How to clear a paper jam safely

Knowing how to clear a paper jam properly saves you from the second, harder problem: a torn sheet with a piece stuck where you cannot reach it. The method below works for inkjet and laser printers, from small home models to office machines. It takes a few minutes, needs no tools, and mostly comes down to patience and pulling in the right direction.

If the printer reports a jam but you cannot find any paper, go to paper jam but no paper. If paper does not go in at all, see printer not picking up paper.

Step 1: Cancel the job and switch off

Cancel the print job on your computer first, so the printer does not try again the moment you close the cover. Then turn the printer off with its power button and unplug it.

On laser printers, the fuser (the unit that bonds toner to the paper) gets very hot. If the jam is near the back or the output area, wait about ten minutes before touching it. On inkjet printers, unplugging stops the cartridge carriage from moving while your hands are inside.

Some printers ask you, on the display, to keep the power on while you remove the paper so they can release the rollers. If yours does, follow the on-screen steps and keep your hands clear of moving parts.

Step 2: Find where the paper is caught

Look at the places paper can be, in this order:

1. Output tray. If the sheet is sticking out of the front, the easiest exit is right there.
2. Input tray. Pull the tray out (or remove paper from the rear feeder) and look into the slot.
3. Front cover or cartridge door. On laser printers, removing the toner cartridge often reveals the paper path. On inkjets, the sheet may be under the carriage.
4. Rear access door or duplex unit. Many printers have a door or removable panel at the back. Paper often jams where it turns around for two-sided printing.

Use a torch to look into narrow spaces. Do not reach in with knives, scissors or tweezers; metal tools scratch rollers and break small sensor levers.

Step 3: Pull it out the right way

• Grip the sheet with both hands, as wide apart as possible, so the pull is even.
• Pull slowly and steadily in the direction the paper normally moves. Quick jerks tear the paper.
• If the sheet resists, stop. Try from another access door, or release any green or blue levers that open the roller pressure; printers often colour these parts so you know you can touch them.
• On inkjets, if the carriage blocks the paper, slide it gently to one side by hand with the power off.

Step 4: Check the sheet is complete

Lay the jammed sheet flat. If a corner or strip is missing, that piece is still inside and will cause the next jam or a “jam but no paper” message. Go back through each access point until you find it.

Step 5: Reload and restart

1. Take the remaining paper out of the tray, fan it, square the edges and put it back below the maximum fill line.
2. Slide the paper guides until they touch the stack without bending it.
3. Close every cover and door until it clicks. An open door can show up as a jam or cover error.
4. Plug in, turn on and wait for the printer to finish its start-up, then print one page.

Special cases

Labels. A label that peels off its backing sheet inside the printer is the worst kind of jam, because the adhesive sticks to rollers and guides. Do not keep printing. Remove the label carefully with your fingers, and if it is stuck to a roller you cannot reach, stop and check the manual or the manufacturer’s support pages for your model. Only use label sheets made for your printer type (inkjet or laser), and never feed a sheet that has already lost labels.

Envelopes and card. These jam when they go through a path that bends them too sharply. Many printers have a rear feed slot or a straighter output path for thick media; the manual lists the paths and weights each tray supports.

Jams inside the fuser on laser printers. Paper wrapped around the fuser rollers is common when the sheet was damp or too thin. Let the printer cool fully, open the rear door and release the fuser pressure levers if your model has them. If the paper is wrapped tightly and will not come free with gentle pressure, stop: the fuser is easy to damage and expensive to replace.

Jams in the automatic document feeder. On all-in-one printers, the scanner’s document feeder on top has its own jam cover, usually a lid at one end of the feeder. Open it and pull originals out in the direction they travel.

After the jam: check the first prints

Clearing a jam can leave marks behind. If the first pages come out smeared or with ink on the back, a roller or the paper path may have picked up ink; see printer smudging ink. On a laser printer, toner that was not fused onto the jammed sheet can sit on rollers and print as faint repeating marks for a few pages. If a faint copy of the image keeps repeating further down each page, see laser printer ghosting. Lines that appear only after a jam usually mean a scrap or toner deposit in the paper path; our lines and streaks guide helps you tell which part is responsible.

Why paper jams happen

Cause	What you notice	Fix
Overfilled tray	Jams at pick-up, several sheets pulled at once	Fill below the max line
Guides too tight or too loose	Skewed or crumpled sheets	Guides should just touch the stack
Curled or damp paper	Jams in the middle of the path	Use fresh paper from a sealed pack
Wrong paper type for the tray	Jams with labels, card or glossy paper	Use the rear or manual feed for special media
Dirty or worn rollers	Paper misfeeds, then jams	Clean rollers; replace if worn smooth
Scrap left from an earlier jam	Repeated jams in the same place	Check every access point with a torch
Duplex jams	Jams only in two-sided printing	Use paper weight within the duplex limits

Prevent the next jam

• Store paper flat in its wrapper, away from damp rooms.
• Do not add paper to a tray that is still feeding; take the stack out, add paper and reload.
• Do not mix paper types or sizes in one tray.
• Load special media one sheet at a time if the manual recommends it.
• Clean the rollers every few months with a lint-free cloth dampened with water.

If jams keep coming back after all of this, the pick-up roller or separation pad may be worn; see printer not picking up paper. For any other symptom, the printer troubleshooting guide lists every fix on this site.