Each of us is faced with a huge amount of documents every day. Many work with printers, plotters and multifunctional devices at work or at home. It is quite natural that over time they begin to produce poor quality results. One of these problems is the appearance of streaks on the prints.
Reasons why the printer starts streaking
For inkjet and lasers, the reasons may be different, so the situation will also have to be corrected in different ways. Let's consider each of them.
Laser printer prints in stripes
In this case, a small amount of toner in the cartridge or a defect in the drum unit may be the cause. Therefore, it is best to call a specialist who will refuel it, and at the same time diagnose the operation of the device. If the problem is only a small level of toner and you do not have time to call a specialist, then you can remove the cartridge yourself. Before doing this, it is advisable to cover the furniture and floors, because toner can stain everything. Take out the cartridge and shake it lightly. This procedure is enough for you to print a maximum of 50 pages. In the future, you still have to call the master.
Inkjet printer prints in stripes
In the case of inkjets, there may be several reasons. First, ink also runs out. Secondly, due to prolonged inactivity and dye deposition, the print head can become clogged. Thirdly, the printhead ribbon cable may be faulty. Fourth, there is a malfunction of the print head.
The simplest thing in this case is the low level of the dye. To check this, you need to go into the dialog box of the printing device and find the corresponding tab there. Here you will see which color or cartridge needs to be replaced. If you are using a continuous ink supply system (CISS), it is much easier to control the level. Its transparent ink tanks are always in sight and you can easily refill them.
If the nozzles of the print head are clogged, it is necessary to carry out its prevention. Every inkjet printer has automatic nozzle cleaning. To do this, select the "Maintenance" function in the printer's dialog box and start the process. After completing the procedure, you need to print a control page. If the situation has not changed, you still have to contact the service center. Most often, this printhead will need to be replaced. But if you urgently need to print an important document, then you can carefully remove the sticker and inject ink using a regular medical syringe. Inject just as much as the cartridge is designed for to avoid overfilling.
Methods for cleaning the print head
There are several options for how to manually normalize the printhead. To do this, remove the cartridges and place them in a container with an alcohol-containing solution or 40% ethyl alcohol. Be sure to place the cartridge with the print head down. Leave it in this position for a few hours. After that, it will be necessary to purge.
If the print head is idle for a long time, you need to use another method. Try to hold it over the steam at a distance of 10-15cm for 10 seconds. The procedure is repeated about 5 times, at intervals, blowing the cartridge with a medical syringe.
If you install CISS, then this problem will not affect you. Thanks to the smooth movement of the ink, the print head is always full and therefore does not dry out. You can also fix this problem by using water soluble ink. They do not form sediment, which is the reason for clogging.
In addition, you can find special solutions for soaking cartridges. There are three types of such formulations:
- acidic - great for HP printhead;
- alkaline - suitable for Epson and Canon printheads;
- neutral.
If you failed to correct the situation, then it is better to contact technical support specialists. The wizards will help you set up the printer's work, as well as give advice on its effective use.
Encoder problem
A defect with white stripes at the same distance from each other indicates contamination of the tape or encoder disk. There are different degrees of disc clogging, and this affects how wide the stripes will be.
The encoder can be seen on the left side of the paper feed shaft. It is presented in the form of a transparent circle with markings applied to it. Dashes on the encoder can become covered with dust particles or dry ink particles, as a result of which the sensor does not perceive them, and the sheet is then positioned incorrectly. You should wipe the disc with a soft cloth, having moistened it beforehand, for example, with "Mister Muscle" for wiping windows with ammonia in the composition.
Note that in no case should you use acetone as a liquid, as the risk of removing the markings on the encoder increases.
An encoder tape and a special sensor are designed for positioning the carriage. In case of contamination of the encoder, parts of the text may go to the side at equal intervals. The ribbon is located along the main sheet feed shaft. It looks like a transparent stripe with lines. It should be wiped with care, as it can fly off the mounts, which will add difficulty.
What to do if a laser printer prints with stripes
But laser printers do not work around the problem, but in this case, most often the problem is associated with a malfunction of parts of the cartridge.
No toner left
Often, streaking occurs during printing due to the condition of such an important component as the cartridge. If you see white streaks stretching over the entire length of the page, and their width grows with each subsequent print, then it is safe to say that you are out of toner and need to refill the cartridge.
Fall damage
Probably the problem appeared when you accidentally dropped the cartridge on the floor or hit it on a hard surface, remember? If this was the case, it is quite possible that the rubber bands, which retain the powder and have the property of sealing, did not resist the impact. In this case, the toner from the damaged area simply scatters and thus leaves traces on the paper.
In this case, the longitudinal stripes are of different widths and occur anywhere. With such a problem, repairs are inevitable. Moreover, the cartridge may need to be replaced.
Waste Toner Box Overflow
What if a laser printer prints with stripes? If you notice dark dots, spots and lines that grow and merge into stripes during the printing process? This may indicate that waste toner is scattered from the hopper and may be overfilled. This means that your bunker is very dirty, and you should refill the cartridge using the services of a special service center.
The drum unit is worn or damaged
When the drum is worn out, a black stripe of discontinuous appearance appears along the edges of the paper, and its pattern is repeated. Wear consists in erasing a thin layer of varnish with a sheet with increased light sensitivity.
Mechanical damage to the drum is also possible. There is dust, paper clips, and other foreign objects. So black dots and lines appear, seemingly chaotically scattered over the paper. But they actually repeat themselves more than once.
Toner particles and squeegees can further damage the drum, resulting in increased defects and black streaks, which will definitely reduce print quality. Excess toner is poured into the cartridge and into the printer itself, and the squeegee is unable to remove the powder. Refurbish the cartridge.
Dispensing blade
Cyan streaks may be visible during printing. This means that the dispensing blade is not installed correctly and is leaking too much toner. Therefore, the cartridge must be refilled correctly.
Also, when the blade is dirty, the gap in some areas of the surface decreases, and the toner is difficult to pass through. Then pale and even white stripes appear in the longitudinal direction. Check how the blades are installed or consult a professional.
Drum and primary charge roller
There are situations when the powder spills out when filling the hopper and remains inside the cartridge. Toner will clog the drum contacts, producing gray streaks. Also, the contacts of the so-called primary charge roller are clogged, which forms black stripes located across the sheet. In addition, the drum begins to wear out, which is why stripes appear at the edges of the sheet.
The damage described above can also occur if the cartridge is overfilled with waste. This is where toner residue gets inside and erodes the roller surfaces.
A few more pressing problems can be seen in the video below - tips from professionals:
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can say that it is easy to see defects, but to understand the nuances is already more difficult. If you do not understand this at all, it is better to show the specialist a page with printing defects. He will determine and give you information on what to do if an inkjet or laser printer prints with stripes specifically in your case.
Often, users of MFPs and printers ask themselves the following question: why does the printer print in stripes? So, if the printer began to print with stripes, then keep in mind that there can be a lot of reasons for such a problem, and if you do not understand anything about the device of such office equipment, then we recommend that you familiarize yourself with our website in more detail or contact a professional for help. Otherwise, you can aggravate the state of your technique, creating additional problems with an illiterate approach.
Let's take a look at a few of the most common reasons a product might print in stripes. But right away, we note that the reasons that the printer strips depend on the type of device used. Below will be links to articles related to a particular type of printing device.
The cartridge is almost empty
Also, if streaking occurs when printing, be sure to check the level of dye in the print cartridge. To do this, you just need to run a special utility, which is necessarily supplied on the disk in one set with the printer itself. If, according to the results of the check, it turns out that the bin of consumables is practically empty, then you will have to either purchase a new cartridge or refill. After that, the refilled cartridge should stop printing in stripes.
Other possible problems
If the device produces stripes that appear in different places each time, then take into account that this problem may lie in the leakage of the cartridge hopper. For example, a mylar film could bend back and waste powder began to pour out from under it, creating a semblance of a vertical strip on the sheet. To check this, you should carefully take out the consumable, and then shake it. But if the printer strips in the same place, then one of the reasons for this problem is the shaft of the device, which could undergo deformation during operation. Also, violations could arise due to the fact that some foreign object, for example, a paper clip, got into the printing mechanism. In this case, carefully inspect the cartridge itself and the inside of the printing device. It often happens that when foreign objects enter, the thermal film breaks down. In this case, you will have to completely disassemble the device and make some pretty serious repairs. When disassembling, remember that some parts of the printer are quite fragile and you need to be extremely careful with them.
But what to do the printer prints with stripes and the above recommendations did not help? It should be noted that such a defect can also appear due to damage to the cartridge due to its dropping. In this case, contacts could be broken or the case damaged. You can solve the problem yourself only by buying a new consumable or by going through and replacing the damaged parts in the old one. But if even after that a strip or line appears on the sheet, it is possible that toner or ink drops remained inside the cartridge body during refilling. As a result of operation, the coloring matter can get on some parts of the mechanism and thus, even after refilling the cartridge, printing defects will appear on the sheets.
If the printer prints in stripes, what should I do? Another reason for this problem may lie in the contamination of the dispensing blade, which is a part located inside the cartridge. In this case, you need to do the following: disassemble the cartridge and wipe this blade made of a translucent material resembling rubber using a soft cloth previously moistened with a special liquid. Some craftsmen use acetone instead.
If the printed sheet is covered with black streaks, your waste bin may be full. Clean it thoroughly, after which it is advisable to refill the cartridge. Another reason could be damage to the drum unit - in this case, the only thing that can help is a complete replacement. read this article.
It would also be nice to refuel with high-quality and expensive dyes. After refilling your machine's cartridge, try printing a couple of test sheets. But if it is better not to get from this, then perhaps all the problems lie in the printer itself. High-quality diagnostics made by specialists of one of the service centers using the appropriate equipment will help to identify the cause. Of course, in this case, you will have to fork out, but it is better to restore the functionality of such office equipment than to buy a replacement, which will cost an order of magnitude more expensive than repair.
Why does the printer print in stripes? This is primarily due to the fact that as the printer "ages", the quality of the printed image deteriorates.
One of the most common printing defects is the appearance of stripes on paper - wide and narrow, one-color and multi-colored, horizontal, vertical, located in one place or, conversely, in different ones.
There are many reasons why the printer prints in stripes. Most often, this is trivial wear and tear of parts and contamination of the printing mechanism with ink particles.
However, first things first.
If you have an inkjet printer
Reasons for "striped" printing
Here are the main reasons for streaking when printing with any brand of inkjet printer:
- The ink is low.
- Ink has dried inside the print head.
- The print head is airy.
- The print head is defective or its ribbon cable is out of order.
Troubleshooting
1. Check the ink levels:
- run the printer management utility (if you do not have it, install it from the disk that came with the printer upon purchase or from the manufacturer's website);
- open the section "Service" or "Service";
- run an ink level check.
This is what the Estimated Ink Levels tab looks like in the HP Printer Management Utility
And so - in the Epson printer settings
In continuous ink supply systems (CISS), the level can be assessed visually, since the cans are transparent.
If the ink is low on ink, the cartridge needs to be replaced or refilled.
2. Clean the print head
The printheads can be in the cartridge or in the printer itself.
The first option is implemented in the bulk of Canon and HP models, the second - in Epson.
If you have a printer of the first type, you can simply change the cartridge to solve the problem.
In cases where replacement is impractical (the cartridge is not fully used), or is irrelevant (replacing the print head in Epson printers is comparable to the cost of buying a new printer), you can try to solve the problem by cleaning.
At home, it is best to do this programmatically:
- Insert a sheet of paper into the printer, launch the management utility and open the "Maintenance" ("Service") section.
- Clean the print head and check the nozzles (nozzles, or, in other words, "spray guns" from which ink comes out). These options are available in service programs for printers of any brand. Here are some examples:
Advice! If the problem persists, the cleaning should be repeated 1-2 more times. When this does not help, the dried ink can be removed from the print head with chemical liquids (at home, this is usually done by using "Mister Muscle").
If you have CISS, make sure that the holes through which air enters the cans are free. If filters are installed in them, check if they are dirty.
If air passes through the filters with difficulty, they must be replaced or removed.
Advice! If you rarely print, it is enough to turn on the printer at least once a week to prevent ink drying out. It is not necessary to print as some ink is forced through the nozzles of the print head after switching on. For a week, she does not have time to dry out.
Cleaning the print head also helps in the event of air bubbles, which happens after changing or refilling cartridges.
3. Make sure the print head is working properly.
If cleaning, including manual flushing with liquids, does not solve the problem, most likely the head or related parts (loop) are out of order.
Damage to the printing mechanism is more likely to occur due to inaccurate handling during removal, and sometimes spontaneously, especially if you often print a lot.
Only the replacement of the defective part will help to eliminate the problem.
Why is it easier to solve this problem when a Canon or HP printer prints in stripes? Because, as we said, their printheads are located in cartridges.
You just need to replace the cartridges with new ones.
However, remember that their price can be 50-90% of the cost of the printer. The high cost is due to the fact that the print head is much higher than the ink capacity.
In the event of a breakdown of the printing device in Epson or in another model with a print head in the printer itself, you will have to contact the service.
If a laser printer prints in stripes
Causes of malfunction
One of the following problems can be sources of streaking in laser printing:
- Toner is low.
- The cartridge is leaking.
- Waste toner hopper full.
- The drum unit is damaged.
- The metering blade is incorrectly installed.
- The contact between the drum unit and the magnetic roller is broken.
- The magnetic roller is damaged or a foreign object has fallen on it.
Solving Printing Problems in Different Situations
Stripes appear every time in different places
If the laser printer prints stripes all over the sheet of paper or the stripes are always in different places, the problem is most likely in the cartridge.
Take it out and make sure it is sealed.
If toner spills, check if the sealing gum that traps toner is in place and if there is any damage to the cartridge case.
If the defect is fatal, replace the cartridge with a new one.
The stripes are composed of individual small dots
This problem often occurs when a poor-quality cartridge is refilled - the hopper is overfilled with waste toner or the metering blade is incorrectly installed (the metering blade adjusts the amount of toner that gets onto the magnetic roller).
To solve the problem, you need to refill the cartridge, set the blade in the correct position and empty the hopper.
If the printer prints with such stripes with an HP or Canon cartridge, do not ask why and do not try to refill it. Change the cartridge - their quality is poor.
Unprinted streaks anywhere on the sheet
We clean the nozzles
During printing, ink from the cartridge is fed to the paper through special nozzles... Their diameter is very small, as a result of which they can easily clog up if paper particles or dust get in. But most of the time, clogging occurs when the printer is in use. irregularly... Ink dry up and clog the nozzles.
Cleaning the nozzles is easy enough. Manufacturers necessarily equip printers with special utilities for service. With their help you can to eliminate the most common problems. You can find the utility simply by opening the printer properties. It may also be located on the driver CDs supplied with the device.
This is how the Canon service utility looks like:
The menu items are highlighted in red, with which you can start cleaning the nozzles. After starting the procedure, the printhead nozzles will be purged and dried ink particles will be removed. You can check the quality of the operation performed in the paragraph " Checking the nozzles”By printing a test pattern.
And here is the same utility for HP: 
Calibrate the print head
Another reason for streaking when printing can be calibrating print head. This is evidenced by the presence breaks in vertical lines when printing, as well as color mismatch, or overlapping. They happen due to mechanical impact to the printer, or if the paper used for printing is too thick.
You can calibrate the printhead using service utility... The figure below shows how the management utility interface looks for an Epson printer: 
The effectiveness of the program verified using a control sample. If necessary, the calibration can be repeated until full line and color compatibility is achieved.
We clean the tape and the encoder disk
Sometimes it happens that even after the print head has been calibrated, horizontal image shifts are visible on the printed sheet at regular intervals. In this case, you need to pay attention to the narrow transparent ribbonthat runs along the entire length of the printer behind the carriage. This tape is called an encoder. It is designed to be correct positioning carriages. The encoder has tags, which are read by a special sensor mounted on the carriage. This allows the printer to "see" the edges of the paper horizontally. In the figure, the encoder is indicated by arrows: 
To troubleshoot printing problems, the encoder tape must be clear from paint particles or dirt that have adhered to it. This must be done using a swab dipped in alcohol or a liquid for washing the cartridges. It is impossible use acetone for this purpose, since you can erase the divisions on the tape. Clean the encoder tape as much as possible carefully, in order to prevent it from jumping off the mountings.
Also subject to cleaning encoder disk... It's on the left side of the printer and looks like this (for Canon): 
There are also divisions on the disk, with the help of which the carriage is positioned vertically.
Stripes on a laser printer
Checking for Toner
This check must be carried out if a vertical white line appears in the middle of the sheet during printing: 
In modern printers, low toner can signal special messagethat appears on the display. You can also check the amount using a special utility such as Easy Printer Manager, but not all devices support it.
Checking the cartridge for damage
If defects appear during printing, you must check cartridge for damage. To do this, it is necessary to remove it from the device and carefully inspect it. If from it powder is poured - means the sealing gums that hold it back are damaged. In this case, the printed sheet looks like this: 
In this case, the cartridge needs repairs or replacement.
Processing hopper full
Laser printer cartridges have special bins where waste toner is collected. When it overflows, the processing begins wake on the paper may get inside the printer, causing more serious problems. The following lines appear on the paper: 
When the waste is removed from the hopper, the seal, as a rule, returns to normal.
Image drum worn out
The drum unit is one of the key parts in the cartridge. About him wear and tear testify stripes on both sides of the leaf in a characteristic wavy or herringbone shape: 
The part itself looks like this: 
When the drum unit is worn out, it doesn’t mean the end of the cartridge, it just needs to be replaced.
Checking the metering blade
Lines during printing can also occur due to pollution dispensing blade. The purpose of this blade is to distribute the toner evenly over the photo roll. The photo below shows where the dispensing blade is located in the cartridge and what it looks like: 
If the blade is dirty, the gap between it and the photo roll is reduced and it passes less toner. Appears on the printed sheet pale vertical stripes.
If the cartridge is filled with poor quality, then the opposite situation is possible - the dispensing blade misses too much toner. In this case, the stripes will be dark.
Defective drum contacts or primary charge roller
The primary charge roller is a rubber-sheathed metal axle. At the beginning of the print cycle, it feeds the drum initial charge, and at the end - removes residual. If this part fails, transverse dark streaks appear on the paper, which are smeared all over the page. The image begins to repeat itself. 
A similar pattern can be observed even if the toner is clogged with contacts drum unit. The primary charge roller cannot be repaired. It can only be replaced.
