Computer Printer Repair

Dell printers are very popular for both their wide range in models and low price point. However, if you find that your Dell printer is acting up, or not working the way that it should, here are a few printer repair tips that you can try, to get your Dell printer back in working order.

Installing New Drivers
If you have recently purchased your Dell printer, but can't get it to respond when you try to print something, you may need to install some drivers. Drivers are small programs that allow your computer to interact with the new peripheral. The easiest way to download the drivers your computer needs to interact with the printer is to insert the CD that came with your computer into the CD-ROM drive and let the installation program run. However, if you have misplaced the CD that came with your printer, visit the Dell printer support page for Internet-based driver downloads. See Resources for a link.

Ink Spotting and Splotching
If you encounter frequent spotting or splotching on your documents when you use your Dell printer, then you need to do some routine cleaning on your printer's print head. The print head area is the place where the ink cartridges are contained and moved around. To clean the print head area, simply take a dry cloth (preferably lint-free) and wipe down the bars that control the movement of the printer cartridge container. After any excess dust/ink has been removed from these bars, remove the print cartridges and clean them by lifting up the protective film on the bottom and then gently rubbing a q-tip on the bottom (without damaging the bottom of the cartridge.) Lastly, use more q-tips to clean the cartridge module, before replacing the ink cartridges. Then try printing a test page to see if the spotting/splotching problem has subsided.

Paper Feed Issues
If you have a paper jam or the Dell printer is telling you that the printer is out of paper when the feed tray is full, then you probably have a problem with the spooler. Open the print head to expose the spooler, and check for jams. If you see some paper fibers wrapped around the spooler, turn the printer off, and then gently try to remove the paper with your hands (in the case of large sheets) or a pair of tweezers (in the case of small, winding fibers). Once you have cleared any jams, try cleaning the spooler off with a lint-free cloth, and double-checking its placement in the printer. If it seems crooked or off-center, try looking to the sides to try and find its rightful place. You can then either "click" it into place or tighten the side screws with an eyeglass screwdriver (depending on the model).

For your Hewlett Packard laser printer to run efficiently, you may have to install printer driver. Drivers link the computer and the printer through a common language.

Follow these steps to download drivers for an HP laser printer.

Make sure your printer is on before beginning. Log on to the Hewlett-Packard Web site (see Resources below).
Search for “downloading printer drivers” on the HP site. Look through the results, and select the one that corresponds to your printer and computer
Download the program that is appropriate. After the download is complete, install the application.
Use the Installation Wizard or install the new driver manually using the “Settings” and “Printers and Other Hardware” settings..

This post help you to Save ink and toner when printing in-progress documents with Windows XP. It provide printer support tips to print all documents in draft mode


Microsoft Word and some other programs offer a "Draft Mode", allowing you to print documents using less toner or ink than normal. These documents don't look as clean or as crisp as regular documents, but they are great for quickly printing out versions of your documents as you refine them.

You may want to turn on Draft Mode printing in other software so you can print and proof documents without using as much toner or ink. To do so:

1. Click "Start", then "Printers and Faxes".

2. When the "Printers and Faxes" window appears, right-click on a printer and choose "Properties".

3. When the "Properties" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, click the button "Printing Preferences".

4. From here, your printer's preference multi-tabbed dialog box should appear. Look through the various tabs, such as General or Main for a "Draft Mode" option. This may involve moving a Printer Quality slider towards "Speed" or "Fast Printing".

5. When done, press "OK" to close the dialog boxes.

To reverse the process when you need to print a professional document, perform steps 1-3 then uncheck the "Draft Mode" button or move the Printer Quality slider towards "Quality", as appropriate.

Allow DOS or older Windows programs that normally cannot access shared printers to use printers as LPT1 or LPT2 with Windows XP.This post provide computer printer support to configure a shared printer.

Some DOS programs or older software running under Windows XP may have difficulty printing to a shared printer. These software programs may be written so that they only recognize LPT1 and LPT2. If this is the case, you permanently link LPT1 or LPT2 to a shared printer, and see if this allows the software to print correctly.

1. Open the command prompt. Click "Start", choose "Run", type "cmd.exe" and press "OK".

2. At the command prompt, enter the following command:

net use lptX: \\PRINTSERVER\SHARENAME /persistent:yes

Replace X with 1 or 2 for LPT1 or LPT2.
Replace PRINTSERVER with the name of your print server.
Replace SHARENAME with the name of your printer share.

If you later want to disconnect a shared printer from LPT1 or LPT2, issue the following command at the command prompt:

net use lptX /delete

Replace X with 1 or 2 for LPT1 or LPT2.