A thin ribbon made from plastic fell out of printer, where does it go? Printer model:2400 all-in-one. part 1/4inch by 12 inches appr.

I had this same problem and none of the printer services (clean printhead, align printer, calibrate linefeed) fixed the problem. After trying every solution that I found on the internet with no success I was able to fix the problem by cleaning two critical parts of the printer.
1. Turn off the printer and open it as though you are going to change the printheads.
2. Towards the back of the printer you will see a thin clear plastic ribbon that has very small black lines on it. Very, very, very gently clean this ribbon. I used a lint free cloth and some glass cleaner. Spray the cleaner on the cloth and slide the cloth against both sides of the ribbon. Do not pull on the ribbon. This ribbon is used to tell the printhead how far it has moved from side to side.
3. Next locate the silver bar that runs across the back of the printer. This bar is used to feed the paper through the printer as it is printing a document. On the left side of the bar you will see some plastic guides that hold the bar in place. On the outside of the plastic guides you should see a clear plastic disc made of the same material as the ribbon above. This disc also has very small black lines on it. Again very, very, very gently clean this plastic disc. This disk is used to tell the printheads how far it has travelled down the page. This is the one that was causing the problem. The dust or dried ink or whatever was on the disc was causing the printer to incorrectly calibrate the linefeed and was causing the white lines to appear on my documents.
4. Use the "calibrate linefeed" function of the printer services to recalibrate the linefeed and the white lines will hopefully be gone.

Hold in the Feed button for 4-5 seconds, which causes the printer to attempt to "Auto-calibrate." If that doesn't solve it, then slide out the Media Sensor (green plastic bar that sticks out over the labels) about 1 inch from all the way in ("in" = left if looking from front). Then press Feed to clear errors. If still get same error, then look for piece of label or ribbon stuck in that error - ok to blow out with canned air. Then try holding in Feed again for 4-5 seconds to Auto-calibrate again.

IT IS EASY TO PUT IT BACK AGAIN. HOOKS WILL BE THERE AT TWO ENDS.

Hello,
The plastic piece you are talking about it just prevents the paper from bending forward when is inserted in the printer. That plastic piece should not cause any paper jams or printing problems. If you do happen to have paper jams maybe a piece of plastic fell inside where the paper goes. Simply turn off the printer, remove the paper and flip the printer upside down and shake it a little that should remove any debris inside the printer.

Not that difficult check if behind the carriage(part holding cartridges) has broken off.Its a small plastic latch about 3 inches in length.
If not then try moving the carriage manually with your hand and see if it moves if it doesn't press and hold the power button and while holding the buttons unplug and re-plug the power cable to the printer .Clean the carriage rod with alcohol on a cotton swab/lint free cloth and then see if the problem surfaces if it does then its time to get a new printer

Google your printer, try pcappliancerepair.com. This item goes from one side of your printer to the other, passing through the cartridges holder. Look for the places it attaches. You may have to move the cartridge holder to the center to install the plastic.

hmm..well..that may not be your only issue..if the printer fell to the floor.

replace the cartridges

Firstly, see if the printer still works. Print something. Then I suggest bringing it into where you purchased the printer. If a twenty month old child pulled it out I am sure it was not burried inside the printer and a Rep at the store can fix it immediately with out cost. Do not let them charge you. Just let them know that this ribbon came out and you do not know where it goes. If the printer works without it, don't worry about it, but keep the ribbon tucked away somewhere and when you go back to the store, when it is convient, have them take a look at it. Let me know how it goes.

Cynthia Charczenko

Try to cut off a thin plastic strip. just try to copy that. it basically guides the cartridge on where to print. also i remember that it should have a spring connected to the holes.