Why Does My Printer Keep Jamming? Common Causes and Fixes

Simple fixes you can try

Work through these in order. None needs a tool.

• Check your paper. Fan a fresh ream, make sure it is not damp or curled and do not overfill the tray. Confirm the tray's paper size setting matches what is loaded.
• Clear jams properly. Pull jammed paper gently in the direction it normally moves, never backwards, and make sure no torn fragments are left behind.
• Look for debris. Open the trays and covers and check for stray scraps, staples or dust.
• Wipe the rollers. If you can reach them, gently clean the feed rollers with a lint free cloth lightly dampened with water. Built up dust stops them gripping.

When to call a technician

If you have tried the above and the jams keep coming, it is usually a sign of a worn part, such as the rollers, the separation pad or a fuser issue, that needs replacing. Persistent jams, recurring error codes or paper that crumples inside the machine are all signs to get it looked at before it does more damage.

That is where we come in. We provide on site printer and photocopier repairs across Brisbane, at your premises, with nothing posted off. Our technicians are trained, experienced and certified, and 98% of repairs are fixed on the first visit. Same day service available.

Habits that prevent jams

Most jam prevention is boring. Keep paper in its wrapper until you load it. Store it flat and off the floor. Do not mix brands or weights in one tray. Take staples and clips off originals before they go in the feeder. Tell the machine what you have loaded when you change the paper type, because the setting controls the heat and the speed of the paper path.

In a Brisbane summer, a ream left out on a shelf in a damp room can be the whole story. If jams get worse from November, check the paper store before the machine.

Where the jam happens tells you why

If you can say where it stops, you are most of the way to the cause. Tell us when you phone.

Paper types that cause jams

Labels, envelopes, card and heavy stock are harder on a machine than plain paper, and they need the right tray and the right setting. A label sheet that curls in the fuser can peel and jam the whole path. Recycled paper varies from batch to batch. Cheap paper that sheds dust into the machine wears the rollers faster.

If you print on special stock, tell the machine. The paper type setting controls the heat and the speed of the paper path, and the wrong one is a common cause of crumpled sheets.

Staples, clips and the document feeder

A staple that goes through the document feeder can damage the glass and jam the path. A sheet with a torn edge can catch and tear. Take staples and clips off originals before they go in, flatten folded corners and keep the feeder to the number of sheets it is built for.

When the cause is the fuser or a sensor

A jam near the fuser with creased or scorched paper points to a tired fuser. A jam that the machine reports but that has no paper in it points to a sensor, often one clogged with dust. Neither is a job to guess at. A fuser holds heat long after the machine is off, and a sensor is easy to damage. If your jams look like either, phone. Our technicians are trained, experienced and certified, they carry the common spare parts and 98% of repairs are fixed on the first visit.

A jam checklist for the office

• Keep paper sealed and off the floor.
• Do not mix brands, weights or types in a tray.
• Do not overfill the tray.
• Match the tray setting to the paper loaded.
• Clear a jam properly the first time, and look for scraps.
• Note where the jams happen and how often.
• Book a service if the same jam returns.

A short diagnosis

A typical story. A small office has a printer that jams a few times a week. They clear the jam, it works for an hour, then it jams again. When we ask where it jams, they say at the tray. When we ask about the paper, it is a ream that has sat open on a shelf all summer. The paper store is the first fix, the pickup roller the second. The office changes the paper habit, and we replace the roller on the next service. The jams stop.

Storing paper in Brisbane

Keep paper in its wrapper until you load it, store it flat and off the floor, and keep the cupboard dry. Do not leave a half used ream on top of the printer, where the machine's own heat dries one edge and the air takes up moisture on the other. In summer, load only what you will use in a day or two.

Front office or warehouse

The place the machine lives matters. A printer in a dusty warehouse office needs the feed path cleaned more often than one in a quiet front office. A machine near a window with afternoon sun runs warmer and fuses paper differently. If your machine jams at a particular time of day, tell us. It is useful information.

What a technician checks

When we come to a machine that jams, we start with the paper and the tray, then the pickup and feed rollers and the separation pad, then the path guides and the sensors, then the fuser and the duplex unit. We clear every scrap, clean the path and print test pages, and we replace what is worn. If the cause is the paper store, we say so, and the visit is a short one.

If it is a plotter or a label printer

The same principles apply to a plotter or a label printer, with different parts. A label printer jams when the stock is misaligned or the platen roller is worn, and a plotter when the media is not loaded straight. We repair both. See plotter service.

More on jams

Our fault guide photocopier paper jams in Brisbane goes further, with a table of where a jam stops and what it usually means. Fed up with clearing jams? Phone (07) 3073 5255 or use the contact page. We serve all of Brisbane: the inner west, the western suburbs and the Ipswich corridor, and the northside and southside too.

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