If you ask any office manager in South Florida what their biggest daily tech frustration is, the answer is almost universal: the paper jam. Despite massive leaps in office technology and the AI-driven enhancements in our latest Kyocera EvolutionNext series, paper is still a physical medium, and physical media can occasionally misbehave.
At STAT Business Systems, our technicians respond to hundreds of service calls a month. Over 40% of those calls are related to paper misfeeds. While our team is always ready to dispatch to your location, the vast majority of these errors can be resolved by your own staff in under a minute—if they know the right way to do it.
Here is our expert guide on how to safely clear a paper jam and prevent the most common causes from happening in the first place.
The 60-Second Fix: How to Safely Clear a Jam
When the touchscreen flashes that dreaded “Paper Jam” warning, the instinct is often to grab the visible edge of the paper and yank. This is the fastest way to turn a 60-second fix into a costly service call. Ripping the paper can leave tiny scraps inside the gear assembly or, worse, snap a sensor flag.
Follow these steps instead:
- Follow the Screen Prompts: Modern Kyocera machines feature interactive 10.1-inch displays that don’t just tell you there is a jam; they show you exactly where it is. Follow the step-by-step animated guide on the screen.
- Pull in the Direction of the Paper Path: Never pull a jammed sheet backward against the normal flow of the machine. This damages the delicate feed rollers. Always gently pull the paper in the direction it would naturally exit the copier.
- Check the “Hidden” Spots: If you have pulled the paper from the main tray and the error hasn’t cleared, check the duplex unit (the area that flips the paper for two-sided printing) and the rear access doors.
- Look for the Scrap: If a piece of paper tears while you are removing it, you must find the missing scrap. Even a piece of paper the size of a postage stamp can trick the machine’s optical sensors into thinking a massive jam is still occurring.
Prevention: The South Florida Humidity Factor
Fixing a jam is easy, but preventing one is even better. In Broward and Miami-Dade counties, the number one culprit behind chronic paper jams isn’t the machine—it is the environment.
- The Humidity Problem: Paper acts like a sponge. In our humid South Florida climate, paper left sitting in an open ream or an unsealed tray absorbs moisture from the air. This causes the sheets to stick together, resulting in the copier pulling two or three pages at once (a “multi-feed” error).
- The Solution (Fan the Paper): Always store your backup paper in a cool, dry place, and keep it wrapped in its ream packaging until you are ready to use it. Before loading a new stack into the cassette, gently “fan” the pages. This introduces a tiny layer of air between the sheets and breaks any static or moisture bonds.
- Check the Guides: Ensure the plastic edge guides inside the paper drawer are snug against the stack. If they are too loose, the paper pulls in at an angle and jams. If they are too tight, the paper bows and misfeeds.
When to Call in the Experts
If you are following best practices and your machine is still chronically jamming in the exact same spot, the issue is likely mechanical. Feed rollers wear down over time and lose their “grip,” requiring professional replacement.
If your office is dealing with constant paper misfeeds, it might be time for a hardware refresh or a thorough maintenance check. Request a free quote from our service team today and let STAT Business Systems get your office back to peak productivity.