Stop your printer nightmares!

PRINTER! Indeed, it won’t leave your top 10 list of the must have’s in your office, but it can also be one of the most hated office tools too. Have you ever been in a rush for a meeting and needed to print out a document only to have your printer act up? It can drive you mad!

No matter what brand you choose, there are times when printing can become a nightmare. It may be because of driver issues, the user interface or the printer needs maintenance, it all depends. Computer & IT tech support people know how to deal with it, but it also helps to know what kind of printer problem we are encountering so you can apply first steps before issues become worse.

Here are a few common issues which could affect your printing:

Printer jams: All printers suffer from this at some point and is a fairly common problem. Printer jams occur for any number of reasons; using incorrect media that is just not compatible is the most likely cause. Older printers can be more prone to jamming due to rollers and internal parts wearing out which can cause paper slippage thus resulting in a jam.

If you encounter a jam, the best thing to do first is turn off the printer. Keep in mind especially if you have a laser printer, it’s advised to wait for the fuser to cool down before you clear the jam as they get rather hot. If you can see the jammed sheet of paper, GENTLY pull it out, following the direction the paper would normally go. DO NOT pull it backwards as it may damage the printer’s mechanics. Also be careful not to rip the paper if you can help it, removing remaining torn paper is often difficult and may even involve partly disassembling the printer to remove it all.

Print queue: It’s okay for us humans to multitask, but printers don’t work the same way. Printers get sent print jobs from a computer and are printed out in order. If there is an error in one of the jobs; paper jams, lack of paper, ink or other mechanical reason, the remaining jobs in the queue may not get printed and may get stuck. Most times once an issue has been rectified, the remaining jobs will continue and everything will be fine. If you continue to get print queue errors, there may be some other issues going on and it’s best to consult with your IT support to check what could be causing it.

Bad quality prints: You may have printed out a document or a photo and the quality of the end result was just awful. Most common cause for this usually a bad ink or laser cartridge and the easiest way to determine this is to replace it with a brand new one. Also worth checking the media you’re using and if it’s correct for the job you are printing. If everything checks out and you continue to have bad quality prints, then it could be a more major issue and it would be best to seek professional IT assistance.

Leaking cartridges: This is an issue that happens with both inkjet & laserjet printers, most often when using refilled or remanufactured cartridges. Most cartridges are not designed to be refilled and only have a limited life. It is always best to use new genuine cartridges to avoid possible leaking, plus you get much better quality printing. It’s also worth noting that most manufactures will not honour the warranty if damage has occurred due to a leaked cartridge.

We all have reasons to love printers but we also have reasons to hate them as well. Sometimes it all depends on how we use it too. When purchasing a new printer, one thing to keep in mind is to make sure it will be able to handle the workload, which is generally shown in the printer specifications as the duty cycle. This gives you an indication of how many pages per month the printer can handle. Trying to push a printer further than what it can handle is not advised and will usually result in damaging the printer. Most often this will also void your warranty.

If you take care of your printer and have it maintained regularly, many of the nightmares can be avoided before they happen.

If you need help with any kind of printer issue or if you need some assistance, we are here to help you. Our number is 0447 619 397 or you can send us an enquiry, either through our contact page, by Facebook or by email, helpme@ckpcomputers.com.au.

Solutions for Common Laptop Issues

Whether your laptop is a high-end model or not, problems will surely come along at some point when you least expect it. You can encounter a sudden restart or the screen blacks out and you are clueless about the cause of those problems. Thus, consulting a computer professional or technician will be your best option to resolve all of this.

Laptops are highly intricate and there are many causes to different problems. Here are just 5 of the most common laptop issues and solutions:

Screen Dots or Lines

1. If a line or dots of pixels appear on your screen, chances are it’s stuck or lit pixels. Dead pixels however show up as black dots. Sometimes putting a little light pressure on the screen with your finger can help the pixel become unstuck. However be careful and don’t apply too much pressure as you can damage the screen or even crack it. With millions of pixels on an average LCD screen, there is always a chance one or two won’t work properly. If the stuck pixels stay, the only option is to either persevere with it or replace the LCD panel.

2. If you’re experiencing wavy lines or static graphical artifacts all over your screen, it could be something else causing the problem other than the LCD panel. Bad RAM or a graphics adapter can cause this. If possible, connect the laptop to a working external monitor & see if the problem still exists. If it does, then the problem lies somewhere other than the built in LCD panel.

Black Screen  

Having a black screen may be due to a bad connection cable. If your laptop still seems to be functioning but the screen only displays a black screen, it could be a break in the cable joining the mainboard to the LCD panel. First connect a working external monitor & make sure the laptop is still functioning (besides the screen of course). If you get an image on the external monitor, it could be a fault with the panel or the cable. Both of these involve dismantling the laptop, so if you’re not experienced in doing this, please seek the professional help of a computer expert.

Incorrect Colours on the Screen

Incorrect or washed out colours could be a sign of a faulty LCD panel but could also be caused by bad RAM or graphics adapter. If after testing it turns out to be the graphics adapter at fault, most likely it’ll be part of the mainboard and can result in a costly repair. Replacing the board out of warranty is generally not economical as they’re an expensive part. Replacing a mainboard is a very intricate operation and not recommended to be done if not experienced. A computer technician or professional must be the one to handle such kind of problem.

Screen flickers on and off

The on and off flickering problem may be caused by a loose connection or a bad video cable. Breaks in the cable can happen due to opening and closing the screen and general wear and tear. A faulty LCD Inverter board (on older models) can also cause this problem. Hiring a computer technician or computer expert is highly recommended to determine the cause of this problem.

Laptop not turning on

Sometimes you can shut the computer down for the night and the next morning it just won’t turn on. This can happen on occasion and the first thing to try is to remove external power & also remove the battery. Next hold the power button down for around 30 seconds. Plug the power in & turn it on, if it turns on, then great! You can then connect the battery again.

If the laptop doesn’t turn on, it could have a fault somewhere, maybe try another power adapter if you have one or call a computer technician for help.

Laptops are very delicate and must be treated with care, however even with the utmost care, problem can still occur. Sometimes they ca be easily resolved but there are some which are more technical and assistance is required from a computer technician. If you aren’t sure or don’t feel confident to fix the problem yourself, seeking help from an expert will save you money in the long run.

CKP Computers can help you with all your laptop needs. Our number is 0447 619 397 or you can send us an enquiry, either through our contact page, by Facebook or by email, helpme@ckpcomputers.com.au.