## Troubleshooting

This chapter gives helpful information for what to do if you encounter an error.

This chapter includes:

- Redistributing toner

- Tips for avoiding paper jams

- Clearing paper jams

- Solving other problems

## Redistributing toner

When the toner cartridge is near the end of its life:

- White streaks or light printing occurs.

- The Status LED blinks red.

If this happens, you can temporarily improve print quality by redistributing the remaining toner in the cartridge. In some cases, white streaks or light printing will still occur even after you have redistributed the toner.

1. Open the scan unit.

2. Open the inner cover.

3. Pull the toner cartridge out.

4. Thoroughly roll the cartridge five or six times to distribute the toner evenly inside the cartridge.

   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.

   Do not touch the drum in the toner cartridge or imaging unit. Use the handle on the cartridge to avoid touching this area.

5. Hold the toner cartridge by the handle and slowly insert the cartridge into the opening in the machine.

   The tabs on the sides of the cartridge and corresponding grooves within the machine will guide the cartridge into the correct position until it locks into place completely.

6. Close the inner cover and the scan unit completely in order. Ensure that they are securely closed.

## 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 guidelines below:

- 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.

- Ensure that the recommended side of the print media is facing the right side (See Loading paper in the tray).

- If duplexing, print one sheet at a time using Start button (See Printing on both sides of the paper (Manual)).

- If you are printing on a special paper, print one sheet at a time using Start button (See Manual feeding in the tray).

## Clearing paper jams

If a paper jam occurs, the Status LED on the control panel lights orange. Find and remove the jammed paper.

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

1. Scan unit

2. Inner cover

### In the tray

1. Open the scan unit first, and then the inner cover.

2. Close the inner cover. The jammed paper is automatically ejected from the machine.

   If the paper does not eject, go to the next step.

3. Remove the jammed paper by gently pulling it straight out.

   If the paper does not move when you pull, or if you do not see the paper in this area, check inside the machine (See Inside the machine).

4. Close the inner cover and the scan unit in order. Printing automatically resumes.

### Inside the machine

The fuser area is hot. Be careful when removing paper from this area to prevent getting your fingers burnt.

1. Open the scan unit first, and then the inner cover.

2. Close the inner cover. The jammed paper is automatically ejected from the machine.

   If the paper does not eject, go to the next step.

3. Open the inner cover.

4. Open the fuser unit cover.

5. Remove the jammed paper by gently pulling it straight out.

   If you do not see the jammed paper, go to the next step.

6. Pull the toner cartridge out.

7. Remove the jammed paper by gently pulling it straight out.

8. Insert the toner cartridge back into the machine.

9. Close the inner cover and the scan unit in order. Printing automatically resumes.

## Solving other problems

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

Other problems include:

- See Power problems.

- See Paper feeding problems.

- See Printing problems.

- See Printing quality problems.

- See Copying problems.

- See Scanning problems.

- See Lenovo Scan and Fax Manager Problem.

- See Common Windows problems.

- See Common Linux problems.

- See Common Macintosh problems.

### Power problems

Condition | Suggested solutions
--- | ---
The machine is not receiving power, or the connection cable between the computer and the machine is not connected properly. |

- Plug in the power cord and press Power button on the control panel.

- Disconnect the machine cable and reconnect it.

  - For Local Printing

### 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, replace with a new stack.

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 manual feeder.

- 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. Clean the machine inside (See Cleaning the inside).

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 | Suggested solutions
--- | --- | ---
The machine does not print. | The machine is not receiving power. | Check the power cord connections.
The machine is not selected as the default machine. | Select your machine as your default machine in your Windows.
Check the machine for the followings:

- The scan unit is not closed. Close the scan unit.

- Paper is jammed. Clear the paper jam (See Clearing paper jams).

- No paper is loaded. Load paper (See Loading paper in the tray).

- The toner cartridge is not installed. Install the toner cartridge.

If a system error occurs, contact a service representative.

The connection cable between the computer and the machine is not connected properly. | Disconnect the machine cable and reconnect it.
The connection cable between the computer and the machine is defective. | If possible, attach the cable to another computer that is working properly and print a job. You can also try using a different machine cable.
The port setting is incorrect. | Check the Windows printer settings to make sure that the print job is sent to the correct port. If the computer has more than one port, make sure that the machine is attached to the correct one.
The machine may be configured incorrectly. | Check the Printing Preferences to ensure that all of the print settings are correct (See Opening printing preferences).
The printer driver may be incorrectly installed. | Repair the machine software (See Installing USB connected machine’s driver).
The machine is malfunctioning. |

- Check the LEDs on the control panel to see if the machine is indicating a system error. If the error cannot be cleared, contact a service representative.

- Checking an error message is also possible from the Smart Panel on your computer (See Using the Smart Panel program).

The machine does not print. | The document size is so big that the hard disk space of the computer is insufficient to access the print job. | Allocate more hard disk space on your computer for spooling, and try printing.
The output tray is full. | It can hold up to 50 (80 g/m2) sheets of plain paper. Once the paper is removed from the output tray, the machine resumes printing.
The machine selects print materials from the wrong paper source. | The paper option that was selected in the Printing Preferences may be incorrect. | For many software applications, the paper source selection is found under the Paper tab within the Printing Preferences. Select the correct paper source. See the printer driver help scree. (See Opening printing preferences).
A print job is extremely slow. | The job may be very complex. | Reduce the complexity of the page or try adjusting the print quality settings.
Half the page is blank. | The page orientation setting may be incorrect. | Change the page orientation in your application. See the printer driver help screen.
The paper size and the paper size settings do not match. | Ensure that the paper size in the printer driver settings matches the paper in the tray.Or, ensure that the paper size in the printer driver settings matches the paper selection in the software application settings you use.
The machine prints, but the text is wrong, garbled, or incomplete. | The machine cable is loose or defective. | Disconnect the machine cable and reconnect. Try a print job that you have already printed successfully. If possible, attach the cable and the machine to another computer that you know works and try a print job. Finally, try a new machine cable.
The wrong printer driver was selected. | Check the application’s printer selection menu to ensure that your machine is selected.
The software application is malfunctioning. | Try printing a job from another application.
The operating system is malfunctioning. | Exit Windows and reboot the computer. Turn the machine off and back on again.
The machine prints, but the text is wrong, garbled, or incomplete. | If you are in a DOS environment, the font setting for your machine may be set incorrectly. | See Changing font setting.
Pages print, but they are blank. | The toner cartridge is defective or out of toner. | Redistribute the toner, if necessary. If necessary, replace the toner cartridge.
The file may have blank pages. | Check the file to ensure that it does not contain blank pages.
Some parts, such as the controller or the board, may be defective. | Contact a service representative.
The machine does not print PDF files correctly. Some graphics, text, or illustrations are missing. | Incompatibility between the PDF file and the Acrobat products. | Printing the PDF file as an image may enable the file to print. Turn on Print As Image from the Acrobat printing options.

It will take longer to print when you print a PDF file as an image.

The print quality of photos is not good. Images are not clear. | The resolution of the photo is very low. | Reduce the photo size. If you increase the photo size in the software application, the resolution will be reduced.
Before printing, the machine emits vapor near the output tray. | Using damp paper can cause vapor during printing. | This is not a problem. Just keep printing.
The machine does not print special- sized paper, such as billing paper. | Paper size and paper size setting do not match. | Set the correct paper size in the Edit... in the Paper tab in the Printing Preferences (See Opening printing preferences).

### 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 specification; 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).

Toner specks |

- The paper may not meet specification; 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 (See Clearing paper jams).

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).

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 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 fresh ream 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 quality 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).

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).
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 over.

- 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. You can select a correct altitude of your machine location (See Altitude adjustment).

### Copying problems

Condition | Suggested solution
--- | ---
Copies are too light or too dark. | Adjust darkness to lighten or darken the backgrounds of copies using Printer Settings Utility (See Changing the settings for each copy).
Smears, lines, marks, or spots appear on copies. |

- If the defects are on the original, adjust darkness to lighten the background of your copies using Printer Settings Utility (See Changing the settings for each copy).

- If there are no defects on the original, clean the scan unit (See Cleaning the scan unit).

Copy image is skewed. |

- Ensure that the original is face down on the scanner glass.

- Check that the copy paper is loaded correctly.

Blank copies print out. | Ensure that the original is face down on the scanner glass.
Image rubs off the copy easily. |

- Replace the paper in the tray with paper from a new package.

- In high humidity areas, do not leave paper in the machine for extended periods of time.

Frequent copy paper jams occur. |

- Fan the stack of paper, then turn it over in the tray. Replace the paper in the tray with a fresh supply. Check/adjust the paper guides, if necessary.

- Ensure that the paper is the proper paper weight.

- Check for copy paper or pieces of copy paper remaining in the machine after a paper jam has been cleared.

Toner cartridge produces fewer copies than expected before running out of toner. |

- Your originals may contain pictures, solids, or heavy lines. For example, your originals may be forms, newsletters, books, or other documents that use more toner.

- The scanner lid may be left open while copies are being made.

- Turn the machine off and back on.

### Scanning problems

Condition | Suggested solutions
--- | ---
The scanner does not work. |

- Make sure that you place the original to be scanned face down on the scanner glass.

- There may not be enough available memory to hold the document you want to scan. Try the Prescan function to see if that works. Try lowering the scan resolution rate.

- Check that the machine cable is connected properly.

- Make sure that the machine cable is not defective. Switch the cable with a known good cable. If necessary, replace the cable.

- Check that the scanner is configured correctly. Check scan setting in the SmarThru or the application you want to use to make certain that the scanner job is being sent to the correct port (for example, USB001).

The unit scans very slowly. |

- Check if the machine is printing received data. If so, scan the document after the received data has been printed.

- Graphics are scanned more slowly than text.

Message appears on your computer screen:

- Device can’t be set to the H/W mode you want.

- Port is being used by another program.

- Port is Disabled.

- Scanner is busy receiving or printing data. When the current job is completed, try again.

- Invalid handle.

- Scanning has failed.

- There may be a copying or printing job in progress. Try your job again when that job is finished.

- The selected port is currently being used. Restart your computer and try again.

- The machine cable may be improperly connected or the power may be off.

- The scanner driver is not installed or the operating environment is not set up properly.

- Ensure that the machine is properly connected and the power is on, then restart your computer.

- The USB cable may be improperly connected or the power may be off.

### Lenovo Scan and Fax Manager Problem

Condition | Suggested solution
--- | ---
Lenovo Scan and Fax Manager does not work. | Check your system requirements. Lenovo Scan and Fax Manager works in Windows and Mac OS (See System requirements).

### Common Windows problems

Condition | Suggested solutions
--- | ---
“File in Use” message appears during installation. | Exit all software applications. Remove all software from the 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 ready mode or after printing has been completed, check the connection and/or whether an error has occurred.

Refer to the 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 Start button. After that normal operation of the machine should be restored. The “stopped” status might be activated when some problems in printing occurred. For instance, this could be an attempt to print a document when the port is claimed by a scanning application.

- Ensure the port is not busy. Since functional components of machine (printer and scanner) share the same I/O interface (port), the situation of simultaneous access of different user applications to the same port is possible. To avoid possible conflicts, only one of them at a time is allowed to gain control over the device. The other user will encounter “device busy” response. You should open ports configuration and select the port assigned to your machine. In the Selected port pane you can see if the port is occupied by some other application. If this is the case, you should either wait for completion of the current job or press the Release port button, if you are sure that the present application is not functioning properly.

- 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.

- 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 a later version of CUPS (cups-1.1.22 or higher).

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 cannot scan via Gimp Front-end. | Check if Gimp Front-end has Xsane: Device dialog on the Acquire menu. If not, you should install Xsane plug-in for Gimp on the your computer. You can find Xsane plug-in package for Gimp on Linux distribution CD or Gimp home page. For the detailed information, refer to the Help for Linux distribution CD or Gimp Front-end application.

If you wish to use another kind of scan application, refer to application’s Help.

I encounter the “Cannot open port device file” error 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 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.
The machine does not appear on the scanners list. |

- Ensure your machine is attached to your computer, connected properly via the USB port, and is turned on.

- Ensure the scanner driver for your machine is installed in your system. Open Unified Linux Driver configurator, switch to Scanners configuration, then press Drivers. Make sure that driver with a name corresponding to your machine's name is listed in the window.

- Ensure the port is not busy. Since functional components of machine (printer and scanner) share the same I/O interface (port), the situation of simultaneous access of different user applications to the same port is possible. To avoid possible conflicts, only one of them at a time is allowed to gain control over the device. The other user will encounter “device busy” response. This usually happens when starting a scan procedure. An appropriate message box appears.

  To identify the source of the problem, open the Ports configuration and select the port assigned to your scanner, port's symbol /dev/mfp0 corresponds to LP:0 designation displayed in the scanners’ options, /dev/mfp1 relates to LP:1, and so on. USB ports start at /dev/mfp4, so scanner on USB:0 relates to /dev/mfp4 respectively and so forth sequentially. In the Selected port pane, you can see if the port is occupied by another application. If this is the case, you should either wait for completion of the current job or press the Release port button, if you are sure that the present port application is not functioning properly.

The machine does not scan. |

- Ensure a document is loaded into the machine, ensure your machine is connected to the computer.

- If there is an I/O error while scanning.

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

### Common Macintosh problems

condition | Suggested solutions
--- | ---
The machine does not print PDF files correctly. Some parts of graphics, text, or illustrations are missing. | Printing the PDF file as an image may enable the file to print. Turn on Print As Image from the Acrobat printing options.

It will take longer to print when you print a PDF file as an image.

The document has printed, but the print job has not disappeared from the spooler in Mac OS X 10.3.2. | Update your Mac OS to Mac OS X 10.3.3. or higher.
Some letters are not displayed normally during the Cover page printing. | Mac OS cannot create the font during the Cover page printing. The English alphabet and numbers are displayed normally on the Cover page.
When printing a document in Macintosh with Acrobat Reader 6.0 or higher, colors print incorrectly. | Make sure that the resolution setting in your machine driver matches the one in Acrobat Reader.

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