Anyone who has ever worked in an office knows the importance of the printing system and the frustration that comes when that system doesn't work properly. A printer error can result in significantly slowed work output. Offset printing is an older printing process where a metal plate is used to make an impression in ink on a cylinder wrapped in rubber. The cylinder than transfers the letters to paper. Troubleshooting an offset printing machine problem requires some knowledge of the machine

Instructions

1
Check the conditions of the room to verify the humidity and temperature are ideal for offset printing. If the humidity is too high (generally above 55 percent), it could interfere with the ink drying properly and result in smearing. Likewise, a moderate room temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit or less is preferred in most instances.

2
Verify your paper is intended for your offset printer. Using the wrong paper can result in paper jams and poor print quality. The machine manual should recommend a particular type or stock of paper to use.

3
Inspect your paper for any signs of bends, tears or warps that could contribute to jams or to poor print quality as it goes through the rollers on the offset printing machine. If the paper is bent or of otherwise poor quality, replace it with a fresh batch. If the paper is consistently wavy, it needs to remain wrapped until right before use.

4
Change the ink in your printing machine. You could have a bad batch of ink or the cartridge could have been negatively affected by the printer and a new cartridge could improve subsequent print quality.

5
Wipe down the rollers with a dry cloth in order to remove any dust or dirt that could be impairing print quality.

6
Adjust the height of the delivery rack on the machine to affect how the paper comes into the printer. This can improve print quality and eliminate problems once the height is properly adjusted.

7
Replace the roller and the plate if problems continue to occur in the printing process.