My prints are too light, too spotty, or have horizontal lines.

My prints are too light, too spotty, or have horizontal lines.

Solution: 
 
   You may have a clogged print head, a problem that can occur if you use an inkjet printer infrequently. Your printer's utility program can clean out the dried ink, and print a test page for inspection. The step-by-step instructions on how to do this vary by printer. From the Windows 7 Start menu, click Devices and Printers or Control Panel, and look for your printer's utility app. For additional details, read "Solve Inkjet Printer Problems." For more tips on unclogging ink nozzles, go here. (Again, these steps may vary slightly for Vista and XP users.)

Windows is sending print jobs to the wrong printer

Windows is sending print jobs to the wrong printer

Solution: 
 
     For some mysterious reason, 
Windows may select a new default printer--the one it automatically sends print jobs to. (This happened to me when I upgraded from Vista to Windows 7.) To fix this glitch in Windows 7, click Start (the Windows icon in the lower-left corner of the screen) and select Devices and Printers. Under Printers and Faxes, right-click the printer you want to make the default, and select Set as default printer.

    If you're using earlier versions of Windows, these steps vary a bit. Here are instructions for Windows XP and Vista users.

Ink and/or toner costs too much

 

 Ink and/or toner costs too much.

Solution: 
    
    PC World has written a lot about the printing industry's sneaky practices over the years. To wit: They snare you with dirt-cheap printers sold at or below cost, and then stick it to you later with ultra-pricey consumables.

   Based on our tests, we can't recommend third party vendors' remanufactured or refilled ink cartridges, which may not give you your money's worth. One cost-saving solution is to buy higher-capacity's Compatible of toner cartridges. If you print a lot, try an ink cartridge with a 250-plus page yield, or a toner cartridge with a 2,000-plus page yield.

Printing is too slow.

Printing is too slow

Solution: 
   
    Rev up printer performance--and save ink in the process--by reducing print quality for everyday output. While printer settings vary by model, here's how to switch to draft-printing mode in most Windows apps. Select Print and Properties, and then look for a setting that reduces print quality. With the HP Photosmart 8450, for instance, change the default print quality setting from Normal to Fast Draft (click screen-shot at right). Other speedup suggestions: Print pages from websites without graphics, and add RAM to your printer, if possible. Read "Speed Up Everything" for more tips.