How to Fix Multisheet Paper Jams

Date: February 16, 2010

New York, NY -- For anyone (and it’s to imagine that someone hasn’t) experienced a printer with a single sheet of paper jammed in it, the frustration level is enough. Now, imagine if that one sheet were two, three, five, or whatever, and the frustration level rises accordingly. Here are some methods to keep your frustration in check and keep your printer working properly (so you don’t throw it out the window).

On most printers today, there should be back door—probably close to where you plug in the power cord and USB cable—in the back that can be opened or temporarily removed. Just inside this door should be your printer rollers. Depending on the location of your jam, you may be able to remove the papers right then and there. If it’s not there though, you can manually move the rollers until you see the paper or you can push it through to the next opening.

The other possible fix is to pull the sheets out manually (and slowly). You can probably safely pull two sheets out at a time, and if it is a thicker stack, you may be able to pull the whole stack out, still slowly. The important thing to keep in mind here is that pages should not be ripped forcibly out of the printer. You will have a worse problem on your hands if you leave a small corner of paper behind that you can’t reach. If that happens, you may have to purchase some “liquid air” to blow it out. The bottom line is not to damage your printer in any way (even though you may want to sometimes).

BY ADAM HAIGH, Editor