A business printer is a staple in everyday operations for most companies. You need them for printing meeting agendas, reports, invoices, contracts, and more. That’s probably why an average office employee still prints a staggering 10,000 sheets of paper annually.
Now imagine your business printer malfunctioning in the middle of a busy day. Sure, you can file a service request immediately, but the technicians can rarely appear on-site as quickly as you need them. So what can you do?
Well, you can try to troubleshoot the issue and resolve it with tips from this guide. If you’re unsuccessful, at least you’ll know waiting for backup is the only viable solution.
What to Do Before Troubleshooting Common Business Printer Issues
It’s perfectly understandable for you to instantly believe your business printer is broken as soon as it doesn’t print or something else goes wrong. But before you call in tech support or start tinkering with the machine yourself, you should cover some basics:
- Is the business printer turned on?
- Does it have enough paper?
- Are all the cables connected properly?
- Are the printer ink and toner cartridges adequately installed (and not empty)?
If the answer to all these questions is a “yes,” something else is at play, and you should start troubleshooting the issue. Suppose at least one question has a negative answer. In this case, you’ve probably diagnosed (and resolved) the issue before calling for help.
5 Common Business Printer Issues and Their Possible Solutions
Check out the five most common issues arising with business printers and the steps you can take to resolve them on your own.
Issue #1: The Business Printer Won’t Print
Imagine this: your business printer is turned on, everything is where it’s supposed to be, and all the consumables (paper, ink, etc.) are filled to the brim. Yet, nothing happens when you press “Print.” This is probably the most common issue with printers (both business and personal); they simply won’t print.
Sometimes, you’ll get an error message notifying you of the issue. Other times, no paper will come out with no explanation at all.
If you must deal with this issue, hope for the first scenario. Why? Well, the error message on your control panel will often tell you where the issue lies and instruct you on how to resolve it. From there, it’s just a matter of following the proposed troubleshooting steps and hoping for the best.
When your business printer refuses to print without warning or explanation, you’re on your own. The first step should be turning the printer off, waiting for a few minutes, and restarting it. If the issue persists, do the following:
- Check whether you’ve selected the correct device for printing.
- Make sure your device and the business printer are connected to the correct network.
- Check whether the printer driver on your device has become corrupted. (If yes, reinstall it by downloading the latest version from the manufacturer’s website.)
Issue #2: My Device Won’t Connect to the Business Printer
The beauty of modern-day printers is that you can print your documents from virtually any device. Whether you prefer the old-school approach with a computer or are all about mobile printing, you can easily print your documents without leaving your office chair. Of course, this only applies if your device doesn’t experience connectivity issues with the business printer, which leads us to the second common issue with these printers.
Unfortunately, this issue has quite a wide range of potential causes, so it can be a bit trickier to resolve. But this doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel. Here’s what to do:
- Restart the printer. Sometimes, this simple action can resolve all the issues your business printer is experiencing, and connectivity is no different.
- Check whether the control panel is displaying any error messages. If so, follow the steps to resolve them.
- Ensure you’re running the latest printer driver version on your device. If not, install it promptly.
If these don’t take care of the problem, the issue is probably more complex and requires technical expertise. In other words, throwing in the towel and calling for help is OK.
Issue #3: Printing Takes Too Long
Let’s say you have no issues printing documents, but you do have a problem with how long it takes them to come out. If this is the case, here’s what to do to speed things up:
- If doable, move the business printer closer to the router to ensure better Wi-Fi performance and reduce printing time.
- Upgrade to a newer router model to boost your signal strength.
- Switch to a lower-quality printing mode. In cases where print quality isn’t the priority, printing in high-quality mode only wastes precious time.
- Print single-sided documents, as double-sided printing takes significantly more time.
- Upgrade your business printer to a newer and faster model.
Issue #4: The Print Quality Is Bad
If print quality is your priority, seeing things like grainy spots, faint lines, and smudges on the print job simply won’t do. Whether your business printer has done a poor job from the get-go or you’ve noticed a sudden degradation in quality, here’s what you can do to try and resolve this issue:
- Switch to the printing mode of the highest quality. Sure, this will take more time but also produce better results.
- Ensure you’re using the correct paper type for the job.
- Check whether the cartridge(s) are low in ink. If yes, replace them immediately.
When odd marks appear on every printed page, the issue probably lies in the print drum or paper feeder. This is where you should call in the backup.
Issue #5: Printing Is Too Expensive
Sometimes, your business printer is working just fine. But at what cost? If you notice printing has started to eat away at your budget, you should implement some cost-saving measures to help you keep printing expenses under control.
- Switch to a multifunction printer (MFP), as this handy device saves you money in more ways than one.
- Print documents in lesser quality, thus using less ink.
- Whenever possible, print documents in black and white.
- Switch to double-sided printing to save paper.
- Use higher-capacity cartridges that offer long-term savings.
- Monitor the usage of the business printer to keep personal printing at bay.
- Switch to managed print services, proven to lower costs and increase office printing.
A Solution to All Your Printing Problems
If your business is located in New York, Totowa, Pennsauken, Edison, or Fort Washington, then Docutrend can help you resolve all your business printer issues. Contact us today to get started.