Laser printer repair issues: printer driver problems
Most owners and managers of small- and medium-sized businesses probably think of a laser printer /maintenance-and-repair/printers—plotters/primarily as a piece of hardware, but in actual fact, modern printers and plotters need to have their software correctly configured in order to operate at peak efficiency – and sometimes, in order to function at all.
A very common problem that develops with many types of printers is difficulties associated with computer-printer communications. When this happens, the typical employee may assume that the printer is broken and proceed accordingly, but actually there may be nothing physically wrong with the printer unit. In such a case, a simple software adjustment by a qualified repair technician can usually get the printer up and running once again without the need to order parts or supplies.
When the issue keeping the printer from functioning correctly is communications, the most common solution is to re-install the printer driver. This will usually reset the software driving the printer – software that has somehow become corrupted – back to its original state and get the printer or plotter fully working again.
Re-installing a printer driver is not technically difficult, but there can be several steps involved and depending on the age and type of printer involved, it is sometimes a challenge to locate the correct driver. In order to be sure that all goes according to plan, many small- and medium-sized businesses prefer to allow their regular printer services firm to handle the matter.
The usual procedure is for a printer service technician to first completely uninstall the existing drivers from the computer attached to the printer. In a networked environment, it may be necessary to perform uninstalls on several computers. Such a task will take rank-and-file workers away from their regular tasks and may slow down daily workflow, of course. This is another reason why it can be a good idea to let a printer specialist take charge. Indeed, when companies are already using a managed services model to meet their IT support needs, a printer driver uninstall and reinstall may be possible through a remote connection, requiring no on-site visit at all.
In rare cases it may be necessary to edit a system’s registry in order to complete a printer driver uninstall. This is definitely not something that a non-specialist should attempt. If the registry is not edited correctly, it can actually render an entire system inoperable.
Having Print Driver Problems?
