What You Should Know About Printer Problems

Outdated printer drivers will completely prohibit your computer from processing print jobs, thereby shutting down your printer functionality. When these printer drivers are outdated, you run into a variety of problems which can cause headaches for anyone on a deadline.

Let’s also keep in mind that printer driver errors are often responsible for the terrible Print Spooler Error, which prevents the computer from storing print jobs or adding them to the queue.

Here are some of the most popular printer brands. If your printer is made by any of these manufacturers and you’re encountering problems, then read on, because this article has the solutions.

Major Printer Manufacturers:

• Canon, Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, Brother, Dell, Epson, Lexmark, Samsung

Some Examples of Printer Issues You Might Run Into

Let’s keep in mind that printer errors can occur for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, mechanical or hardware issues cause the printer to malfunction. For example, low ink or toner, a misaligned print carriage, paper issues, or broken components can all contribute to a faulty printer. However, it’s usually pretty easy to detect whether this is the problem.

List of Printer Problems

• Low Ink – Empty or low ink cartridges will prevent you from being able to print fully robust print jobs.
• Low Toner – Low toner will affect your ability to color balance and juxtapose text.
• Print Spooler Error – This problem interferes with the ability to queue and store print jobs.

That’s because when you try to print, if something is wrong, your computer will notify you by displaying a simple dialog box. For example, if you’re out of ink, it’ll usually display the following text: The printer is out of ink.

However, it can be a little more difficult to diagnose problems related to drivers or software. But it’s not impossible. If you open up Device Manager, which is located within Control Panel, you will see a list of your computer’s peripherals and devices. This includes your printer. Normally, you’ll see a green check mark displayed on the printer icon.

However, if you see a red “x” or a yellow exclamation mark in a triangle, you will know that you are most likely dealing with outdated drivers. This means that you’ve got to take immediate action by updating or fixing your drivers. How does one do this?

Basics Regarding Printer Driver Updates

Well, first of all, it’s good to understand what printer drivers are and how they work. Drivers are actually a type of software that works to translate the information from your printer and make it comprehensible to your computer. In other words, drivers allow your computer and printer to communicate with one another. Now, you can probably understand just why it’s so important that drivers be updated.

The question is: how does one go about updating printer drivers? Well, there are generally two options.

The first option is to attempt a manual update of the printer drivers. This requires extensive technical knowledge as well as a lot of time. That’s because manual installations sometimes require tinkering with Device Properties, or even with the registry. You’ve got to acquire the proper drivers straight from the manufacturer, then you have to install them, and after all of that comes the very difficult technical maneuvering.

Quick Run-Through of Installing Printer Drivers

The first thing that you must do when you install printer drivers is find the type of printer that you need to get drivers for. There are some printers that work as an auto-install. All you have to do is plug the USB cord into your device and the drivers and software should be good to go.
In certain cases, this might not always work because you have an operating system that is not compatible with your computer. In that case, you want to go to the manufacturer’s website. Most major manufacturers have a plethora of downloads and updates. The tricky part is figuring out which one is right for you.

1. Identify the make and model of your computer.
2. Navigate to the support section that has downloads.
3. Find the driver downloads for your exact model.
4. Download the drivers.
5. Save it to an easy spot.
6. Open the file and run the program.

The other option is to automatically update drivers. This is generally a more appropriate route for people who have average computer know-how. Automatic driver can be accomplished in very little time. They are a good option for people on busy schedules, and for people who need to fix their printers quickly.

Printer Driver Resources

• NCEAS published an excellent page about installing several different kinds of printer drivers
• If you are running Linux, the company is very helpful with providing information about installing printer drivers on their OS.

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