Section 2.3: Common Printer Problems
In real world a number of printer related problem occurs on day to day basis. It is important for a company to have a professional who can solve all the printer related problems. Some of the general guidelines to solve the common printer related problems are as follows:
Section 2.3.1: Managing Print Jobs
When you send job to a printer by clicking Print on the File menu or pressing Ctrl+P, the print job is sent to a Print Queue where many other print jobs also exists. All these print jobs wait for there turn on a first-come, first-serve basis to print. If you want to see the status of your print job in the Print Queue, you need to double-click on the printer icon that appears in the system tray when a print job is sent.
From the print menu you can pause, restart, resume, or cancel the selected print jobs. When a print job is sent to a printer, the print spooler formats the print job in the language that a printer can understand. The print spooler service is started automatically when window loads.
Section 2.3.2: Printing a Test Page
The printing of a test page allows you to find out the problem with the printer if it is not printing properly. The test page allows you to ensure that your printer hears your computer. The test page prints the information stored in the memory of the printer and does not require any formatting or translating of the print job. If the printer is already installed, the test page can be printed from the Properties window of the printer. If the test page is not printed then you should check the connections of the printer and restart the print spooler.
The printer also contains a built-in test function.
Section 2.3.3: Printer Driver Issues
Most of the problems with the printer occur due to incorrect installation of the drivers. If the drivers installed for the printer are wrong or old, the printer may print the wrong characters or may not work at all with the operating system. The printer drivers are the interface that translates software commands into the commands the printer can understand. The driver uses a Page Description Language (PDL) to make the printer understand the operating system commands. It also deals with the printers characteristics such as paper trays and maximum resolution.
A printer can work with a particular operating system if the correct printer driver for that operating system is installed. A wrong printer driver may send commands to the printer in a wrong language and the printer will print garbage.
Section 2.3.4: Memory Errors
A printer can have memory errors also. The most common memory error is the insufficient memory to print a page. If such an error occurs, you should turn off the printer to flush out its RAM and then try to print again. You can also try to print at a lower resolution by adjusting the resolution settings from the Properties window of the
printer. If the error still occurs, try to use different printer driver. If your printer supports more than one PDL, you can also try to upgrade printer memory.