No matter how many times you have used your printer without a problem in the world, it is a safe bet that the time when you need it most is the precise moment that the silly machine will start acting up. As you are frantically striking keys and clicking buttons, it just sits over there next to the computer in silent oblivion. But, before you take a baseball bat to the contraption, here are a few ideas to consider that may help you out of your printing jam.



First let's look at your printer driver. No, your driver is not the guy that drives you to a fancy occassion. The printer driver communicates between your software and printer. If this printer driver is missing either due to a power surge or system crash then you need to reinstall it. Or if you have connected a new printer to your computer you need to make sure that the printer driver for the new printer is installed. Otherwise your computer will ignore your new printer.

Sometimes, the printer just plain runs out of ink. You can generally find this out by clicking on the properties icon of your printer. If the printer is out of ink, you will need to replace it with the same ink cartridge as is in the printer. It is a good idea to take the old cartridge with you to the store when buying the ink because there are a lot to choose from and it is easy to pick up the wrong one.

Check the ink level in your print. Is it out? If it is then you need to head to the office supply store for a new ink cartridge. Make sure write down the name or even bring the old ink cartridge to the store so that you buy the correct ink cartridge. This is a good idea because it is easy to purchase the incorrect ink cartridge.

Let's say you hit "print" and then realized that you don't have any paper in the printer. You may be tempted to stick more paper in the printer while the print job is initiating. However, this doesn't always work. The safest bet is to hit the reset button or paper feed after you put in the paper. You can also cancel the print job and start over.

A more obvious cause of your printer not be able to print stems from the computer to printer connection. It is vital that these to items are connected or you are sending your print job to thin air. Check the physical connection between your computer and printer.

Remember that when you deal with changing the physcial connections on your computer and printer that you should shut down your computer before doing so. This is important because some computer operating systems go haywire or don't work properly if you fiddle with the connections while the computer is on. Restarting your computer after shutdown will help aleviate many computer problems.

However, it may confuse your computer and send it into a tizzy if you just plug the cord back in so it is best to play it safe and turn the computer off first. Then, just reattach it and restart your computer.

Dealing with the moodiness of your printer can be avoided if you go through the possible causes listed above. Of course printing problems occur at the worst moment possible, but you can make life better by remaining cool and collected. Try this solutions and if they don't work then maybe your printer is ready for the printing graveyard.