Keeping a dot-matrix printer operational is essential to many businesses. Up-time can mean the difference in meeting company goals. Here are 10 dot-matrix printer maintenance tips to follow.
Tip 1
Know how a dot matrix printer works:
General Dot Matrix printer
– A Dot Matrix Printer
operates by a electromagnet keeping pins in place until a charge is
made to a coil wrapped around a print wire, eliminating the
magnetization momentarily, allowing the pin to spring forward placing a
dot on the paper. This process is then repeated in patterns. The end
product is all the dots lining up to create letters and other
characters. There are two type of dot matrix printers.
- Line Dot Matrix Printer – is a type of dot matrix printer
in which the print shuttle vibrates in the horizontal direction with
high speed while the print hammers are fired selectively. So each hammer
may print a series of horizontal dots for one pass of the shuttle, then
the paper advances at one step and the shuttle prints the following row
of dots.
- Serial Dot Matrix Printer – is a type of Dot Matrix Printer
in which the printhead moves in the horizontal direction, the printhead
controller sends electrical signals which forces the appropriate wires
to strike against the inked ribbon, making dots on the paper and forming
the desired characteristic. This commonly used printer contain 9 print
wires in each column.
Tip 2
For the dot matrix printer you need to clean the internal parts of this unit and you must put a
lubricant on the moving parts of this machine, normally on the shaft
where the print-head assembly is attached.
- Adjust the print-head spacing.
- Check the tension on the print-head-positioning belt.
- Clean the printer and its mechanism.
- Clean the printer’s roller surfaces.
- Clean the surface of the platen.
- Clean the surface of the ink-jet print head.
- Clean the gear train of the paper-handling motor.
- Apply light oil to the gears using a foam swab.
- Turn the platen to distribute the oil.
- Apply a light coating of oil to the rails.
- Move the carriage assembly to distribute the oil. (next two are a little repetitive but have some extra info)
- Clean and Lubricate Mechanism – Prevents Motor failure
- Clean & Lubricate Print-head – Prevents Printhead failure
Tip 3
Mystery paper jams
- In my experience, the mystery paper jam, a jam with no obvious
cause, is by far the most common dot matrix problem. These jams are
often caused by a small piece of paper lodged beneath the rollers or
beneath the tractor feed. While you can easily remove the rollers on
most printers, it’s often easier to go fishing with an unbent paper clip
or similar extraction tool.
- You will often see this problem after the printer has “eaten” a
piece of paper. A large chunk of paper gets trapped under the rollers
and then gets bunched up by the printer’s motion, preventing other
sheets from passing through the printer. The problem can also occur if,
when printing labels, a label separates from the backing and sticks to
the rollers.
- Mystery jams can also occur when the tractor feed edges separate
from the page while printing. Sometimes this can be a fluke, but other
times it may point to a mechanical problem. Try taking the paper out of
the printer and hitting the form feed button a few times. Watch the
printer’s tractor feeds to make sure they are moving and are in synch
with each other. Some printers use belts to move the tractor feeds and,
over time, these belts wear, break, or become misaligned.
Tip 4
White lines in printed text or graphics
- Probably the second most common problem with dot matrix printers is the appearance of horizontal white lines in the middle of printed
text or graphics. This almost always signals a problem with the print
head. Usually, a pin in the print head has stopped working. I recommend
making sure that the print head data ribbon—not the ink ribbon—is
connected tightly to the print head. If that checks out, try cleaning
the print head with alcohol. Sometimes residue can cause a pin to
malfunction. If neither of these tricks solves the problem, you will
likely have to replace the print head.
Tip 5
Carriage movement but no printing
- When a dot matrix printer’s carriage moves and the printer makes noise but nothing is printed, it
usually means the ink ribbon is dried up or missing. If you know the
ribbon is good, watch it while printing. The print head should strike
the ribbon as printing occurs. Furthermore, each time the print head
returns, the printer should advance the ink ribbon. If this isn’t
happening, the ink ribbon may be installed incorrectly.
Tip 6
Printing gibberish
- If the printer is printing gibberish, try printing some simple text.
If you’re able to print plain text but there’s a blank line between
each line of text, check the printer’s dip switch, which controls the
carriage return and line feed (CR/LF). By toggling this switch, you
should be able to correct the problem.
- If everything still comes out as gibberish, there are several
possible causes—the most likely being an incorrect print driver. For
example, if someone tries to print to the printer using a print driver
that was intended for a laser printer, the job will print as gibberish.
All future jobs will most likely print as gibberish until you have
turned the printer off and back on.
- A loose, faulty, or overly lengthy printer cable can also cause data
to print gibberish. Try switching to a known good printer cable and see
if the problem goes away.
- If these techniques fail to fix the problem, try generating a print
test directly from the printer (not from the computer). If the printer’s
internal self-test also prints gibberish, there’s a good chance that
the printer’s system board is bad.
Tip 7
Flashing lights
- Another problem that you may encounter is that the lights on the
printer are flashing. You’ll have to check the printer’s instruction
manual for this one. Different flashing patterns mean different things,
and the meanings vary among different makes and models of printers.
Tip 8
No activity at all
- If you print to the printer and nothing happens at all, make sure
the printer is receiving power and is connected to the PC. If your users
are on a network, you should also make sure the PC hasn’t been
redirected to a network printer. If nothing seems to work try running a
self-test on the printer. If the self-test doesn’t yield any activity,
it could be that the motor has burned out or that the system board is
fried.
Tip 9
Grinding noise
- I’ve seen dot matrix printers make loud grinding noises during printing. More often than not the
grinding noise was caused by foreign matter jammed in the printer. Once
this foreign matter was removed, the printer returned to normal.
However, I have also seen gears strip out on printers because they had
worked their way out of alignment. You might try turning off the printer
and moving the carriage by hand to make sure everything moves smoothly
and that there is no resistance. You should also inspect the belts for
excessive wear that would indicate that they have stretched or are about
to break.
Tip 10
Advantages of using a Dot Matrix printer:
- There are some advantages to using a Dot Matrix printer.
They are more economical, durable and reliable, excellent for
businesses that produce large amounts of printing that do not need to be
high quality. The continuous-feed paper is perfect for printing lengthy
data lists and for transaction processing. Impact printing allows dot matrix printersto make multiple copies, often necessary for invoices and bills of lading. Dot matrix printer
ribbons can be used over and over, and unlike inkjets, they do not dry
out easily, so they’re still usable even if the printer is rarely
utilized. Also unlike inkjets, a dot matrix printer ribbon fades gradually and does not suddenly run out in the middle of the job.(3)
One of the best ways to protect your dot-martix printer is with a printer service contract.
Having a professional certified technician doing preventative
maintenance and doing responsive repairs, can make a big difference.
Here at MIDCOM we offer Printer Protection Plans that offer replacement of your dot-matrix printers. Talk to one of our Printer Specialists now by calling (866) 822-2467
.
