7 tips are provided to prevent copier jamming: 1) Keep food and drinks away; 2) Don't use torn paper; 3) Fan paper out before loading; 4) Use paper promptly to prevent swelling; 5) Only insert paper in the automatic document feeder; 6) Notify someone if a copier has frequent jams; 7) Keep the copier clean by cleaning rollers, glass, and paper trays. If a jam occurs, 4 tips are suggested: 1) Use any release button; 2) Gently pull jammed paper in the direction of rollers; 3) Don't try to remove any torn pieces with tweezers; 4) Check for any other foreign objects once paper is

1. 7 Tips to Prevent
Copier Jamming
A n d 4 t i p s t o f i x a j a m i f i t h a p p e n s

2. W h y d o p r i n t e r s a n d c o p i e r s j a m ?
With all things electronic, then tend to malfunction in someway sooner or later. It could
be a total system failure or, in the best case for imaging devices, a simple paper jam.
Printers and copiers can jam for a number of reasons, users send anywhere up to
100,000 pages through them a month, so 1 jam in 100,000 isn’t even that bad when
you think about it. But what causes a paper jam in a device? You will probably not like
the answer, but more times than not, it’s because of you. Or the people using the copier
at least. Putting the paper in wrong or entering incorrect settings.
There are many ways that users cause jams, we’ll cover 7 ways to try prevent jams, try
because despite best efforts, things still happen sometimes. Also, if a jam still occurs,
we’ll go over 4 tips for clearing it out and get you back up and printing.

3. It’s not a
buffet table
1

4. 1 . I t ’s n o t a b u f f e t t a b l e
Keep food and drinks away from your copier. This should go without saying but early
morning coffee takes precedence over most things. Coffee, sugar and cream fuels
people quite well but kills electronics even better.
This is silly, right? But sticky coffee and soft drinks in your paper path is not a good
thing. Food is not excluded – bagels and chips have made several guest appearances in
copiers over the years.

5. Don’t use
torn paper
2

6. 2 . D o n ’ t u s e t o r n p a p e r
That’s it really… It’s as simple as that. If a piece of paper you put in the machine, that
moves that paper through it using rollers and heat, is already ripped then it will most
likely rip more or rip off and get left behind in the machine.

7. Fan it out
3

8. 3 . F a n i t o u t
Paper can easily get unaligned when adding it to a printer or copier. Even when you
print a 30 page document and you fit bouncing it on the table to straight it out enough
so you can staple it, do that but with the full 500 pages you are about to insert. A quick
tap on the table can fix a lot of problems.
Believe it or not, paper actually has a correct orientation. It is normally on the paper or
plastic wrapping. Check it out before you put the paper in.

9. Better now
than later
4

10. 4 . B e t t e r n o w t h a n l a t e r
Paper is sort of like a sponge. It will actually absorb moisture over time and swell in size
if left exposed and unused for too long. Printers and copiers are set up with paper sizes
adjusted in the paper path. If the paper swells then its trying to force an object that too
large through its path. Things tend to get stuck when this happens.
Try to use paper somewhat quickly, and f you keep some on hand in your office, try to
keep in a dry place.

11. Paper only
please!
5

12. 5 . P a p e r o n l y p l e a s e !
Copiers have the ADF (Automatic document feeder) on the top. It’s the section where
you put a stack of papers on and it scans them all. This is known to jam too as well as
other problems. Most cases of an ADF jam is because something other than paper when
through it. If you have a stack of papers held together with a paperclip, please remove
that paperclip, staple, sticky note or whatever it is before sending it though.
Bonus tip. If you ever scan a document and it prints with one or more lines down the
page, it is an easy fix. Someone wrote on a page with a pen and was still wet when
they copied it. You can fix this by lifting the ADF to expose the single page scan glass
section, there should be a small section of glass next to the larger one. Wipe this down
with a cloth and it should remove that line from your printouts.

13. Let someone
know
6

14. 6 . L e t s o m e o n e k n o w
If you notice that the same printer or copier keeps having paper jam issues, let
someone in your company, or your managed print partner, know. This can be a
symptom of a larger issue and it is always better to tackle problems early than let them
explode into a huge issue. The sooner you let someone know, the sooner the problem
can be resolved and the sooner you can work without interruptions from your device.

15. Keep it clean
7

16. 7 . K e e p i t c l e a n
A dirty copier is an inefficient copier. Dirt or other particles (lets just use dirt for the sake
of time) can get on the rollers and cause slippage, which means the roller can’t grip on
to the paper to move it though the device. Dirt can also get on the platen, or the pieces
of glass that lets your copier read the page you are scanning and cause lines down your
page or spots all over it when it prints.
Your hands can also be dirty. Early morning presesntation and you need to print out
more copeirs of your report, but you also just ate a jelly filled doughnut? That can be an
issue. Next are some tips to keeping your copier clean.

17. 7 . K e e p i t c l e a n
A. Keep the air filter clean
B. Open the machine and wipe the rollers that you can see with a lightly soaped rag.
Then let them dry. DO NOT attempt to take apart any of the machine to reach one
that’s “just out of reach”.
C. Use glass cleaner and a lint-free cloth to clean the glass. Try ot do this on the
regular.
D. Clean the paper trays once a month. Take out the paper trays from the device and
the paper out of the trays, then clean it with a damp, lint free cloth or use a can of
air to blow out all the debris that’s collected there.

18. 4 Tips to Fix a Copier
Jam if it Happens

19. WA I T !
If you need to reach inside of the machine for any reason, turn the power off first.
You do not want a print job to come though with your hand in there. Of course, modern
technology knows that a door to the device is open and will not let the machine run
anyway, but “better safe than handless” my mother always told me. Don’t risk it.

20. 4 t i p s t o f i x a c o p i e r j a m
1. If there is a “release” button, use it
2. Gently pull jammed paper in the direction of the roller. Use both hands.
3. If a piece of paper tears off, don’t try to use tweezers or something to pull it out.
This can cause serious damage.
4. Once you’ve got the jammed paper out, see if there is any other foreign object in
there. You’d be surprised at what can end up inside there. (We’ve seen hard candy
to human hair wrapped around rollers like a vacuum cleaner).
If you start to think you need to unscrew something to get to the jam, please stop and
let your IT staff or a managed print partner know. Copiers are actually very complex
computers these days and that “extra” screw that is sudden there when you put
everything back together actually is needed.

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