Whats causing the problem? (Printer Edition)
By: Ben - 8/22/2014

A huge part of of tech support is figuring out what the problem is and where its occurring, this is where troubleshooting comes in. In order to find the problem, the possible causes need to be narrowed down. A good example of this would be printing issues.
There are a number of reasons that could either cause a printer to not print, or to print something other than it was supposed to. The first step would be to identify the main areas or stages of the printing process the problem could be in. I like to break it down into three main groups; the software, the driver, and the printer.

The Software
	The most common issue with things not printing from the software are caused by printer settings or selection. If the printer isn't properly selected, the printer wont print at all, but another issue is the problem with printer compatibility. There are a lot of software with specifically approved brands or models of printers, and things could printer differently or not at all based on that.

The Driver
	The driver is what allows the computer to communicate with the printer, and as such, can cause a great number of issues. The main cause of problems with drivers are usually settings in the driver it self. Depending on how the driver is installed, there is a chance the wrong port could be selected from the start, meaning that the driver wouldn't be set to communicate with the port the the printer is connected to. There are also size, print media, and calibration settings that can all affect if the printer prints correctly, or at all. 
	The other major issue with drivers is getting the correct one. Sometimes there are different driver versions for different window operating systems or specific driver versions for various models of printers. The print drivers from Zebra are a good example of this; having different drivers for the LP2824, LP2824Plus, and the TLP2824 series. There are also two types of drivers I typically run into; Windows drivers and OPOS drivers. Most software will use Windows drivers to communicate with devices, but sometimes OPOS are used instead. Installation with OPOS is very different from standard Windows drivers, and communicates differently.

The Printer
	Hardware failure is the least likely occurrence in most cases, but it does happen. Stripped gears, damaged or worn out print heads and broken sensors are some of the worst case scenarios. On the less dramatic side, improperly installed print media, uncalibrated sensors, and lids not being latched all the way are usually what cause problems.
	When media like thermal receipt paper is loaded incorrectly (backwards in this case) it will feed out but, since its the backside of the paper, it wont have any text on it because the heat from the print head isn't being applied to the correct side.
	If you have label printing media, an uncalibrated sensor (usually coupled with bad driver settings if the sensor hasn't failed) can cause a single label to print on more than one label. This is because it wouldn't be able to properly tell where one label ends and the other begins. 
	Even though the lids on receipt or label printers appear to be latched all the way, there is a chance they could be off by just a little. If they aren't latched all the way, it could cause media to feed incorrectly, or lower print quality. The easiest way to avoid this is to close the lid using both hands on the sides of the lid and apply pressure down evenly. If the problem persists after closing the lid properly, lightly apply downward pressure on it while the printer is printing. If the print quality improves or feeding improves, there is a chance there might be something wrong with the locking mechanism for the lid. Stripped gears and some other mechanical issues can usually be identified by unusual noises (like clunks or grinding) coming from the printer.

Whats causing the problem? (Printer Edition) By: Ben - 8/22/2014

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Whats causing the problem? (Printer Edition)
By: Ben - 8/22/2014