Paper jams are common in a printer. Especially in an inkjet printer, you can get them frequently. Frequent paper jams will waste your time heavily. Also, if you are using a network printer, then you might not even know whether the document you gave for print has been completed or not until you visit the main PC.
Therefore, if you are stuck in this condition, you should know how to remove a paper stuck in printer as well as prevent it from happening again.
How to Remove a Paper Stuck in Printer?
A paper can get stuck in the printer due to many reasons, such as a mechanical failure or an operator printer error. But it is not always easy to remove the paper from the printer. Paper stuck in the printer can be removed easily if you follow the steps given below:
Decide whether to Turn off or keep the printer on
This is an important step because the job might get deleted from the printer’s queue and you might have to repeat the printing process again from scratch.
At the same time, if you suspect any electrocution from the printer hardware, then turn off your printer for safety. It is better to turn off the printer before getting inside.
Looking for the jammed paper
- The paper might have stuck in the initial stages of printing or in the final stage of printing.
- Look for the position of paper first. If you cannot see the paper from outside the printer, then you have to get inside to remove it.
- If the printer has reeled the paper halfway out, then you have a chance to give it a slight pull to remove it entirely.
- But if you cannot see the paper then go to the next step.
Accessing the Printer head
- To remove the paper that is stuck inside the printer, you have to remove the print head.
- In order to do that, first open the main cover of the printer. It is usually at the top where the paper comes out.
- Remove the loose papers in the printer to avoid any damage to them.
- When you open the main cover, you can see the long print head with a plastic handle.
- Using the handle, pull the print head to remove it from the printer.
- Do not force it. The print head sits in the sleeve present in the sides.
- Therefore, remove it cautiously.
- Now you will be able to see the jammed paper and you can now start removing it.
Removing the paper
- Pull the jammed paper slowly. Don’t use any kind of force because it may tear the paper and it will become very difficult to remove it.
- Slightly use a constant pull force and remove the paper. The paper will easily come off.
- Use both hands and evenly pull the paper away from the printer.
- If the paper teared, then you don’t have any choice other than reaching further into the printer and pick the pieces using a tweezer. Or you have to remove the assembly further to remove it.
Also, Read these useful Articles
- How to Clean Ink Heads on Printer?
- How to share a printer connected to another Computer?
- Are Printer Ink and Toner the same thing?
What are the reasons for paper stuck on the printer?
There are many reasons why paper can get stuck on the printer. In this section, we will cover some of the 3 most common reasons which are coming in all places.
Incorrect paper installation
Most of the time the jams happen due to improper setting of the paper bundle in the tray. Also, if any one of the papers has a fold or wrinkle, the paper gets stuck easily. Therefore, avoid such papers and install them properly in an even position inside the printer.
Roller Damage
The printer has rollers inside it to reel in and reel out the paper. If the roller has damage due to wear and tear, then the paper might get damaged and eventually get stuck while printing. Therefore, try to keep the roller polished as new.
Low-quality paper
The paper quality is very important to have seamless printing. With low-quality papers, you can get frequent jams because of the thin nature of the paper. High-quality papers are thick and more durable. This enables them to withstand the heat while printing.
Poor Print head
The print head has cartridges which must be of high quality. If they are poor, then you can get frequent jams.
How to prevent Paper stuck on the printer?
There are several ways to prevent the paper from getting stuck on your printer. The following are some of the most common methods to prevent:
- Load the papers properly inside the tray of the printer.
- Make sure they aren’t misaligned and doesn’t have any damaged or folded sheets.
- Reload the tray when it has few papers left. Because many jams occur due to a smaller number of papers available in the tray.
- Try to evenly stack a single paper size. Don’t mix and match different paper sizes.
- Keep the device clean from dust and debris. Don’t allow such dusts to get inside the printer.
- Perform device cleaning program with your PC periodically to avoid such issues.
- Look out for damaged parts such as the roller and replace them immediately.
How do you force quit a printer queue?
The printer queue is a list of print jobs waiting to be printed. You can force quit the printer queue by following these steps:
- Go to start menu and search for Control panel, enter into it.
- In the control panel, look for Windows tools option and enter into it.
- Now look for Services option in the Windows tools menu. Then enter into services.
- Scroll down the list of services and find out Printer Spooler option.
- Right click on it and click Stop. This will stop people from accessing the printer and queue any job.
- Then go to C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\Printers. Delete all the files in the folder to clear the queue.
Conclusion
Releasing a jammed paper in the printer can take some time and you have to follow the precautions to avoid such instances. This will save you a lot of time as well as preserve the life of the printer and its inner parts for a long time.
