Category: SOS Help Articles

Sharp MX C312 Remove Paper From Center Tray

As a Sharp Dealer we often get questions from our customers that remind us that digital MFP’s can be confusing. When a Sharp copier displays the message remove paper from center tray we have had customers take that to mean the center paper tray. And if their machine has only two paper trays they don’t know which one is the center tray. So they remove the paper from both trays, and the machine still displays remove paper from center tray.

What does remove paper from center tray mean?

The reason that happens is because the message is referring to the exit tray on the machine. That is the area where you remove your printed pages. The exit tray is located in the center of the machine. So the message is accurate but not specific enough to avoid confusion.

What Is Causing The Remove Paper From Center Tray Message?

Usually when this comes up, it’s not because someone forgot to remove paper from the exit tray. It’s because the sensor arm has been moved out of position and the machine thinks there is paper in the exit tray. So the message is displayed on the operation panel to remove the paper.

There is a sensor arm located in the exit tray area to detect when the exit tray is full. Which means there is not room to put additional pages. On the Sharp MX C312 the output tray capacity is 250 sheets. So if you were running a job of 500 pages the exit area would become full during the print job and the machine would display the message to remove the paper from the center tray. After removing the paper from the exit tray the machine would continue to print the remaining pages of the print job.

Here is a recent email that a customer sent to me with this same problem

Hey Mark,

Hope you are well and enjoying the weekend.

There’s an error message on the office printer that I can’t resolve so it’s not printing. It says to remove paper from center tray. I’ve tried everything I can think of but can’t fix the problem. Are you able to come out tomorrow to work on it?

And this was my reply.

Hello Mr. Customer

I can look at it for you, but you may be able to clear it now and complete your print job. The message is referring to the exit tray. There is a sensor arm that moves up and down. It is there to tell the machine if the exit tray is full. 

It can be knocked out of place when removing paper. You can check it to see if it will pop back in place. But remember it’s plastic so move it gently. 

Have a great weekend

The sensor arm can be knocked out of place when removing paper. It does not happen often, but probably when someone is in a hurry they either bump it with their hands or the stack of paper when removing it. Usually the sensor arm can be gently put back in place with no harm to the machine.

Sharp MX C312 Remove Paper From Center Tray Summary

The message refers to the exit tray located in the center of the machine. Not the paper trays. The sensor arm located in the exit area may have been knocked out of place. You may be able to gently reposition the sensor arm. Be careful it’s made of plastic.

If you have tried this but are still having trouble, the exit tray sensor arm may need to be replaced, or the exit tray paper sensor could be bad. You should call a copier service technician to repair the machine. If your located in our service areas of North Florida or South Florida contact us. We would be happy to help you out.

Also Applies To Sharp Frontier Series Models

Sharp MX C310, Sharp MX C311, Sharp MX C312, Sharp MX C380, Sharp MX C381, Sharp MX C400, Sharp MX C400P, Sharp MX C401, Sharp MX C402SC, Sharp MX B382, Sharp MX B382P, Sharp MX B382SC, Sharp MX B402, Sharp MX B402SC

End of Sharp MX C312 Remove Paper From Center Tray

Lines On Copies

Lines on copies or printed pages can be caused by a few different things. Users can usually fix the most common causes without needing to call for service.

Manufacturer User Manuals have equipment specific instructions

Having a user manual and being familiar with it can help you complete the steps listed below.

Most user  manuals can be found with a quick search on the internet. Here is a link you can use to find user manuals listed by manufacturer

Black or Colored lines on copies

The most common problem is having a dirty glass. Sometimes you can’t see that the glass is dirty. It doesn’t take much for the scanner to pick it up and put lines on your copies.

Clean the Glass

There may be more than one glass, so clean all of them. Typically there is one large glass and a smaller one for the document feeder.

White out and corrective tape is frequently found on the glass, although it is white, it can still cause black lines on copies. Sometimes toner or ink from originals transfers and sticks to the glass.

Use a lint free towel (micro fiber towels work best), if you must use a paper towel be mindful of the lint left behind, it can be the source of new lines on copies.

Even small specs can cause problems, so look closely and at different angles to be sure the glass is squeaky clean. I use a razor blade to carefully shave the glass surface. You would be surprised how often unseen debris is stuck to the glass like glue.

Windex won’t hurt the glass but some technicians feel that it leaves a residue that will leave a haze or worse cause automatic document feeders to misfeed. Personally I’m neutral on using Windex. As long as you wipe the glass thoroughly you should be fine. A cloth damp with water works well enough most of the time.

The big glass on top of the machine is easy to find, but look for a smaller slit glass near the big glass, also on top of the machine. The slit glass is used with the document feeder. If you have one make sure you clean it too.

Your document feeder may also have a glass (typically on larger machines)in the paper feeding/scanning path. If it is assessable to you clean it as well.

Corona Wire / Grid Cleaner

Some machines will have a charge wire (corona wire / Charge Grid) cleaner for you to use. You will find it behind the front cover if your machine has one. The handle will be colored to stand out to help you find it. All you need to do is gently pull it out and push it back in. Repeat that in and out motion 3-4 times.

Clean the Laser Slit Glass

Most machines will have a way to clean the glass that the laser passes through on its way to writing on the drum. This is a very common cause of colored lines on copies with color machines. Also a common cause of black lines on copies for both black & white and color machines.

You will have to open the front cover of the machine, and probably have to remove the toner collection bottle. Then you need to find the cleaning tool (techs call it the toothbrush). Sometimes it is attached to the door, or in a compartment in the top paper tray. It will be long, it has to reach into the machine, and will have a brush or soft material on the end.

Then you need to identify the openings near the drum unit or units that the toothbrush goes into.

They will be marked with something colorful to attract your attention and make them easy to find.

The cleaning tool will only go in one way so don’t force it into the opening. Push the tool in gently, you may need to wiggle it a little bit. Push all the way until it stops and carefully remove it. Repeat this 3-4 times. If you have a color machine there will be 4 openings that will need to be cleaned. One for each drum unit.

Other Causes of Lines On Copies

If you have successfully completed the steps above and still have lines on your copies, your problem may require service to the machine. The drum could have lines on it, the fusing unit could have a worn roller, the transfer belt or transfer roller could be the cause. A developer unit may have a problem, or one of the cleaning units may be failing. You can try replacing those units, but they are expensive. It will probably save you money in the long run to hire a professional to identify the cause.

If your located in our service areas of North or South Fl contact us. We would be happy to help you out.

Copier Won’t Print Top 3 Reasons Why

At Source One Solutions we get service calls in Florida almost every week where the reported problem is that the copier wont print. We find that often the cause is very simple. And the customer could have resolved the problem before calling a copier service technician.

Service calls are costly, not to mention when the copier won’t print it disrupts getting your work done. So here is a list of 3 simple things you can check. Taking a few minutes to check these 3 things might help you to resolve the problem before calling for service.

1. A file being printed caused the print que to back up (Very common when printing directly from a web page)
2. Bad network connection
3. Incorrect printer driver settings

 A file being printed caused the print que to back up

Sometimes when you attempt to print a file from your computer, web page, photo, or a file directly from a website it can cause the printer to get locked up. The printer (for many reasons) can have trouble interpreting the commands and does not print. Then every job sent to the printer afterwards, backs up in the print queue and nothing comes out.

The print jobs need to be cleared from the printer queue and the machines memory.

The easiest way to do this is to first power down the copier (the machine will clear it’s memory on start up). Before turning the copier back on, clear the print jobs in the print queue by stopping the print spooler then restarting the print spooler. After the print queue has been cleared restart the copier. If you start the machine back up before clearing the print queue the copier will probably have the same problem.

Important Note

If you are on a network (other than a simple small home or small office network) be sure ask the network administrator to do this for you.

Left Click on the Start Button
Go to the Control Panel
Go to Administrative tools
Double click on Services
Right Click on Print Spooler
Click on Properties
On General Tab, Click on Stop
Then restart the print spooler by clicking on the Start button

Important Tip

To prevent the copier from getting locked up again, try to identify the file that is causing the problem. Also when printing files off a website, you will have fewer printing problems if you download the file to a local drive first. Then print the file from your local drive. Downloading the file first eliminates data transmission, web browser, and formatting errors.

Bad network connection

If the copier cannot communicate with the network it will not be able to receive the print jobs sent to it. An easy way to make sure the network connection is good is by looking at the indicator lights where the network cable plugs into the copier. There are two LEDs and they might both be green or one green and one amber. That will depend on the machine. Both should be lit. If one is lit and one is flashing, that indicates data is being transmitted and that’s good.

If only one LED is lit that indicates a problem with the network connection. Check the following:

• Make sure the other end of the cable is not unplugged from the network jack
• Check to see if the cable is unplugged from the router or network switch
• Try plugging the cable into a different port on the router or network switch
• Make sure the router and/or network switch have power

Incorrect printer driver settings

Sometimes people can are busy or preoccupied and overlook very simple printer driver settings. Here are a few to double check.

• The correct printer has been selected
• The correct paper size has been selected
• If your copier requires a user code, be sure to enter it into the printer driver
• The desired paper tray has been selected and there is paper in the tray

Although most of these suggestions are simple, we do receive quite a few service calls each week for these common problems. If you have tried them and still have problems with your printer it’s time to place a service call. If you’re in one of our North Florida, Central Florida, or South Florida service areas, please call us. We can dispatch a copier service technician today to help you get your copier printing again.

Our friendly and professional staff are available 8 AM – 5 PM Mon-Fri to answer questions and schedule appointments.

Call us at: 877-852-0044

email:info@sosnfl.com

12 HANDY WINDOWS 7 KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

Knowing a few windows shortcuts can really help keep your work flowing when you need to move around between programs. Here is a list of the shortcuts that I use most often.

I have the list printed out and I keep it in my desk drawer for a quick reference. I can’t always remember them and sometimes it’s a long time before I have occasion to use them. There is a link at the bottom of this page if you want to download the list to keep as a reference.

1. Screenshot Of The Current Active Window To Clipboard
Alt + Print

2. Open Windows Magnifier
Windows Logo Button + =

3. Launch Windows Explorer
Windows Logo Button + E

4. Find Files or Folders
Windows Logo Button + F

5. Search For Applications Or Programs
Windows Logo Button

6. Switch Between Windows
Alt  + Tab

7. Bring Up Desktop and Minimize All Open Windows
Windows Logo Button + D

8. Delete Item Immediately Without Placing It In The Recycle Bin
Shift + Delete

9. Page Backwards Or Forwards In Your Internet Browser
Alt + left arrow or right arrow

10. Open A New Tab In Browser
Ctrl + T

11. Move Between Tabs In A Web Browser
Ctrl + (1-9)

12. Switch Between Single Or Dual Monitor And Projector Modes
Windows Logo Button + P

12 HANDY WINDOWS 7 KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

HOW TO CHANGE PRINTER DEFAULT SETTINGS IN WINDOWS 7

I get asked this question a lot usually from people who want to set their color printer to print in black and white by default. Color printing is more expensive than printing in B&W so this is a good way to save some money.

By following this procedure you can change any setting (paper size, orientation, 2-sided print etc.) on the print driver to make it the new default setting.

Changing the printer default settings is very easy. All you need to do is go to the Devices and Printers menu and find the printer that you want to make the changes to. Then go to Printing preferences for that printer and make your changes. Make sure you click Apply before you close the window. If you just click OK your changes won’t be permanent.

Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to change printer default settings in windows 7

• Start Button – On the lower left of your screen find the Start Button (arrow 1) and click on it.
• Devices & Printers – When the popup menu appears click on devices and printers (arrow 2)

A window will open up showing your list of available printers.

• Find the printer you want to make changes to and click to select it.

In this example it is a Ricoh printer. Notice the green check-mark next to the printer in the picture below. The green check-mark indicates this is the default printer.

• Using the right mouse button right click on the printer’s icon. When the drop-down menu opens up click on Printing preferences.

Clicking on Printing preferences will open up the printer driver for the selected printer.

This is where you can make the changes to the printers default settings

• Make your changes – for example: change the default to print out in B&W, or change the default to (duplex) print on both sides of the paper.
• Remember to click the apply box to save your settings.

Important Note

The printer driver pictured here is for a Ricoh MP C2550 color MFP, the printer driver that you see will look different. Printer drivers vary between manufacturers and models. But generally they will have the same options but not necessarily in the same place. Don’t forget to look through the tabs at the top of the driver if you can’t find the setting you’re looking for.

Remember to click on the Apply button or your changes will not be remembered by the printer driver. Clicking OK will not make the changes permanent.

Also remember to close and reopen any programs such as Word. The new printer default settings may not take effect in an open program until you restart it.

Congratulations, now you know how to change printer default settings in windows 7