It happens. There is absolutely no such thing as a ‘jam-less’ printer, whether you’re talking inkjet printer, laser printer, or impact printer. Sooner or later, you’re going to run into a paper jam with your printer, and how you handle it can easily determine whether you’ll be out searching the next day for a printer repair company like American Printer Service, Inc. to service the unit, or if you’ll be happily humming along after a quick and painless removal of the paper debris.
Unfortunately, paper jams seems to happen at the most inopportune times, like right before you’re on your way out the door to an important meeting and just need to print off one last report. Often, this adds to the frustration of the user, which usually results in the yanking, pulling, and cranking we often see as a result of incorrectly removing a paper jam. As in most emergency situations, the main thing to keep in mind is that you’ve got to remain calm and figure things out…
Some printers and copiers have a handy little diagram in the inside covers that will tell you how to remove a paper jam. For those that don’t, take your time figuring out where the jammed paper is located and how bad the actual jam is. Once you’ve established that, gently tug on the leading edge and see if the paper feeds through the rollers. Paper is made to feed through most printers in a one-directional path… advancing. If you pull the paper backwards through the rollers, you risk causing permanent damage to your printer. If you cannot get the paper jam to advance, it is best to call a professional and have them remove the paper jam.
Another important thing to remember when removing paper jams is that at NO time should you be inserting foreign objects into the printer to help you remove a paper jam. I think we’ve probably heard just about everything, from forks to screwdrivers being used as tools to remove stubborn bits of paper. Using any metal object inside of printer can easily damage internal parts, which may lead to a much more expensive problem… like replacement of the unit. Additionally, with laser printers, you can actually end up with an electrical shock if you use a metal object and end up hitting the wrong part of the printer.
Paper jams are frustrating. The important thing to remember is to take your time and realize that, most likely, it isn’t the end of the world. If you are cautious and figure out the problem, you’re far less likely to be replacing the unit due to damaged parts or gears. And remember, if you can’t remove a paper jam or the printer continues to say you’ve got one even though you pulled out the paper debris you could see, call a professional. There is no shame in admitting defeat when it comes to stubborn or ‘ghost’ paper jams, and a professional printer repair Technician will probably be able to get you up and running without the need to replace parts.