Lexmark x83 does not pull paper through; what do I
One common cause of paper feed issues is a build up of dust on the printer's rear paper feed roller. This roller consists of a plastic axle with one rubber roller on each side. This is located in the automatic sheet feeder and is referred to as the "Pick Roller." As dust builds up on the rubber rollers, they become less tacky and therefore unable to grab a single sheet of paper.
To prevent and/or cure this type of paper feed problem, these rubber rollers should be cleaned.
Unplug the printer's power cord and remove the paper from the automatic sheet feeder. Locate the pick roller and clean the rubber wheels on the left and right with a cloth dampened with warm water (be sure there is no excess water on the cloth as it may drip into the machine). After these are free of any dust or ink build up, reload the paper and plug the power cord back in. The paper should then feed normally.
Next, follow the steps given below to perform the self-test:
1. Press the "Menu" button 10 times. It should then read "Maintenance" on the printer's display screen.
2. Press the "Select" button once. You should then see "Cartridges" displayed on the printer screen.
3. Press the "Right Arrow" button 3 times, which then brings you to the "Self-Test" option.
4. Press the "Select" button once. It should print out a sheet of paper with horizontal color and black lines and smaller vertical lines.
The self-test should at least print out a set of either black or color bars, if not both (if you have a printer with both color and black installed simultaneously). Should this test fail, try it again without cartridges installed. If the self-test still fails to take paper in and make sounds like the carrier is moving across the paper, this is a hardware issue, and the printer will require service. If the self-test completes without any cartridges installed, run the self-test again with the color cartridge installed. (If you have both black and color cartridges, after this test, run the test again with just the black cartridge installed.) If you find that either cartridge causes the self-test to fail, please let us know.
If the self-test prints, but has lines or smudges or other print quality issues, please let us know. This includes any print quality issues and we need to know if the problems you have with your black or color are based in the printer, or communications with your computer, or the computer's software.
If the self-test prints your test bar(s) clearly, the printer hardware is not at fault.