How to Clear Paper Jams Without Damaging Your Copier
A safe, step-by-step method for clearing jams and knowing when to stop and call a technician.
- Same-day service
- All major brands
- Flat-rate diagnostics
Why jams happen
A jam is rarely random. Worn pickup rollers, paper loaded against the grain, a mis-set tray guide or a torn scrap left behind from the last jam cause the overwhelming majority of them.
- Power the machine off before reaching into the fuser area — it holds heat for several minutes.
- Pull jammed sheets in the direction of paper travel, never backward against the rollers.
- Account for every piece. A half-inch strip left near a sensor causes a phantom jam for weeks.
- Fan and reload the stack, and set the tray guides snug without compressing the paper.
- Check the paper itself — a ream that has sat in a humid storeroom will jam in any machine.
If the same tray jams more than twice a week, the pickup and separation rollers are worn. That is a 20-minute part swap, not a machine replacement.
Still stuck?
Our Sugar Land technicians troubleshoot by phone at no charge before scheduling anything. Call (281) 313-9764 or request a quote.
Related services: copier repair, preventive maintenance, managed print services.
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