IT Queries: Computer problems answered

Hello – we have 2 identical Brother DCP-350C printers and both all of a sudden have stopped printing “red” and why this has affected the printing of black when we have an exclusive black ink in the machines I don’t know but it has and now anything we print out in supposed black comes out in green! I have cleaned and cleaned and cleaned some more but still it hasn’t worked plus replaced cartridges. One printer has already had a printer head replaced under warranty. Neither are under warranty now and are approximately 2 years old. Can you advise anything we might be able to do to get this working as I don’t really think it is worthwhile taking them to a repairer as they only cost $99 each at time of purchase but want to cover all avenues in case there might a simple solution.

If not what machines would you recommend. We only use them for home purposes but my husband does do a lot of graphic printouts so a relatively good quality print would be beneficial. Also are there any just solely black inkjet printers available these days – this would be for the second computer.

The problem lies in the way the Brother printer deals with colours. What is probably happening is if the printer thinks there is any colour in the document, it mixes the red, green and blue cartridges to make something close to black rather than using the black document. Apart from your current problem this is an insanely expensive way to print.

We’d recommend ditching the printers and getting a cheap colour laser. While this may cost a few hundred dollars more than an inkjet, you’ll get better quality prints from a more reliable system. If the two computers are networked, you’ll be able to share them or be able to plug the printer directly into the network.

I mainly print black and white photos from my printer. No matter what I do, I cannot get pure B&W prints – the blacks are never dense black and there is a pale greenish tinge across all the grays. I get the same effect whether I print from the PC or direct from the printer. Selection of “Grayscale” at the printer Properties does not help.

My printer is an Epson Sylus Photo RX630.

My PC is a professionally supplied custom build using Gigabyte Technology motherboard S Series 945GMF-DS2 with Intel Core 2 Duo.

Hoping you can help – I would like to be able to make correct B&W prints

The problem is with your printer settings. Rather than using the black cartridge, the printer is mixing colours to create the “gray” tones.

This isn’t just irritating, it’s also a waste of ink.

To fix this, you’ll need to go into the advanced printer options where you should find an option to use the black only for grayscale. There should also be a setting to only print in black and white which will disable the colour cartridges.

Unfortunately the Epson website doesn’t explain how to do this, but a bit of exploration in the printer settings (click the Advanced buttons) should find it.

This sort of problem – poor software and bad documentation – is common with Epson printers which is a shame as the printers themselves are very good products. It’s worth considering this the next time you look at a printer purchase.

I just purchased a Canon PIXMA MX310 multifunction printer.  I have an HP slimline desktop computer.  I installed it but the printer doesn’t print.  I think it has something to do with how I identify my port.  Also there are so many usb places to plug in – I don’t know which one to use.

Can you help me please?

It shouldn’t matter which USB port you use, normally they will sort themselves out.

However sometimes ports will malfunction so you may want to try each port until you find one that works.

If none of them work, it may be the sofware isn’t properly installed. You may need to reinstall it by unplugging the printer and putting the installation CD back in.

Should the installation program only give you an uninstall option, do that then restart the computer and run the install software again.

When asked, plug the printer back into the USB port.

If the software doesn’t detect it, try another USB cable and if that fails return the printer to the supplier.

I wish to connect two PC’s to one laser printer. Is it possible to achieve this by just using cables or do I need to go to wireless?

You can do either. Wired is faster and more reliable but wireless doesn’t require stringing cables around your home or office.

To network any device you need a network adapter. A wired one has a plug where the ethernet cable plugs in while a wireless one will have a radio built into it and may or may not have a aerial.

If your printer has either, or both, of these connections it’s a matter of either just plugging it into the network or entering the wireless network’s name and security details.

Should you not have either of these, you’ll need to buy an adapter that plugs into the printer which may be available from your printer manufacturer or you’ll need a print server.

Print servers plug into your printer’s USB port at one end and the network at the other. Note that a lot of multifunction printers don’t like this setup.

The final way is to just plug the printer into one of the computers and just share it across the network.

I upgraded my AVG Security software to the latest version. I have a canon fax/scanner/printer a HP laser printer and a Xerox colour printer. My desktop is the server for printing.

After the update I have no problems printing with the HP and the Xerox but I am unable to print from the Canon printer. If I print it comes up with the frame “Collecting Printer Status” and then nothing else is happening. I am able to scan there is no problem there. The printer is online.

Not sure what caused this, any ideas?

The problem is the upgraded AVG firewall has blocked the Canon printer software from communicating over the network.  It’s necessary to force AVG to redetect the Canon software and allow it access to the network.

The simplest way to do this is to download the latest software for your Canon printer. Then uninstall the existing software, reboot and install the new software. The first time you print with the new software AVG will ask if you want to grant permission to the Canon application and the printer spooler.

You should choose to Allow full access to the network for these applications.

AVG also allows you to grant access to individual applications. To do this, right click the colored AVG square in your taskbar (usually in the bottom right hand corner of your screen) and click  Launch AVG Control Center.

In the Control Center, highlight AVG Firewall and click Configure. Select the Applications tab and scroll down until you find the Canon software, click edit and change the action to Allow. Repeat this for the Print Spooler application.

Firefox have a graphical example of how to fix AVG 8 problems for their browser. These instructions will work for the printer as well, just change the Firefox to the print spooler and Canon applications.

I have a Dell Photo All in One printer 926 which now will not print at all.  The error message is Alignment Problem. The advice is to check the tapes on cartridges, check trouble shooting in manual which provides same advice – have done both to no avail. The printer spits out pages and pages of alignments in blue and black, and is using all my cartridge ink in the process.  I don’t have access to any other printer, and now have a backlog of docs for printing.

It may be one of the cartridges is defective. Try replacing the cartridges to see if the problem clears. If it does, then you should contact Dell for a refund on the defective cartridges.

If the problem persists then the printer has is defective. Again you’ll have to contact Dell for repairs. Unfortunately, unless it’s under warranty, you’ll probably find the repair is going to be far more expensive than a replacement printer.

So do some troubleshooting but be prepared to buy a new printer.

We are a seniors club with 6 networked computers. All XP. Now have new computer with ability to change from XP to Vista via Bios. The computer networked with other computers and printers without problems but when we switch to Vista the HP printer prints in mirror image.  Does this mean we need a driver for the printer or is there some other setting?

It certainly does sound like a problem with the printer driver. HP generally haven’t been updating drivers for printers that are supported in Vista so you might have trouble finding a new driver for that model.

The best bet is to try experimenting with other HP printer drivers. A number are compatible with each other and you may find one of the compatible versions will not have this problem. A search on HP’s support website will give you a list of which printers will match.

I have been using discounted ink cartridges for a while without problems, but suddenly my computer is telling me to install a genuine cartridge only, and won’t finish the ink cartridge installation with the cheaper version. Can I get around this in any way?  My printer is an Epson CX5900.  I have Windows XP.

An important revenue stream for printer vendors is the sale of replacement cartridges. Like razor blade manufacturers, they make more money from the replacement consumables; the ink cartridge or blades, than the original razor or printer.

To make sure you buy their cartridges, Epson have introduced what their marketing people call the “Epson Intellidge™”. While it may ensure quality control (and good margins), it also locks you into using their products.

It sounds like the discount cartridges have changed design or supplier and they are no longer compatible with the printer. We’d suggest taking the cartridges back to the supplier for a refund and to discuss what other alternatives to the Epson branded cartridges are available.

When I install the Hewlett Packard F380 all in one printer on my daughters PC, it fails to fully load properly, its a Vista Home edition sytem, I have used the vista software CD supplied with the printer, all loads OK, but when you turn off the PC and turn it on the next time it does’nt recognise the printer!!!

You then have to put the CD back in again, load the last bit again and then it works?????? trouble is, you have to do this every time! (it is connected via a top quality gold USB cable by the way)

This problem of devices not loading at startup is quite common in Vista. It’s usually a driver problem.

The first thing is to download the latest F380 drivers from HP.

Then, disconnect the printer and uninstall all the F380 printer software. Restart the computer when you are finished.

When the computer has restarted, open the downloaded file and run it. Connect the printer when you are asked to do so.

This should clear the problem, however we have had reports of Vista having problems with multifunction printers, specifically with the scanning functions. If this is case, you need to contact HP.

I have been given a Canon MPC600F/400 printer/copier/fax and cant connect it to my computer which operates on Ubuntu. I am unable to get the disk to read as it is for Windows OS. When I try to install the printer driver is not listed and don’t know how to proceed.

I only require the copier not fax.

The printer driver and instructions are available at the Canon website. Unfortunately it appears only printing is officially supported by Canon.

There is a scanner utility for Canon PIXMA multifunction units, but it does require a level of competence in using the Linux terminal functions.

It may be better to consider a different scanner. A full list of Ubuntu compatible scanners and how to scan in Ubuntu is available on the Ubuntu wiki.