These steps should be taken when you’re unable to get the printer to turn on and/or print properly.
Solution:

Printer does not have power indicator

First, make sure that the printer is on. When a printer is on it should have some type of light (usually green) that indicates that the printer is receiving power and is on.

If you do not have any indicator light make sure the printer is connected to a working power outlet by verifying each end of the power cable. Next, press the printer power button.

If after following the above steps your printer still cannot get a power status indicator it’s likely you’re encountering a serious printer issue and we suggest contacting the printer manufacturer for additional steps and/or instructions on repair or replacement.

Cables not connected properly

Your printer should have two cables connected to it. The power cable and the data cable, the power cable should have already been verified as being connected if your printer has a power indicator light as mentioned above. Make sure the data cable (parallel cable or USB cable) is also connected from the printer to the computer.

Printer error (orange or blinking light)

After your printer has completed its initial startup you should have a solid green light. If the light indicator is blinking or orange often this is an indication of a printer error. For example, this could indicate a paper jam, issue with the ink or toner cartridge, or other serious error.

Because there is no standard to what a blinking light or orange light means if you’re getting either of these we suggest referring to the printer documentation for troubleshooting steps or methods of determining what the status indicator is reporting.

No paper or paper jam

Without paper your printer will not be able to print. Make sure you have paper in the paper loaded into the printer paper cartridge or tray. Next, verify that no printer paper is jammed or partially fed into the printer. If you have one or more pieces of paper stuck in the printer these will need to be manually removed before the printer will print again.

Inkjet printer ink related issues

Often when you’re encountering an ink related issue you’re printer status indicator light (mentioned above) should be flashing. If this is not occurring you may want to simply skip to the next section. However, if you’ve recently inserted a new ink cartridge you may want to try the below suggestions.

See document CH000084 for additional troubleshooting steps that can be taken if your printer no longer works properly after replacing a printers ink cartridge.

Printer self tests

Most printers have a way of printing a test page. This page allows you to determine if the printer is physically working or not. This test is usually accomplished by holding down a series of keys. If you are not sure if your printer has this feature or how to perform it refer to your manual or visit your printer manufacturers web site.

In addition to testing the printer using the printer self-test Microsoft Windows users can also perform a software self-test to determine if their computer is able to see the printer and it’s able to print. Follow the below steps to perform this test.

Microsoft Windows 98, 2000, ME, XP, 2003, and Vista users

1.Click Start, Settings, and open Control Panel.
2.Double-click the Printers or Printers and Fax icon.
3.Right-click on the Printer you wish to test and click Properties. If you do not see your printer listed your printer is not installed. See document CH000939 for additional information about installing a printer in Windows.
4.In the Printers Properties window click the Print Test Page button.
5.If the printer is able to print a test page, you’re printer is installed and setup properly. However, if you’re unable to print in other programs it’s possible that the program you’re attempting to print from has issues.

Older versions of Windows with older printers

If you are running an older printer and MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT, you can also attempt the below software test.

Get to a MS-DOS prompt – Additional information about getting an MS-DOS prompt can be found on document CHDOS.
Get to the root directory – Type cd\
Reroute dir to printer – Type dir > lpt1

The above should take the directory listing and print to the printer. If this does not print, refer to your operating system troubleshooting section. Extra Note: This will not paper feed, therefore press your FF or PP, or manually eject the paper.

Printer drivers

If your printer does not have any flashing lights and is connected properly it’s possible you may be encountering a driver related issue. We suggest visiting our printer driver listing, which links to all major printer manufacturer driver pages and downloading the latest printer drivers for your printer.

Parallel (LPT) printers

If the printer you’re connecting to the computer is an LPT (parallel port) printer we also suggest verifying the below suggestions if your printer is not working.

Parallel port in CMOS

1.Enter the computers CMOS setup. Additional information about entering the CMOS (BIOS) setup can be found on document CH000192.
2.Once in CMOS verify that your parallel port is enabled or installed.
3.Next, verify the printer or parallel port mode. This option will often have several different modes. If your parallel port is set to ECP mode, we suggest trying a different mode.

Other parallel device

If you have a parallel printer with other parallel devices such as a parallel scanner or zip drive, temporarily disconnect these devices to verify they are not causing your issue.

Inkjet and laser printers can print on a variety of surfaces, including photo paper, labels, business cards, stickers, and t-shirt transfers.

One of the biggest advantages of laser printers is their ability to churn out quality prints on almost any paper.

However, the same does not apply to inkjet printers. Although most of your inkjet printing probably involves standard white papers, when it comes to this medium, you may have more options than you realise.

Inkjet Printer Paper

Although standard printer paper can do the job as well, your printouts will probably be better if you use paper specifically made for inkjet printers.

The quality of your printouts is affected by two major factors: brightness and absorption.

1. Brightness

When a type of paper is advertised as being brighter than average, it indicates that the surface of the paper is smoother than average. The smoothness of the page determines the amount of light reflected from its surface.

This factor also determines how bright your images appear on the page. The brighter or smoother the printer paper is, the better your printout will appear.

2. Absorption

In this case, if the printer paper absorbs less ink, your document will definitely look better. As the paper absorbs ink, tiny dots on the page may spread outside their borders.

This may cause the edges of text and images on the page to look fuzzy and soggy. To counteract this problem, quality printer papers are coated with a waxy substance that prevents the absorption of ink by the paper.

A well-coated paper allows for more precise and smoother printing. In general, most of the printers on the market print at a higher resolution on coated paper than on standard paper.

Branded Paper – To Buy or Not to Buy

It’s no secret that the big names in printers, such as HP, Canon, and Epson, offer a complete line of inks and papers.

Each company claims that you will get the best results when you use its products with its printers, and warns you to steer clear of products sold by other companies.

Generally speaking, they’re right. In the case of inkjet printers, especially, companies design printers, inks, and papers to work together to yield the best results.

If you use third-party paper with your inkjet printer from a big-name manufacturer, the ink may spread too far into the paper before drying, causing inaccurate colours, lower print resolution, and a dull finish. Plus, it is likely that the prints will fade faster.

The choice, after all, lies with you. Printing great photos from an inkjet printer is a tall order, requiring a perfect match between the ink, paper, and printer to work together; and the companies don’t make it easy on the consumer’s pocket.

You can reach the most economical solution through a little experimentation.

Alternatively, laser printers can print plain text documents or draft-quality graphics with equal ease, and you can stock up on your local office supply store’s bright white copy or laser paper to your heart’s content.

Getting Past the Jargon

To find out if the paper package on the shelf is right for your printer, simply read the fine print that usually lists out the compatible companies and models.

Moreover, if you are interested in high-quality photo printing, you can generally see if a particular paper makes the grade.

For example, some papers may have unusual descriptions such as “swellable” or “cotton rag.” Swellable paper is designed for high-quality photo printing—the coated surface actually swells as it absorbs ink.

Cotton rag is ideal for inkjets that use pigment-based inks; most low-cost inkjet printers, on the other hand, use dye-based ink, so you should steer clear of cotton rag in this instance.

High-quality paper also has a polymer coating—for both dye-based and pigment-based inks—that keeps the ink from spreading, and it protects the ink from fading over time.

However, coated paper can take a number of hours to completely dry your prints. Better quality paper may also be advertised as acid-free and lignin-free; these indicate that your paper is more likely to give you the best image quality and the best overall life span.

Checklist

It is important to remember that most branded photo printer paper from corporate names, including well-known ones, is only suitable for printing at 1440 and 2880 DPI.

Here is a simple checklist to help you when deciding the inkjet photo paper best suited to your needs.

1. Always check the DPI (Dots Per Inch) of the photo printer paper.

DPI is an indicator of how much ink the photo paper can absorb per inch on the page. Using low DPI photo paper for high-resolution printing will result in poor quality prints.

Usually, if the seller does not advertise the DPI of its inkjet photo paper and card, then it is likely that it is very low and therefore a lower grade paper.

2. Check that the photo paper is instant dry.

Cheaper photo paper may not be designed to dry instantaneously and can result in colour running or smudging while the ink is soaking into the paper. Once again, if the seller does not advertise this feature, then it is likely that it is absent.

3. Decide the weight of inkjet photo paper you need.

Although the weight of photo paper and card vary, the most common weights are between 120gsm to 280gsm.

If you are printing in bulk, then 120gsm is usually sufficient and cost effective. If you are printing photographs at home, then 160gsm to 200gsm should suffice. Buy glossy printer paper if you want shiny pictures, and matt paper if shine is not an issue for you.

As a general rule, bigger the weight is, thicker the photo paper or card will be.