Power supply problemsPaper loading or feeding problemsPrinting position problemsPrinting or printout quality problemsNetwork problemsProblem Solver
Most problems you may encounter while operating your printer have simple solutions. Use the information in this section to find the source of and solution to printer problems that occur.
Determine the type of problem that occurred, and see the appropriate section below:
You can also use the self test to determine whether the printer or the computer is causing the problem. See Printing a self test for instructions on printing a self test. To pinpoint communication problems, experienced users may want to use the printer's hex dump mode described in Printing hex dump.
To clear a paper jam, see Clearing Paper Jams.
| The control panel lights come on briefly, but then go off and stay off. | |
| Cause | What to do |
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The printer's voltage rating does not match the voltage of your electrical outlet. |
Check the printer and the outlet voltage ratings. If the voltages do not match, unplug the printer immediately and contact your dealer. |
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| The printer does not work and the control panel lights are off even when you turn on the printer. | |
| Cause | What to do |
| The power cord is not properly plugged into the electrical outlet or your printer. | Turn off the printer, and make sure the power cord is firmly plugged into the electrical outlet and the printer, if necessary. Then turn on the printer. |
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The electrical outlet does not work. |
Use a different outlet. |
| The printer does not load single-sheet paper or does not feed it properly. | |
| Cause | What to do |
| Continuous paper is in the paper path. | Press the Load/Eject button to feed the continuous paper back to the standby position. Set the paper release lever to the single-sheet position and insert a new sheet. (See Switching to printing on single sheets for more information.) |
| The paper release lever is set to a tractor position. | Set the paper release lever to the single-sheet position. |
| The paper on the paper guide is positioned too far to the left or right for the printer to detect that it is there. | Move the paper (and the edge guides) a little to the left or right. |
| Single-sheet paper is not loaded properly. | See Loading Single Sheets for instructions on loading single-sheet paper. |
| The paper-thickness lever is not set correctly. | Set the paper-thickness lever to match the thickness of your paper. See Adjusting the Paper-Thickness Lever for instructions. |
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Paper is creased, old, too thin, or too thick. |
See Paper for information on paper specifications and use new, clean sheets of paper. |
| The printer does not fully eject a single sheet. | |
| Cause | What to do |
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Paper is too long. |
Press the Load/Eject button to eject the sheet. Make sure the page length of your paper is within the range specified for single-sheet paper in Paper. Also check and adjust the paper size setting in your application or printer driver. |
| The paper does not feed properly with the optional cut-sheet feeder. | |
| Cause | What to do |
| The cut-sheet feeder is not installed properly. | Reinstall it as described in Installing the cut-sheet feeder. |
| Too many sheets are loaded in the cut-sheet feeder. You cannot load more than 150 sheets of paper in the high-capacity cut-sheet feeder. | Load less than 150 sheets of paper. See Cut-Sheet Feeder for more information. |
| The edge guides of the cut-sheet feeder are not positioned correctly. | Align the left edge guide with the arrow mark, then move the right edge guide to match your paper's width. |
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There is only one sheet left in the bin. |
Add more paper to the cut-sheet feeder. |
| The printer does not load continuous paper or does not feed it properly. | |
| Cause | What to do |
| The paper release lever is not set correctly. | Set the paper release lever to the position for the paper source you want to use. See Setting the Paper Release Lever for instructions. |
| Single-sheet paper is in the paper path. | Press the Load/Eject button to eject the sheet. |
| Continuous paper is not loaded properly. | See Loading Continuous Paper for instructions on loading continuous paper with the tractor you want to use. |
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The paper-thickness lever is not set correctly. |
Set the paper-thickness lever to match the thickness of your paper. See Adjusting the Paper-Thickness Lever for instructions. |
| The printer does not feed continuous paper to the standby position. | |
| Cause | What to do |
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You have not torn off the printed pages before pressing the Load/Eject button. |
Tear off the printed pages at the perforation. Then press the Load/Eject button to feed the paper backward to the standby position. |
| Your printing appears too high or low on the page. | ||||||
| Cause | What to do | |||||
| The paper size setting in your application software or printer driver does not match the size of the paper you are using. | Check the paper size setting in your application or printer driver. | |||||
| The printer's page length settings for the front or rear tractor do not match the size of the continuous paper you are using. | Check the page length settings for the front or rear tractor using the printer's default-setting mode. See Changing default settings. | |||||
| The top margin or top-of-form position setting is incorrect. | Check and adjust the margin or top-of-form position settings in your application software. See the printable area specifications in Recommended printable area. You can also adjust the top-of-form position using the Micro Adjust function. However, settings made in Windows applications override settings made in the Micro Adjust mode. See Adjusting the top-of-form position. | |||||
| The printer driver settings you want to use are not selected in your software. | Choose the correct printer driver setting from the Windows desktop or in your application before printing. | |||||
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You moved the paper using the knob while the printer was on. |
Adjust the top-of-form position using the Micro Adjust function. See Adjusting the top-of-form position. |
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| The printer prints on (or too far away from) the perforation of your continuous paper. | ||||||
| Cause | What to do | |||||
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The tear-off position setting is incorrect. |
Adjust the tear-off position using the Micro Adjust function. See Adjusting the top-of-form position. |
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| You moved the paper using the knob while the printer was on. | Adjust the tear-off position using the Micro Adjust function. See Adjusting the top-of-form position. | |||||
| The printer you want to use is not selected in your software. | Choose the correct printer from the Windows desktop or in your application before printing. | |||||
| The paper size setting in your application or printer driver does not match the size of the paper you are using. | Check the paper size setting in your application or printer driver. | |||||
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The printer's page length settings for the front or rear tractor do not match the size of the paper you are using. |
Check the page length settings for the front or rear tractor using the printer's default-setting mode. See Changing default settings. |
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| The printer is on but it doesn't print. | ||||||
| Cause | What to do | |||||
| The interface cable is broken or twisted. | Check that the interface cable is not broken or twisted. If you have another interface cable, replace the cable and check whether the printer works correctly. | |||||
| The printer is not connected directly to your computer. | When you use a printer changer, printer buffer, or a extension cable, the printer does not print correctly due to the combination of these devices. Make sure that the printer works correctly when it is connected to your computer without these devices. | |||||
| The printer driver is not installed correctly. | Check that the printer driver is installed properly. If necessary, reinstall the printer driver. | |||||
| Paper is jammed or the ribbon or guard mechanism is stuck. | Turn the printer off, open the printer cover and remove the jammed paper or things that are stuck. | |||||
| The USB setting is incorrect. | Confirm the USB setting is correct. See Correcting USB Problems for details. | |||||
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The printer is hung-up (stopping in abnormal situations). |
Turn the printer off and wait for a while. Then, turn the printer on again, and start printing. |
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| The printer does not print when the computer sends data. | ||||||
| Cause | What to do | |||||
| The printer is paused. | Press the Pause button to turn off the Pause light. | |||||
| The interface cable is not plugged in securely. | Check that both ends of the cable between the printer and the computer are plugged in securely. If the cable is connected correctly, run a self test as described in Printing a self test. | |||||
| Your interface cable does not meet the printer and/or computer specifications. | Use an interface cable that meets the requirements of both the printer and computer. See Electronic and your computer documentation. | |||||
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Your software is not properly set up for your printer. |
Select your printer from the Windows desktop or in your application. If necessary, install or reinstall the printer driver software as described in the Start Here. |
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| The printer makes noise, but nothing prints or printing stops abruptly. | ||||||
| Cause | What to do | |||||
| The paper-thickness lever is set incorrectly. | Set the paper-thickness lever to match the thickness of your paper. See Adjusting the Paper-Thickness Lever for instructions. | |||||
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The ribbon has too much slack, the ribbon has come loose, or the ribbon cartridge is not installed properly. |
Remove any slack in the ribbon by turning the ribbon-tightening knob, or reinstall the ribbon cartridge as described in the section under Replacing the ribbon cartridge. |
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| The printer does not load single sheets of paper or does not feed paper properly. (Two or more sheets of paper are fed at the same time.) | ||||||
| Cause | What to do | |||||
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The paper is stuck together with static electricity. |
Fan the paper well before you use it. |
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| The printout is pale. | ||||||
| Cause | What to do | |||||
| The printing speed is set to Ultra high speed draft (USD). | Change the printing speed setting as described in Selecting a Font and Pitch. | |||||
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The ribbon is worn out. |
Replace the ribbon cartridge as described in Replacing the ribbon cartridge. |
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| The printout is faint. | ||||||
| Cause | What to do | |||||
| The paper-thickness lever is set incorrectly for your paper. | Move the paper-thickness lever to a lower setting. See Adjusting the Paper-Thickness Lever for instructions. | |||||
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The ribbon is worn out. |
Replace the ribbon cartridge as described in Replacing the ribbon cartridge. |
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| Part of the printout is missing, or dots are missing in random positions. | ||||||
| Cause | What to do | |||||
| The ribbon has too much slack, the ribbon has come loose, or the ribbon cartridge is not installed properly. | Remove any slack in the ribbon by turning the ribbon-tightening knob, or reinstall the ribbon cartridge as described in Replacing the ribbon cartridge. | |||||
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The ribbon is worn out. |
Replace the ribbon cartridge as described in Replacing the ribbon cartridge. |
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| Lines of dots are missing in the printout. | ||||||
| Cause | What to do | |||||
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The print head is damaged. |
Stop printing and contact your dealer to have the print head replaced. |
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| All the text is printed on the same line. | ||||||
| Cause | What to do | |||||
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No line feed command is sent at the end of each line of text. |
Turn on the auto line feed setting using the printer's default-setting mode so that the printer automatically adds a line feed code to each carriage return. See Changing default settings. |
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| The printout has extra blank lines between lines of text. | ||||||
| Cause | What to do | |||||
| Two line feed commands are being sent at the end of each line of text, because the printer's auto line feed setting is on. | Turn off the auto line feed setting using the printer's default-setting mode. See Changing default settings. | |||||
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The line space setting in your application software is incorrect. |
Adjust the line space setting in your application software. |
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| The printer prints strange symbols, incorrect fonts, or other inappropriate characters. | ||||||
| Cause | What to do | |||||
| Your printer and computer are not communicating correctly. | Make sure that you use the correct interface cable and that the communications protocol is correct. See Electronic and your computer documentation. | |||||
| The wrong character table is selected in your software. | Select the correct character table using your software or the default-setting mode. The character table setting in your software overrides settings made in the default-setting mode. | |||||
| The printer you want to use is not selected in your software | Choose the correct printer from the Windows desktop or in your application before printing. | |||||
| Your application software is not configured correctly for your printer. | Make sure that your application software is configured correctly for your printer. See your application documentation. If necessary, install or reinstall the printer driver software as described in the Start Here. | |||||
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Software settings override settings you make using the default-setting mode or the control panel buttons. |
Use your application software to select the font. |
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| Vertical printed lines are not aligned. | ||||||
| Cause | What to do | |||||
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Bidirectional printing, which is the printer's standard printing mode, is out of alignment. |
Use the printer's bidirectional adjustment mode to correct this problem. See Aligning Vertical Lines in Your Printout. |
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| The printer does not print when using a network. | |
| Cause | What to do |
| The network setting is wrong. | Check whether or not print jobs from other computers are being printed through the network. When the print job is executed, the printer or your computer may have a problem. Check the connection between the printer and your computer, settings on the printer driver, and settings of your computer. When the print job is not executed, network settings may be incorrect. Ask your network administrator for help. |
| You are unable to monitor the shared printer using EPSON Status Monitor 3. (FX-2175 only) | |
| Cause | What to do |
| Are you using a Windows 7, Vista, or XP (x64) print server with a client set up for an operating system (Windows 95/98/Me/NT4.0/2000) which is older than Windows XP (x86)? | When using an operating environment with this combination, the error window for EPSON Status Monitor 3 may not pop up on the client when an error occurs. Please keep EPSON Status Monitor 3 running when using the printer. |
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