My Paper Gets Creases When Trying to Print

Whether you use a laser or inkjet printer, you’re bound to run into occasional printout anomalies, such as paper jams and creased sheets of paper when you try to print. A variety of factors can contribute to printer malfunctions, the majority of which can be easily resolved without extensive technical knowledge.

Stuck Objects

If your printer is in a high-traffic area of the house, such as a family room or bedroom, little things may become stuck in its printing path. These things can take many shapes, including insect bits, lint, paper clips, and fingernails, and can easily become stuck in the mechanics that feed paper through the printer.One way this type of issue expresses itself is through crooked prints. Place a single letter-size sheet of firm paper material, such as a file folder, into the printer tray and execute a one-page print job that runs the material through the printer instead of having the printer serviced. If a little object is causing the creases in your printouts, the harder stock of paper may be able to dislodge it.

Paper Feed

When you try to print, your printer’s paper feed tray may be to blame for creases or other output irregularities. Most paper-feed issues lead the printer to stop printing and report a paper-jam failure, although this is not always the case. Some printers will finish the task, but the paper will have small flaws, such as wrinkles. These types of paper-feed occurrences are possible if the printer’s paper-feed tray brackets or guides are not securely positioned against the edges of the installed printer sheets. To reduce the chances of printer malfunctions, make sure the guides and brackets are securely in place each time you insert paper.

Paper Supply

Just because the top sheet of paper in your printer’s paper holder is smooth and free of blemishes doesn’t guarantee the rest of the stack is. Paper mills may create sheets of paper with small flaws, such as wrinkles or creases. Because most users load huge volumes of paper into a printer’s paper feed tray at once, it is impossible to develop the habit of inspecting each sheet of paper for these types of faults. If your printer generates a creased printout, check the tray to determine if the next sheet of paper is in the same condition. Remove the faulty sheets and replace them with smooth, wrinkle-free sheets.

Considerations

If your troubleshooting methods do not resolve your printer’s output of blemished printouts, more serious actions may be required. Printer issues like these may require printer components that can only be repaired by a certified repair technician. Extensive repairs can sometimes cost more than the printer’s purchase price; in some cases, purchasing a new printer is more cost effective.