Top 10 Problems With HP Printers and Their Solutions Despite being reliable printing machines and despite your best of efforts, HP printers often malfunction. Why? There can be multiple reasons for HP printers to malfunction and display error messages. Here we have listed 10 common HP printer problems and their solutions.
Toner smears or does not fix to the page Check the fuser. If it is nearing the end, replace it. If you don't know how to replace a fuser, refer to your HP printer support manual that originally came with the HP printer setup kit. Sometimes, fuser displays a Clean Fuser Input message. It is a clear indication that fuser needs a cleanup. Open the front door on your HP printer. Check if you see a blue brush inside there (there must be one). Take the toner cartridge out of the printer to reach the fuser input assembly. The assembly locates on top of the black toner cartridge port. Take the blue brush out and clean the assembly. The cleanup procedure is intended for a HP Color LaserJet 5500 printer. If you have a different printer, refer to its manual. If it's not fuser, it may be the toner cartridge which is either defective or nearing the end of its life. In that case also, you will need to replace it. If the toner is neither defective nor nearing end, clean the toner cartridge assembly. Paper Jams Paper jams are the commonest printer problems, not just with HP printers, but with all the printer brands and models. Paper jam can occur due to a number of reasons from torn paper bits, wrong paper tray selected, wrong paper type selected, loose paper roller, and to a lint of dust etc. Look carefully inside the paper tray and at the exit end of the print paper path. If there are any bits of paper stuck inside, remove them. Check that the paper tray has the right type of paper, that is listed in the control panel of the printer. If it is different, the printer will experience a paper jam problem. Make sure that the paper type matches what is in the printer properties. If not, correct it. Also, make sure that the printer prints to the right paper tray. Failure to which it will lead to a paper jam. If the roller seems to be loose, tighten it carefully. If the roller looks shiny, it may need a replacement. Besides, never pull paper in the opposite direction that it feeds in. Always pull it in the paper path direction. Windows sends print jobs to a wrong printer It happens when Windows selects a default printer by itself. If you are using Windows 7, click the Start button and point to Devices and Printers. You will see various printers listed under Printer and Faxes. Right-click the desired printer and click Set as default printer. If prompted, confirm the action and exit Devices and Printers. Restart your computer and printer. Test a print page and check back. Windows should print to the right printer now. If you are using Window XP, click the Start button and point to Control Panel. Double-click Hardware and Sound and then Printers. Look for the printer that you want to set as default, right-click it and then choose Set as Default Printer. Print Spooler service stops working This is again a common problem with HP printers. To get rid of this problem, click the Start button and point to Run. When in Run dialog box, type 'services.msc' (without quotes) and hit Enter. This will take you to the Services window. On the right hand side, look for Print Spooler, right-click it and select Restart. When prompted, confirm the action and exit the Services window. If prompted, restart your computer. When done, test a print page.