Tech Help How Do I Get Rid of This Non-existent Paper Jam?

[Nicole]

I have a Kodak ESP 5210 All-in-One Printer, and Wednesday night, I tried to print 3 copies of a 2-page document. After the first two copies were printed, the printer said there was a paper jam. I didn't need the third copy so I just shut it off. Now I'm trying to scan some papers, but the Error message won't go away to even allow me to scan, not even print. It says Code 3533. I've gone to the Kodak assistance website, and the site says that hitting "Cancel" should clear the error, but it doesn't. Nothing does; not the home button nor the back button.

I've checked, and there are absolutely no visible paper jams nor foreign objects. Why does my printer still say "Paper jam error" and how can I fix it? Thanks in advance, guys.

 

[octorok74]

Hit it. That always works for me. Hit it and then try again. Eventually it will work. I'm being completely serious too.

 

[Emma]

Can the printer be reset? Not all of them are the same. If you haven't already, try unplugging it. Often problems like this are due to some file being incorrect in the RAM. Clearing it usually fixes it. If not, try updating the printer's drivers. That might force the issue to correct itself.

 

[athenian200]

There are two main things I can think to try. Have you tried clearing the print heads (check your printer's documentation for information on how to do this), and restarting your computer?

There's also a remote possibility that something is wrong with the printer mechanically that you can't see, but I doubt this from what you've told me. Consider it if nothing works, though.

 

[octorok74]

As a last coarse of action I would say use the good old contingency plan. Get a shotgun, and shoot that thing in it's face. And if that destroys your printer, which it may, then get a new one and show it what you did to the last printer. Scare the daylights out of it.

 

[Nicole]

I tried smacking it a little bit; nothing reset.

I'd already tried resetting it by shutting it off and removing the power cable. I'll see if I can update the drivers, but I don't know if I can do that with the error not being able to be cleared.

I can't actually access the printheads. Typically when I lift up the top/tray thingy they move to the center, but they don't do that now. I think it's actually mechanically broken, considering this error won't go away and it's stopping other things from happening, too.

 

[athenian200]

I can't actually access the printheads. Typically when I lift up the top/tray thingy they move to the center, but they don't do that now. I think it's actually mechanically broken, considering this error won't go away and it's stopping other things from happening, too.

That sounds pretty bad, like something is stopping them from moving. Normally a paper jam can cause the print heads from moving to the center, but if the thing that moves them is broken itself... then that would ALSO cause that error.

I had a printer do that once, where the thing wouldn't move to the center like it was supposed to. I had to replace it, it wouldn't print at ALL even though it had no error message.

At this point, I would recommend having the printer serviced professionally. Is there some kind of authorized repair center, or a place you can send the printer for repair?

Barring that, I suppose you could try hooking the printer up to a different computer to rule out that issue entirely. But I really don't think it will help.

 

[Nicole]

I tried updating my drivers and all was going well until it told me it couldn't find my printer. I use wireless connection to print and it couldn't connect to my printer. Because the error message is blocking everything, there is no way for me to connect my printer to my wireless connection; therefore I can't update my drivers. I'm pretty much giving up. I'll have to bring it in to service it.