.) The paper path may need cleaning. (See Cleaning the inside.)
Vertical lines | If black vertical streaks appear on the page: The surface (drum part) of the toner cartridge inside the machine has probably been scratched. Remove the toner cartridge and install a new one. (See Replacing the toner cartridge.) If white vertical streaks appear on the page: The surface of the LSU part inside the machine may be dirty. (See Cleaning the inside.)
Black background | If the amount of background shading becomes unacceptable: Change to a lighter weight paper. (See Print media specifications.) Check the environmental conditions: very dry conditions or a high level of humidity (higher than 80% RH) can increase the amount of background shading. Remove the old toner cartridge and, install a new one. (See Replacing the toner cartridge.)
Toner smear | If toner smears on the page: Clean the inside of the machine. (See Cleaning the inside.) Check the paper type and quality. (See Print media specifications.) Remove the toner cartridge and then, install a new one. (See Replacing the toner cartridge.)
Vertical repetitive defects | If marks repeatedly appear on the printed side of the page at even intervals: The toner cartridge may be damaged. If you still have the same problem, remove the toner cartridge and, install a new one. (See Replacing the toner cartridge.) Parts of the machine may have toner on them. If the defects occur on the back of the page, the problem will likely correct itself after a few more pages. The fusing assembly may be damaged. Contact a service representative.
Background scatter | Background scatter results from bits of toner randomly distributed on the printed page. The paper may be too damp. Try printing with a different batch of paper. Do not open packages of paper until necessary so that the paper does not absorb too much moisture. If background scatter occurs on an envelope, change the printing layout to avoid printing over areas that have overlapping seams on the reverse side. Printing on seams can cause problems. If background scatter covers the entire surface area of a printed page, adjust the print resolution through your software application or in Printing Preferences. (See Opening printing preferences.)
Misformed characters | If characters are improperly formed and producing hollow images, the paper stock may be too slick. Try different paper. (See Print media specifications.)
Page skew | Ensure that the paper is loaded properly. Check the paper type and quality. (See Print media specifications.) Ensure that the guides are not too tight or too loose against the paper stack.
Curl or wave | Ensure that the paper is loaded properly. Check the paper type and quality. Both high temperature and humidity can cause paper curl. (See Print media specifications.) Turn the stack of paper over in the tray. Also try rotating the paper 180° in the tray.
Wrinkles or creases | Ensure that the paper is loaded properly. Check the paper type and quality. (See Print media specifications.) Turn the stack of paper over in the tray. Also try rotating the paper 180° in the tray.
Back of printouts are dirty | Check for leaking toner. Clean the inside of the machine. (See Cleaning the inside.)
Solid Color or Black pages | The toner cartridge may not be installed properly. Remove the cartridge and reinsert it. The toner cartridge may be defective. Remove the toner cartridge and install a new one. (See Replacing the toner cartridge.) The machine may require repair. Contact a service representative.
Loose toner | Clean the inside of the machine. (See Cleaning the inside.) Check the paper type and quality. (See Print media specifications.) Remove the toner cartridge and then, install a new one. (See Replacing the toner cartridge.) If the problem persists, the machine may require repair. Contact a service representative.
Character Voids | Character voids are white areas within parts of characters that should be solid black: If you are using transparencies, try another type of transparency. Because of the composition of transparencies, some character voids are normal. You may be printing on the wrong surface of the paper. Remove the paper and turn it around. The paper may not meet paper specifications. (See Print media specifications.)
Horizontal stripes | If horizontally aligned black streaks or smears appear: The toner cartridge may be installed improperly. Remove the cartridge and reinsert it. The toner cartridge may be defective. Remove the toner cartridge and install a new one. (See Replacing the toner cartridge.) If the problem persists, the machine may require repair. Contact a service representative.
Curl | If the printed paper is curled or paper does not feed into the machine: Turn the stack of paper over in the tray. Also try rotating the paper 180° in the tray. Change the printer option and try again. Go to Printing Preferences, click Paper tab, and set type to Thin. (See Opening printing preferences.)
An unknown image repetitively appears on a few sheets or loose toner, light print, or contamination occurs. | Your machine is probably being used at an altitude of 1,000 m (3,281 ft) or above.The high altitude may affect the print quality, such as loose toner or light imaging. Change the correct altitude setting to your machine. (See Altitude adjustment.)

### Common Windows problems

Condition | Suggested solutions
--- | ---
“File in Use” message appears during installation. | Exit all software applications. Remove all software from the startup group, then restart Windows. Reinstall the printer driver.
“General Protection Fault”, “Exception OE”, “Spool 32”, or “Illegal Operation” messages appear. | Close all other applications, reboot Windows and try printing again.
“Fail To Print”, “A printer timeout error occurred” messages appear. | These messages may appear during printing. Just keep waiting until the machine finishes printing. If the message appears in ready mode or after printing has been completed, check the connection and/or whether an error has occurred.

Refer to Microsoft Windows User’s Guide that came with your computer for further information on Windows error messages.

### Common Linux problems

condition | Suggested solutions
--- | ---
The machine does not print. | Check if the printer driver is installed in your system. Open Unified Driver Configurator and switch to the Printers tab in Printers configuration window to look at the list of available machines. Make sure that your machine is displayed on the list. If not, open Add new printer wizard to set up your device. Check if the machine is started. Open Printers configuration and select your machine on the printers list. Look at the description in the Selected printer pane. If its status contains Stopped string, press the Start button. After that normal operation of the machine should be restored. The “stopped” status might be activated when some problems in printing occurred. Check if your application has special print option such as “-oraw”. If “-oraw” is specified in the command line parameter, then remove it to print properly. For Gimp front-end, select “print” -> “Setup printer” and edit command line parameter in the command item.
The machine does not print whole pages, and output is printed on half the page. | It is a known problem that occurs when a color machine is used on version 8.51 or earlier of Ghostscript, 64-bit Linux OS, and has been reported to bugs.ghostscript.com as Ghostscript Bug 688252. The problem is solved in AFPL Ghostscript v. 8.52 or above. Download the latest version of AFPL Ghostscript from http://sourceforge.net/projects/ghostscript/ and install it to solve this problem.
I encounter error “Cannot open port device file” when printing a document. | Avoid changing print job parameters (via LPR GUI, for example) while a print job is in progress. Known versions of CUPS server break the print job whenever print options are changed and then try to restart the job from the beginning. Since Unified Linux Driver locks the port while printing, the abrupt termination of the driver keeps the port locked and unavailable for subsequent print jobs. If this situation occurs, try to release the port by selecting Release port in Port configuration window.

Refer to Linux User’s Guide that came with your computer for further information on Linux error messages.

### Common Macintosh problems

condition | Suggested solutions
--- | ---
The machine does not print PDF files correctly. Some parts of graphics, text, or illustrations are missing. | Printing the PDF file as an image may enable the file to print. Turn on Print As Image from the Acrobat printing options.
It will take longer to print when you print a PDF file as an image.
The document has printed, but the print job has not disappeared from the spooler in Mac OS X 10.3.2. | Update your Mac OS to OS Mac OS X 10.3.3. or higher.
Some letters are not displayed normally during the Cover page printing. | Mac OS cannot create the font during the Cover page printing. The English alphabet and numbers are displayed normally on the Cover page.
When printing a document in Macintosh with Acrobat Reader 6.0 or higher, colors print incorrectly. | Make sure that the resolution setting in your machine driver matches the one in Acrobat® Reader®.

Refer to Macintosh User’s Guide that came with your computer for further information on Macintosh error messages.