How to Narrow Down a Problem When Troubleshooting

Created by Amy, Modified on Mon, 22 Apr at 1:22 PM by Amy

Whenever you are experiencing difficulty with your printer, and you want us try to troubleshoot it, the more information you can give us, the easier it is to solve the problem. For example, saying: "my printer isn't working," doesn't tell us anything that we can work with. But if you follow up that statement with others, it helps us narrow it down. Any issues that you might encounter with your printer break down into a few categories:

ELECTRICAL: Where and how is it plugged in? Are you at the right voltage for your printer? Any burned out or frayed wires anywhere?

ENVIRONMENTAL: What's the humidity like in your printer room? How about the temperature? Is the room clean or dirty? How about the unit? Is it clean or dirty? Any traces of pests?

INK SYSTEM: Is your ink still good? No clotting or signs of residue? How about your lines? Are they clear or are there any clogs?

OPERATIONAL: Are your printer's tension knobs set right? Is your dryer auger spinning? How is the seal on your caps and print heads?

PRINT MEDIA: Is your film properly aligned in the printer track? Is the film discolored or brittle?

SOFTWARE: Are you using the most current version of inEdit or whatever software you are using? Do you have both printing and ripping software? Is your software giving you any error messages?

So remember, the more information you can give us, the easier it is for us to diagnose what the problem could be. So instead of just saying: "My printer isn't working." Say something like:

"My printer isn't working. It won't power on at all."