There’s no doubt about it—plotter printers are expensive, complex machines. When they break down or errors occur, it can take a considerable amount of know-how to get things up and running again. Unfortunately, there isn’t always time to contact the original manufacturer or wait for help to arrive. If you’re ready to take charge of your tech problems, look at how to troubleshoot some of the most common plotter printer issues.
Your Images Are Coming Out Poor in Quality
If your images are coming out in a low resolution, you first want to check the resolution of the image you’re printing. The larger the print, the higher you need the image resolution to be. If the resolution of the graphic itself is fine, check the resolution of your printer and adjust it accordingly. However, if both your printer and graphic size are at the correct resolution, you may have an issue with the cartridges. The cartridge itself might be disconnected, or the nozzles might be clogged.
You can trace many of the problems on this list back to the printhead. If your ink cartridges are full, your printhead is likely clogged. If your printer has an automatic cleaning option, access the control panel and follow the prompts to perform the cleaning cycle. If your printer doesn’t have an automatic cleaning option, consult your printer’s manual and follow its specified instructions. You’ll often have to use a printhead cleaning kit, so it’s best to have one on hand long before these problems occur.
Your Images Are Coming Out Blurry
Are your prints coming out blurry or with skewed and inconsistent line work? This is likely also an issue with the printhead or, more specifically, with its alignment. Printhead misalignments can occur for a number of reasons, but most often occur due to mechanical issues or natural wear and tear.
Your printer’s control panel should have instructions for you to follow so that you can recalibrate the printhead. However, if these issues still persist, check your printhead for visible signs of damage or loose connections. If the misalignment is due to wear and tear, you’ll more than likely have to replace the printhead entirely.
Your Images Have Streaks of Bubbles in Them
If you find streaks or bubbles in your images, you can be sure that these are signs of a worn or dying printhead. A clogged printer will often create even stripes all the way across the page, sometimes in varying colors. However, small bubbles that look like oblong gaps of color splotches are signs that your printhead is aging and will likely need a replacement soon.
The larger these bubbles get, the closer your printhead is to dying completely. Even if these bubbles seem to go away for a while, they may very well reoccur intermittently. Some printheads may last for years, going in and out of these phases before they finally break down. However, as we’ll discuss, these issues don’t always mean your printhead is about to die.
Your Printer Distributes Color Unevenly
If your images are coming out with bubbles, streaks, or gaps, or the colors aren’t even in distribution, this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to throw out your printhead entirely. Once again, this may also be due to a clogged printhead that you’ll need to purge entirely to remove any blockages or air bubbles.
If you’ve purged the printhead and you’re still getting uneven color distribution, don’t give up hope just yet. There’s a chance the ink cartridge you’re using isn’t compatible, so thoroughly check your printer’s manual to make sure you’re using the cartridge they specify in the instructions. Unfortunately, if you’re using the right ink cartridge and have purged the printhead, you’ll likely need to replace it sooner rather than later.
Paper Keeps Jamming
Most plotters rely on a gravity-fed delivery system where the paper falls out of the machine and onto the floor beside it. Not every model has a catch basket, which can lead to some issues with paper jams. The most common culprit of paper jams is oversaturated paper that warps and curls. In this case, your paper may be too thin, which means you’ll need to print on heavier paper.
If you have an LED plotter, it may have an issue with static electricity. However, the only way to fix this is to incorporate anti-static measures, which is only possible with an experienced technician.
Your Printer Has Slowed Down
Plotter printers aren’t necessarily known for their speed, but if your printer suddenly slows down, you need to take note of it. Most often, a slow printing speed occurs due to a poor or spotty wireless connection. If your connection is fine, you’ll have to check for any software updates you may have missed. To do so, access your printer’s control panel, and go to the support or update page. There, you should be able to check for any software updates you need to implement.
If your software is up to date and your connection is strong, check your print quality. If you’re printing in high-quality mode instead of draft mode, your printer’s output will slow down.
Your Printer Just Isn’t Working
If you’ve checked the above issues and your printer is still printing poorly, slowly, or not at all, you likely have an issue with the hardware besides the printhead. First, check your power cord and other cables to make sure nothing has decayed or burned out. Your printer won’t notify you if there’s an issue with these wires. If you’ve had your plotter for a long time or have conducted lots of print jobs, your printer may have run out of memory.
Now that you know how to troubleshoot some common plotter printer issues, you can hopefully get your printer up and running again. If not, you may have an entirely different problem on your hands.
Plotter printers really only last about three to eight years. However, how much you print, how often you print, the level of quality you print at, and the quality of the machine significantly affect their lifespans. If you notice you’re spending more time and money trying to maintain and fix the machine, it may be time to get a new plotter printer altogether.