[SOLVED] Printer feed rollers don't want to feed paper, why?

[link470]

So as was pointed out in Best Inkjet Printer for classrooms - EduGeek.net Forums , it seems like many staff like to have their own printers. I particularely liked the post about staff refusing to print to the printer nearby even though it's "urgent". So true. We've got staff here that complain that their personal printer is down, and they have a fully functional business class colour laser/photocopier right next to their desk. Oh...oh wait. No. They have 4 next to their desks. They're right next to the networked copy room.

 

Because of this, we have many printers with rollers around the school that pick up paper. Some of them lasers, like the Dell 1700 laser printers that haven't been much good at all at feeding paper, and a few personal inkjet machines. What I'm wondering, is the machine will claim either that it has a paper jam, or that it's out of paper, when really, the paper is all loaded in, and there's nothing wrong. When I look closer, I can see the roller go down onto the paper and start rotating, and the roller doesn't do squat. It just sits there and rotates. There's no way to make it pick up paper. My question is, is the printer broken at that time? Or can you either A, do something to the roller to make it pick up paper again, or B, replace the roller? I've been looking around online and I can't find much information on this. I just found a ton of people complaining about the Dell 1700 as well with problems pulling paper into the system.

 

Thanks!

Edited July 11, 2008 by link470

[m25man]

Most of the HP ones are easily obtained from the web.

They remove in seconds and mostly they just need a good wash in warm water and soap.

You may use Isopropyl Alcohol to clean them however this can accelerate the wear as the rubber will begin to harden once chemicals are introduced.

[Geoff]

I just use some reasonably fine sandpaper to rough up the roller. Persistent use tends to wear them smooth and cause them to stop picking up paper. Of course eventually, they'll need replacing. But you'll get a few more pages out of it before that happens this way.

[broc]

Sometimes the rollers get clogged with paper dust, especially those with rough surfaces. A bit of sticky tape 'dabbed' on can help.

[alan-d]

This may sound daft but it does happen.

Some makes of paper need to be put in a certain way round. If you look at the packaging on the ream it will usually tell you.

 

Other than that it's sandpaper and eventually a maintenance kit.

[PEO]

Just repaced a roller last week on a brother. takes 5 minutes to change. never tried the sand paper trick although it did cross my mind.

[mrforgetful]

http://www.click4spares.co.uk

 

Get all my parts from there. Can't be bothered messing around with sand paper not expensive for rollers.

[enjay]

It's basically a question of traction, as Geoff and alan-d both say - the feeder works by a roller sitting on the paper and pushing it. If for any reason the roller can't get a grip of the paper, it won't feed it properly/at all.

 

We bought one brand of paper which some of our printers just refused to pick up; we changed back to the old brand and everything worked fine again. On comparing the two sheets, you could see that the problematic one was smoother/shinier than the other. I've never tried Geoff's idea of roughing the roller with sandpaper, but I don't doubt that it works.

[ninjabeaver]

Hi guys,

 

I use a spray called RRR from Electrolube. (Gawd, how bad does that sound!!)

Anyway, it stands for Rubber Roller Restorer. Just spray on, rotate the rollers a bit and spray again. Bonus is that is smells like lemons as well. I've never had this stuff let me down.

 

Part number is RRR250 from CPC or other places I guess.

[pete]

A broad pencil eraser also works in place of sandpaper.

[mattx]

I use one of these - works wonders...... ;-)

 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21rKPAX7a3L._AA280_.jpg

[flashsnaps]

We had a similar problem with our rollers, turns out some little twat had put chewing gum in the printer, so everytime the paper feeded in - just resulted in a paper jam!

[enjay]

We had a similar problem with our rollers, turns out some little twat had put chewing gum in the printer, so everytime the paper feeded in - just resulted in a paper jam!

Drawing pins, paper clips and staples are good at that too - I ended up moving a printer to the other end of the desk, therefore away from the noticeboard, because I got sick of going out to it to remove pins which someone had dropped into it.

[flashsnaps]

Drawing pins, paper clips and staples are good at that too - I ended up moving a printer to the other end of the desk, therefore away from the noticeboard, because I got sick of going out to it to remove pins which someone had dropped into it.

 

Even if its bomb proof, they're certainly find a way to reck it!

[enjay]

Even if its bomb proof, they're certainly find a way to reck it!

True. As the saying goes, the failing of many designs for completely idiot-proof objects is to misjudge the ingenuity of a complete idiot.

 

I can't completely remove their ability to break stuff, but I can at least make it as hard as possible for them, that way accidental damage is less likely.

[link470]

I use one of these - works wonders...... ;-)

 

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21rKPAX7a3L._AA280_.jpg

 

AWSOME. *adds to basket*

 

These are all great ideas. Thanks everyone! I really like the idea of the spray on RRR stuff. Especially since it smells like lemons. One of my previous techs that tought me a couple years ago when I was in high school used something called Rubber Renue. He said it was extremely toxic, and to have an alternative that works and smells like lemons? I'm down.

 

I'll check out that replacement store too.

[Ric_]

AF Platenclene is also an excellent product for making rollers 'sticky' again.

[sjatkn]

AF Platenclene is also an excellent product for making rollers 'sticky' again.

 

Agreed. I have used it frequently and fixed many a printer.

 

One old HP printer we had needed to have some additional elastic bands wrapping round the roller to increase the diameter, cleaning did not help that one.

[contink]

AF Platenclene is also an excellent product for making rollers 'sticky' again.

 

Thanks for that tip...

 

Just a note... if you have paper stock that has a high residue coating or tends to shed a lot of fibers you're going to be "maintaining" your printers more regularly than is ideal... Well worth considering changing paper manufacturer in instances like that...

[webman]

Just an FYI... we had the same problem with some Kyocera FS-1010/FS-1020DN printers. They were sold to us with smooth rubber rollers on them and would fail to pick up a lot of paper. This was a problem they were aware of and they sent us some different ones for free.

[mentormatt8]

Hey this thread has been fun. I saw people suggest sand papering rollers, hammering rollers, replacing rollers, and sticking scotch tape on them. What about simply cleaning them up? Here's what I did. I had a similar persistent problem with the second page always, it turned out to be a roller problem. The problem with your printer may be the same. Check out the details here: Annoyances-Resolved: Persistent Paper Jam: Solve or Buy New Laser Printer ? -hth

[dhicks]

sand papering rollers, hammering rollers, replacing rollers, and sticking scotch tape on them

 

Just to add to this list further, I found that WD40 on the rollers helps.

 

--

David Hicks

[mentormatt8]

That may have worked for you. However, Brother distinctly discourages from using any sprays inside their printers. I think it is an electrical issue. See the link to Brothers instructions here http://annoyances-resolved.blogspot.com/2009/09/paper-jam-buy-new-laser-printer.html