Troubleshooting

This chapter gives helpful information for what to do if you encounter an error. If your machine has a display screen, check the message on the display screen first to solve the error. If you cannot find a solution in this User's Guide or the problem consists, call for service.

This chapter includes:

Redistributing toner

When a toner is low, faded or light areas may appear. It is possible that colored images may be printed with incorrect colors due to flawed mixing of toner colors when the toner level of the colored toner cartridge is low. You can temporarily improve print quality by redistributing the toner.

The toner-related message saying that the toner is low may appear on the display.

Using the handle, completely open the front cover.

Do not touch the green surface, the OPC drum or the front of the toner cartridge, with your hands or any other material. Use the handle on each cartridge in order to avoid touching this area.
Be careful not to scratch the surface of the paper transfer belt.
If you leave the front cover open for more than a few minutes, the OPC drum can be exposed to light. This will cause damage to the OPC drum. Close the front cover when the installation need to be halted for any reason.

Press the green release handle to release the paper transfer belt. Holding the handle on the paper transfer belt, lift it out of the machine.

Grasp the handles on the toner cartridge and pull the cartridge out.


	If you open the front cover, be careful not to touch the underneath the control panel (the lower part of the fuser unit). The temperature of the fuser unit might be high and could damage your skin.


	When you open the front cover and work inside the machine, it is highly recommend that you remove the paper transfer belt first. Because the work you do could contaminate the paper transfer belt.

Holding both handles on the toner cartridge, thoroughly rock it from side to side to redistribute the toner.


	If toner gets on your clothing, wipe it off with a dry cloth and wash clothing in cold water. Hot water sets toner into fabric.

Slide the toner cartridge back into the machine.
Holding the handle on the paper transfer belt, align it with the slots on the inside of the front cover.
Lower the paper transfer belt until it is parallel with the front cover and firmly seated.

Close the front cover. Ensure that the cover is securely closed.


	If the front cover is not completely closed, the machine will not operate.

Tips for avoiding paper jams

By selecting the correct media types, most paper jams can be avoided. When a paper jam occurs, refer to the next guidelines.

Ensure that the adjustable guides are positioned correctly. (See Loading paper in the tray.)

Do not overload the tray. Ensure that the paper level is below the paper capacity mark on the inside of the tray.
Do not remove paper from the tray while your machine is printing.
Flex, fan, and straighten paper before loading.
Do not use creased, damp, or highly curled paper.
Do not mix paper types in a tray.
Use only recommended print media. (See Setting the paper size and type.)
Ensure that the recommended side of the print media is facing up in the tray, or facing down in the multi-purpose tray.
If paper jams occur frequently when you print on A5/B5-sized paper: Load the paper into the tray with the long edge facing the front of the tray.

If load the paper this way, printing both sides of the paper (duplex) is not supported.

In the Printing Preferences window, set the page orientation to be rotated 180 degrees. (See Opening printing preferences.)

Clearing paper jams

When a paper jam occurs, a warning message appears on the display.


	To avoid tearing the paper, pull the jammed paper out slowly and gently. Follow the instructions in the following sections to clear the jam.

In tray 1


	Click this link to open an animation about clearing a jam.

If paper is jammed in the paper feed area, follow the next steps to release the jammed paper.

Using the handle, completely open the front cover.
Carefully remove the paper by pulling in the direction as shown below.

Close the front cover.


	If the front cover is not completely closed, the machine will not operate.

Pull out tray 1.
Remove the jammed paper by gently pulling it straight out as shown below.
Insert tray 1 back into the machine until it snaps into place. Printing automatically resumes.

In optional trays


	Click this link to open an animation about clearing a jam.


	This part explains the method of removing the jammed paper in the optional tray 2. Please refer to the next method for other optional trays, since the method is same as the optional tray 3.

Pull out optional tray 2 open.
Remove the jammed paper from the machine.

If the paper does not move when you pull or if you do not see the paper in this area, stop and go to the next step.
Open the front cover.
Pull the jammed paper out in the direction shown. To avoid tearing the paper, pull it out gently and slowly.

Close the front cover and insert the trays back into the machine. Printing automatically resumes.


	If the front cover is not completely closed, the machine will not operate.

In the multi-purpose tray


	Click this link to open an animation about clearing a jam.


	When you print using the multi-purpose tray and the machine detects that there is either no paper or that the paper has been improperly loaded, follow the next steps to release the jammed paper.

If the paper is not feeding properly, pull the paper out of the machine.

If you do not see the jammed paper or if there is any resistance when you pull, stop and go to step 3.

Open and close the front cover to resume printing.


	If the front cover is not completely closed, the machine will not operate.

Using the handle, completely open the front cover.

Remove the jammed paper by pulling in the direction shown. To avoid tearing the paper, pull it out gently and slowly.

Do not touch the green surface, the OPC drum or the front of the toner cartridge, with your hands or any other material. Use the handle on each cartridge in order to avoid touching this area.
Be careful not to scratch the surface of the paper transfer belt.
If you leave the front cover open for more than a few minutes, the OPC drum can be exposed to light. This will cause damage to the OPC drum. Close the front cover when the installation need to be halted for any reason.

Close the front cover to resume printing.


	If the front cover is not completely closed, the machine will not operate.

In the fuser unit area


	Click this link to open an animation about clearing a jam.


	The fuser area is hot. Take care when removing paper from the machine.

Open the top cover.

Open the inner cover using the handle on it.


	Do not touch the fuser inside the inner cover. It is hot and could cause burns! The fuser's operating temperature is 180°C (356°F). Take care when removing paper from the machine.

Pull up the paper jam lever to loose the fusing part of the fuser unit and carefully take the jammed paper out of the machine.
Press down the paper jam lever to fasten the fusing part.
Close the inner cover.
After removing the jammed paper, check for paper which may be jammed in other parts of the machine.

Close the top cover. Ensure that the cover is securely closed.


	If the top cover is not completely closed, the machine will not operate.

In exit area


	Click this link to open an animation about clearing a jam.

Open and close the front cover. The jammed paper is automatically ejected from the machine.
Gently pull the paper out of the output tray.

If you do not see the jammed paper or if there is any resistance when you pull, stop and see In the fuser unit area.

Open and close the front cover to resume printing.


	If the front cover is not completely closed, the machine will not operate.

In the duplex unit area


	Click this link to open an animation about clearing a jam.

Using the handle, completely open the front cover.


	Be careful not to scratch the surface of the paper transfer belt.

Press the green release handle to release the paper transfer belt. Holding the handle on the paper transfer belt, lift it out of the machine.
Remove the jammed paper by pulling in the direction shown. To avoid tearing the paper, pull it out gently and slowly.
Holding the handle on the paper transfer belt, align it with the slots on the inside of the front cover.
Lower the paper transfer belt until it is parallel with the front cover and firmly seated.

Close the front cover to resume printing.


	If the front cover is not completely closed, the machine will not operate.

Understanding display messages

Messages appear on the control panel display to indicate the machine’s status or errors. Some error messages are shown with graphics to help you troubleshoot problem.

Checking display messages

When errors occur, Check Status appears on the display and press OK.
Check the display message to see what kind of error has occured.

If several messages appear, press the up/down arrow to highlight the message you want solve.
Press OK on the control panel.

Refer to the tables below to understand the messages’ and their meaning, and solve the problem, if necessary.

If Check Status still appears, repeat above steps.
If a message is not in the table, reboot the power and try the printing job again. If the problem persists, call for service.
When you call for service, provide the service representative with the contents of display message.
Some messages may not appear in the display depending on options or models.
[aaa] indicates the error code. When you contact the service center, this error code help to handle the problem.
[ccc] indicates the part of the each toner cartridge.
[xxx] indicates the media type.
[yyy] indicates the tray.
[zzz] indicates the paper size.

Message

Meaning

Solving other problems

The following chart lists some conditions that may occur and the recommended solutions. Follow the suggested solutions until the problem is corrected. If the problem persists, call for service.

Paper feeding problems

Condition	Suggested solutions
Paper jams during printing.	Clear the paper jam. (See Clearing paper jams.)
Paper sticks together.	Check the maximum paper capacity of the tray. (See Print media specifications .) Make sure that you are using the correct type of paper. (See Print media specifications .) Remove paper from the tray and flex or fan the paper. Humid conditions may cause some paper to stick together.
Multiple sheets of paper do not feed.	Different types of paper may be stacked in the tray. Load paper of only one type, size, and weight.
Paper does not feed into the machine.	Remove any obstructions from inside the machine. Paper has not been loaded correctly. Remove paper from the tray and reload it correctly. There is too much paper in the tray. Remove excess paper from the tray. The paper is too thick. Use only paper that meets the specifications required by the machine. (See Print media specifications .)
The paper keeps jamming.	There is too much paper in the tray. Remove excess paper from the tray. If you are printing on special materials, use the multi-purpose tray. An incorrect type of paper is being used. Use only paper that meets the specifications required by the machine. (See Print media specifications .) There may be debris inside the machine. Open the front cover and remove any debris.
Transparencies stick together in the paper exit.	Use only transparencies specifically designed for laser printers. Remove each transparency as it exits from the machine.
Envelopes skew or fail to feed correctly.	Ensure that the paper guides are against both sides of the envelopes.

Printing problems

Condition

Possible cause

Printing quality problems

If the inside of the machine is dirty or paper has been loaded improperly, there might be a reduction in print quality. See the table below to clear the problem.

Condition	Suggested Solutions
Light or faded print	If a vertical white streak or faded area appears on the page, the toner supply is low. You may be able to temporarily extend the toner cartridge life. (See Redistributing toner.) If this does not improve the print quality, install a new toner cartridge. The paper may not meet paper specifications; for example, the paper may be too moist or rough. (See Print media specifications .) If the entire page is light, the print resolution setting is too low or the toner save mode is on. Adjust the print resolution and turn the toner save mode off. See the help screen of the printer driver. A combination of faded or smeared defects may indicate that the toner cartridge needs cleaning. (See Cleaning the inside.) The surface of the LSU part inside the machine may be dirty. (See Cleaning the inside.)
The top half of the paper is printed lighter than the rest of the paper	The toner might not adhere properly to this type of paper. Change the printer option and try again. Go to the Printing Preferences, click the Paper tab, and set the paper type to Recycled.
Toner specks	The paper may not meet specifications; for example, the paper may be too moist or rough. (See Print media specifications .) The transfer roller may be dirty. Clean the inside of your machine. Contact a service representative. The paper path may need cleaning. Contact a service representative.
Dropouts	If faded areas, generally rounded, occur randomly on the page: A single sheet of paper may be defective. Try reprinting the job. The moisture content of the paper is uneven or the paper has moist spots on its surface. Try a different brand of paper. (See Print media specifications .) The paper lot is bad. The manufacturing processes can cause some areas to reject toner. Try a different kind or brand of paper. Change the printer option and try again. Go to Printing Preferences, click Paper tab, and set type to Thick. (See Opening printing preferences.) If these steps do not correct the problem, contact a service representative.
White Spots	If white spots appear on the page: The paper is too rough and a lot of dirt from a paper falls to the inner devices within the machine, so the transfer roller may be dirty. Clean the inside of your machine. (See Cleaning the inside.). The paper path may need cleaning. (See Cleaning the inside.)
Vertical lines	If black vertical streaks appear on the page: The surface (drum part) of the toner cartridge inside the machine has probably been scratched. Remove the toner cartridge and install a new one. (See Replacing the toner cartridge.) If white vertical streaks appear on the page: The surface of the LSU part inside the machine may be dirty. (See Cleaning the inside.)
Color or Black background	If the amount of background shading becomes unacceptable: Change to a lighter weight paper. (See Print media specifications .) Check the environmental conditions: very dry conditions (low humidity) or a high level of humidity (higher than 80% RH) can increase the amount of background shading. Remove the old toner cartridge and, install a new one. (See Replacing the toner cartridge.)
Toner smear	If toner smears on the page: Clean the inside of the machine. (See Cleaning the inside.) Check the paper type and quality. (See Print media specifications .) Remove the toner cartridge and then, install a new one. (See Replacing the toner cartridge.)
Vertical repetitive defects	If marks repeatedly appear on the printed side of the page at even intervals: The toner cartridge may be damaged. If you still have the same problem, remove the toner cartridge and, install a new one. (See Replacing the toner cartridge.) Parts of the machine may have toner on them. If the defects occur on the back of the page, the problem will likely correct itself after a few more pages. The fusing assembly may be damaged. Contact a service representative.
Background scatter	Background scatter results from bits of toner randomly distributed on the printed page. The paper may be too damp. Try printing with a different batch of paper. Do not open packages of paper until necessary so that the paper does not absorb too much moisture. If background scatter occurs on an envelope, change the printing layout to avoid printing over areas that have overlapping seams on the reverse side. Printing on seams can cause problems. If background scatter covers the entire surface area of a printed page, adjust the print resolution through your software application or in Printing Preferences. (See Opening printing preferences.)
Toner particles are around bold characters or pictures	The toner might not adhere properly to this type of paper. Change the printer option and try again. Go to the Printing Preferences, click the Paper tab, and set the paper type to Recycled.
Misformed characters	If characters are improperly formed and producing hollow images, the paper stock may be too slick. Try different paper. (See Print media specifications .) If characters are improperly formed and producing a wavy effect, the scanner unit may need service. Contact a service representative.
Page skew	Ensure that the paper is loaded properly. Check the paper type and quality. (See Print media specifications .) Ensure that the guides are not too tight or too loose against the paper stack.
Curl or wave	Ensure that the paper is loaded properly. Check the paper type and quality. Both high temperature and humidity can cause paper curl. (See Print media specifications .) Turn the stack of paper over in the tray. Also try rotating the paper 180° in the tray.
Wrinkles or creases	Ensure that the paper is loaded properly. Check the paper type and quality. (See Print media specifications .) Turn the stack of paper over in the tray. Also try rotating the paper 180° in the tray.
Back of printouts are dirty	Check for leaking toner. Clean the inside of the machine. (See Cleaning the inside.) Clean the fuser belt. (See Cleaning a fuser belt.) The toner cartridge is almost empty.
Solid Color or Black pages	The toner cartridge may not be installed properly. Remove the cartridge and reinsert it. The toner cartridge may be defective. Remove the toner cartridge and install a new one. (See Replacing the toner cartridge.) The machine may require repair. Contact a service representative.
Loose toner	Clean the inside of the machine. (See Cleaning the inside.) Check the paper type and quality. (See Print media specifications .) Remove the toner cartridge and then, install a new one. (See Replacing the toner cartridge.) If the problem persists, the machine may require repair. Contact a service representative.
Character Voids	Character voids are white areas within parts of characters that should be solid black: If you are using transparencies, try another type of transparency. Because of the composition of transparencies, some character voids are normal. You may be printing on the wrong surface of the paper. Remove the paper and turn it around. The paper may not meet paper specifications. (See Print media specifications .)
Horizontal stripes	If horizontally aligned black streaks or smears appear: The toner cartridge may be installed improperly. Remove the cartridge and reinsert it. The toner cartridge may be defective. Remove the toner cartridge and install a new one. (See Replacing the toner cartridge.) If the problem persists, the machine may require repair. Contact a service representative.
Curl	If the printed paper is curled or paper does not feed into the machine: Turn the stack of paper over in the tray. Also try rotating the paper 180° in the tray. Change the printer option and try again. Go to Printing Preferences, click Paper tab, and set type to Thin. (See Opening printing preferences.)
An unknown image repetitively appears on a few sheets or loose toner, light print, or contamination occurs.	Your machine is probably being used at an altitude of 1,000 m (3,281 ft) or above.The high altitude may affect the print quality, such as loose toner or light imaging. Change the correct altitude setting to your machine. (See Altitude adjustment.)

Common PostScript problems

The following situations are PS language specific and may occur when several printer languages are used.

Problem	Possible cause	Solution
PostScript file cannot be printed.	The PostScript driver may not be installed correctly.	Install the PostScript driver. (See Installing the driver locally.) Print a configuration page and verify that the PS version is available for printing. If the problem persists, contact a service representative.
“Limit Check Error” report prints.	The print job was too complex.	You might need to reduce the complexity of the page or install more memory. (See Installing a memory module.)
A PostScript error page prints.	The print job may not be PostScript.	Make sure that the print job is a PostScript job. Check to see whether the software application expected a setup or PostScript header file to be sent to the machine.
The optional tray is not selected in the driver.	The printer driver has not been configured to recognize the optional tray.	Open the PostScript driver properties, select the Device Options tab, and set the tray option.
When printing a document in Macintosh with Acrobat Reader 6.0 or higher, colors print incorrectly.	The resolution setting in the printer driver may not be matched with the one in Acrobat Reader.	Make sure that the resolution setting in your printer driver matches the one in Acrobat Reader.

Common Windows problems

Condition	Suggested solutions
“File in Use” message appears during installation.	Exit all software applications. Remove all software from the printer’s startup group, then restart Windows. Reinstall the printer driver.
“General Protection Fault”, “Exception OE”, “Spool 32”, or “Illegal Operation” messages appear.	Close all other applications, reboot Windows and try printing again.
“Fail To Print”, “A printer timeout error occurred” messages appear.	These messages may appear during printing. Just keep waiting until the machine finishes printing. If the message appears in standby mode or after printing has been completed, check the connection and/or whether an error has occurred.


	Refer to Microsoft Windows User’s Guide that came with your computer for further information on Windows error messages.

Common Linux problems

condition	Suggested solutions
The machine does not print.	Check if the printer driver is installed in your system. Open Unified Driver Configurator and switch to the Printers tab in Printers configuration window to look at the list of available machines. Make sure that your machine is displayed on the list. If not, open Add new printer wizard to set up your device. Check if the machine is started. Open Printers configuration and select your machine on the printers list. Look at the description in the Selected printer pane. If its status contains Stopped string, press the Start button. After that normal operation of the machine should be restored. The “stopped” status might be activated when some problems in printing occurred. Check if your application has special print option such as “-oraw”. If “-oraw” is specified in the command line parameter, then remove it to print properly. For Gimp front-end, select “print” -> “Setup printer” and edit command line parameter in the command item.
Some color images come out all black.	This is a known bug in Ghostscript (until GNU Ghostscript version 7.05) when the base color space of the document is indexed color space and is converted through CIE color space. Because Postscript uses CIE color space for Color Matching System, you should upgrade Ghostscript on your system to at least GNU Ghostscript version 7.06 or later. You can find recent Ghostscript versions at www.ghostscript.com.
Some color images come out in unexpected colors.	This is a known bug in Ghostscript (until GNU Ghostscript version 7.xx) when the base color space of the document is indexed RGB color space and it is converted through CIE color space. Because Postscript uses CIE color space for Color Matching System, you should upgrade Ghostscript on your system to at least GNU Ghostscript version 8.xx or later. You can find recent Ghostscript versions at www.ghostscript.com.
The machine does not print whole pages, and output is printed on half the page.	It is a known problem that occurs when a color machine is used on version 8.51 or earlier of Ghostscript, 64-bit Linux OS, and has been reported to bugs.ghostscript.com as Ghostscript Bug 688252.The problem is solved in AFPL Ghostscript v. 8.52 or above. Download the latest version of AFPL Ghostscript from http://sourceforge.net/projects/ghostscript/ and install it to solve this problem.
I encounter error “Cannot open port device file” when printing a document.	Avoid changing print job parameters (via LPR GUI, for example) while a print job is in progress. Known versions of CUPS (Common Unix Printing System) server break the print job whenever print options are changed and then try to restart the job from the beginning. Since Unified Linux Driver locks the port while printing, the abrupt termination of the driver keeps the port locked and unavailable for subsequent print jobs. If this situation occurs, try to release the port by selecting Release port in Port configuration window.
When printing a document over the network in SuSE 9.2, the printer does not print.	The CUPS (Common Unix Printing System) version distributed with SuSE Linux 9.2 (cups-1.1.21) has a problem with ipp (Internet Printing Protocol) printing. Use the socket printing instead of ipp or install later version of CUPS (Common Unix Printing System) (cups-1.1.22 or higher).


	Refer to Linux User’s Guide that came with your computer for further information on Linux error messages.

Common Macintosh problems

condition


	Refer to Macintosh User’s Guide that came with your computer for further information on Macintosh error messages.