Specifications

■ Gray print or gray background. As the photoreceptor drum in a laser printer wears, it begins to
hold less of a charge, and less toner adheres to the drum, resulting in printing that is gray
rather than black. On printers that include the drum as part of the toner cartridge, this is not
usually a problem because the drum is changed frequently. Printers that use the drum for longer
periods of time often have a print density control that enables you to gradually increase the
amount of toner dispensed by the developer unit as the drum wears. Eventually, however, you
will have to replace the drum; at that point, you must lower the print density back to its origi-
nal setting, or you might find that your prints have a gray background because the developer is
applying too much toner to the photoreceptor drum.
■ Loose toner. If the pages emerging from your laser printer have toner on them that you can rub
or brush off, they have not been properly fused. Usually, this means the fuser is not reaching
the temperature necessary to completely melt the toner and fuse it to the page. A problem of
this type nearly always requires professional service.
■ Solid vertical black line. A vertical black line running down the entire length of several consecu-
tive pages is a sign that your laser printer’s toner cartridge might be nearly empty. Shaking the
cartridge can usually eliminate the problem, but eventually you will have to replace it.
■ Frequent paper jams. Paper handling can be a delicate part of the printer mechanism, which is
affected by several elements. Printer jams can result when paper is loaded incorrectly into the
feed tray, when the paper is damp or wrinkled, or when you use the wrong type of paper.
Occasional jams are normal, but frequent jamming can indicate you are using paper stock that
is too heavy or is textured in such a way as to be improper for laser printing. Jams also can
result when the printer is not resting on a level surface.
Envelope handling is often the weak spot in paper handling, especially with older laser printers
or low-cost inkjet printers. Because of their uneven thickness, they tend to produce a high per-
centage of jams. Even if your printer is designed to handle multiple envelopes, consider feeding
them one at a time if you have problems, or use alternative addressing means, such as clear
labels.
■ Blank pages appear between printed pages. Paper that is damp, wrinkled, or too tightly compressed
can cause two or more sheets to run through the printer at one time. To prevent this, store your
paper in a cool, dry place; don’t stack the reams too high; and riffle through the stack of paper
before you insert it in the feed tray. This also can be caused by different paper types or sizes
loaded in the IN tray at the same time.
Note
Before you look for a paper problem, be sure to check the printer setup. Some printers, especially on networks, are set to
use a blank page to separate print jobs.
■ Memory overflow/printer overrun errors. These errors indicate that the job you sent to the printer
was too complex or consisted of more data than its buffers could handle. This can be caused by
the use of too many fonts, text that is too dense, or graphics that are too complex. You can
resolve this problem by simplifying your document, reducing the graphics resolution or
installing more memory in the printer. You also can try adjusting the page-protection setting in
your printer driver (see the previous option).
Connection Problems
■ Gibberish. If your page printer produces page after page of seemingly random “garbage” charac-
ters, the problem is probably that the printer has failed to recognize the PDL used by the print