Troubleshoot a Dot Matrix Printer - Printing Too Light Visibility

Dot matrix printers are durable, fast and used in a number of office and industrial environments. The printers use a single ribbon, similar to a typewriter ribbon, instead of ink cartridges to transfer ink onto paper. Like inkjet printers, dot matrix printers do require maintenance; otherwise, problems arise, including jams, a buildup of ink on the printer's printhead and the print appearing faint. You can troubleshoot and repair a dot matrix printer that is printing too light so you don't have to take your printer into a repair shop.

1 - Turn off your dot matrix printer, if it is on.
2 - Open the printer's front cover to access the printer's ribbon and printhead.
3 - Spray the ribbon and printhead with short sprays of air from a can of compressed air to remove any ink, dust and dirt buildup from the components.
4 - Use a flashlight to locate the printhead's adjustment lever. The lever is on the left side of the printhead.
5 - Push the lever toward the ribbon. This will place the printhead closer to the ribbon so the print will be darker.
6 - Close the printer's front cover. Turn on the printer.
7 - Print a test document. If the print is still too light, replace the ribbon.

If the print is too dark, turn off the printer and move the printhead's adjustment lever slightly away from the ribbon.

Tips & Warnings: When installing a new ribbon, move the printhead's adjustment lever away from the ribbon so the printed text will not to be too dark and mucky.


Source: eHow.com

Link : How to Troubleshoot a Dot Matrix Printer That Is Printing Too Light

This post has been edited by tthm: Jan 27 2011, 09:01 AM