Useful Inkjet Printer Tips

If ever there was a time for printers to fail us, it would be the holiday season when we need them most. Even if you haven't turned on your printer in months, chances are you'll be printing everything from photos, to greeting cards, to recipes. ‘Tis the season.

Here are some tips you might want to keep handy:

Turn your printer on and off if there seems to be a problem. This sounds like a low-tech solution, but the printer will often reset itself if you power it off and on. To do this don't just shut off the power strip. You'll have better results if you use the on/off button on the printer because it enables the reset and properly parks the printer head.

If your prints are too light or contain white spots or horizontal lines, you may have a clogged print head. This is especially likely if you haven't used your printer routinely. Most printers have a "clean the head" option that you can read about in the manual or online. For more on print head cleaning visit Macworld.

Use the paper and ink that your printer manufacturer suggests. You're less likely to encounter paper jams and poor print quality. This is especially true for printing photos. While some third party papers and inks work ok, others do not. You'll have to do some experimenting.

Run the basic test-print page. Most printers have a built-in diagnostics program to help you troubleshoot. Typically, running a test page involves pressing a button or two as you turn on the printer. For more on the test-print page. Many printers also use a combination of indicator lights to help you pinpoint the problem. You can check these on the manufacturer's web site. Here, for example is Epson's.

Manually cancel a print job by selecting Printers from the Windows Control Panel. If you have numerous printers, then select View Installed Printers. When the Printers window opens, double-click your printer's icon. You will see a list of current print jobs. Right-click the job you want to cancel and then select Cancel Printing.

When printing photos remember that pixels have a relationship to the size of the print. The average printer has three settings: "Draft," which is optimized for images 150 pixels per inch; "Normal" (oftentimes the default) which is optimized for 300 pixels per inch; and "Best" which is optimized for 600 pixels per inch or higher. You can find a chart on how photos map to printed images on Digicamhelp.

Clean your inkjet printer cartridge heads regularly. Most printers come with a set of tools for cleaning and aligning the heads. Common wisdom suggest running these once a month, though I suspect most people don't do that.

Keep the inside of the printer clean using tweezers and/or compressed air to clear out the debris and paper snips from inside your printer.

Check for the latest printer driver. If you're experiencing problems visit your printer manufacturer's web site and download the most current printer driver. The driver tells your printer how to talk to your computer and newer drivers are typically improved versions.

Let prints dry thoroughly, especially photos. Remove prints from the printer's output tray before they stick together. Let them dry for at least one hour; some manufacturers suggest letting them dry for a full 24 hours to be perfectly safe.

To learn more about changing inkjet cartridges.

To speed up printing by installing more RAM.

To create DVD labels on your printer.

To update your printer driver.

Do you have a printer tip you'd like to share?