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Dwiesel McAllister
August 8th, 2009, 11:38 PM
My printer has not been functioning well since December 2008, which was the last time I used it. It worked fine then. I didn't use it again until January, when my sister wanted me to print out something for her. Ever since then, it's been spewing blank pages, or pages with very faint writing.

Now, before you say, "Well DUH, Dwies, you need to replace your ink!" I'll tell you I did that already. I replaced it pretty close to the end of the semester, actually (in December), but when it spat out pages with nearly invisible writing on them, I replaced the black ink cartridge again, with the same results.

It is now August, and I have not had a functioning printer in quite some time. Fortunately, I can print many things at school, because in our tuition is included an allowance to print up to 50 pages a day.

I'm going to need a working printer, though. There have been talks of abolishing "free printing" (It is not free. I am paying for it, as is every other UL student.), and I've only got one year left of school.

So, I'm wondering if any of you have had a similar problem, or if you might know what is wrong. I was told to uninstall the printer on my computer, and then to re-install it. I haven't done that yet, but we installed the printer on my mom's computer, and it won't print anything for her.

I have a sneaking suspicion that my dad somehow managed to break it, but if he did, he'll never own up to it. In the mornings before I left for school, he would ask me (tell me) to turn on my computer so he could use it. He did not pay for my laptop. He did not even pay (that much) for the house we live in. I was 20 at the time, so that counts as an adult, I guess. Still, if I told him "no," (because he has a computer he can use at his work, which is just across our field. It's a walk of 300 yards, and he usually drives.) he would, blackmail me, I guess. He told me that if I didn't let him use my computer, he would not drive me to school (because I fail at life and do not drive). By this time, my mom was at work, so she couldn't do anything to stop it. I didn't want to fail my classes because of some dumb reason like poor attendence, so I let him use it. And with that, he had full access to my printer.

He has broken printers in the past (mainly because he "gets mad at them"), and for that Christmas, he gave me ink, and only ink.

Why would he have given me ink unless he thought I needed some? I wasn't using my printer for a while. I know that printing out one 10-page paper did not deplete my ink source. So, using my astounding deductive capabilities...

...someone used up my ink, and it was probably the same someone that got me ink for Christmas...

He swears up and down that he did not break it, because he never holds himself responsible for anything.

My mom thinks he did use up all my ink, and in replacing the cartridge, he touched the copper contacts and messed them up somehow. (Huge chance of that. The man never washes his hands.)

Your thoughts? Advice? Suggestions? :confused:

Please and Thank You!

KageJim
August 9th, 2009, 03:22 AM
Clean the contacts? Replace the ink yet again? Realign the cartridges? Does it say it's low on ink? If not, perhaps some sensor is not functioning.

My best suggestion: search google for "HP photdumb 27353748463746" or whatever the model is and some terms like "will not print" or whatever. The problem is you'll get far too many vague help pages, when it sounds like you might have a more specific problem. If there was an error code, that would be GREAT...

A suggestion, get your dad a cheap printer for his birthday/Christmas. If you can't fix yours, get yourself a new one, too, I suppose. You could make a log in account for him on your computer, and allow it only access to his printer, not yours. Just tossing ideas around...

Dwiesel McAllister
August 9th, 2009, 05:03 AM
^I'll have to try that. It does say it's low on ink. I think I'll try cleaning the contacts first.

Funny you should say birthday/Christmas. His birthday is 6 days after Christmas (and the day after mine!) Still, he has a printer. He only wants to use mine because he's too lazy to use the one he has at work. :(

KageJim
August 9th, 2009, 01:53 PM
If it says it's low on ink, and it's printing poorly, then it probably is. Might have gotten a bad cartridge. Not common, but it does happen.

Dwiesel McAllister
August 9th, 2009, 11:47 PM
^Twice in a row? Sounds about right. :|

KageJim
August 10th, 2009, 03:28 AM
Was it a double pack? Might have been sitting in a store for a long time or something.

Or someone else might have printed off lots of stuff while you were away?

Dwiesel McAllister
August 10th, 2009, 04:34 AM
Nope. It was a single, though I don't discount the notion that *someone* may have printed copious amounts of stuff without my knowledge using the previous cartridge.

The really suspicious thing is the fact that he gave me ink and only ink. Kind of an odd gift, wouldn't you say?

KageJim
August 10th, 2009, 07:24 AM
Yeah, it is odd. Good luck fixing it.

Let me guess...you want it to work to print out the music I emailed you?

Dwiesel McAllister
August 11th, 2009, 01:51 AM
:shock: You must be psychic!!!!! :shock:

Hehe, yes, I'd like to print out the music before school starts, among other things.

caraez
August 11th, 2009, 02:15 AM
Try checking if the nozzles are clogged. That happens with my printer sometimes. Try checking under your printer utilities and see if you can find a nozzle check.