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Knowledge Base · Troubleshooting

How to Fix a Paper Jam in a Lexmark Printer

By Dianna · Published August 28, 2026 · 5 min read

Lexmark's touchscreen models are unusually helpful here — the display names the specific jam area (like "Jam, door A" or "Jam, tray 1") rather than a generic message, so the first move is always to actually read what it says before opening anything.

Illustration of a Lexmark printer display showing a specific jam location

Step 1: Read the exact jam location on the display

Unlike some brands, Lexmark's touchscreen models typically name a specific door or area — for example "Jam, door A" or "Jam, tray 1" — and even show a diagram in some cases. This tells you exactly where to look rather than making you check every access point, so start by reading the actual message rather than opening the first door you see.

Step 2: Open the indicated door

Each labeled door corresponds to a specific access point on the printer body — often marked with a matching letter or number on the printer itself. Open the one indicated by the display.

Step 3: Pull the paper slowly, in the direction of travel

Grip the visible sheet with both hands and pull steadily in the direction the paper would normally be moving — never backward, and never at an angle, since either causes tearing that leaves harder-to-find fragments behind.

Step 4: Check for a second jam

Multi-page jams happen more often on higher-speed office printers, since several sheets can be mid-feed at once when the jam occurs. After clearing the first door indicated, check whether the display still shows a jam error — if it does, there may be a second sheet caught further along the path, sometimes in an area not initially flagged.

Step 5: Check for torn fragments

Before closing anything, look carefully around the rollers near where you removed the jam for small torn pieces — these are the most common reason a jam appears to immediately return.

Step 6: Close every open door

Close all doors firmly, including any you opened just to check. Lexmark printers generally won't clear the jam error until every access point registers as fully closed, even if the paper is already removed.

If jams keep recurring

On office-volume Lexmark printers specifically, this is often about paper handling at scale rather than a single bad sheet: paper loaded above the tray's fill line, mixed paper weights in the same tray, or — on heavily-used units — feed rollers that have simply worn down after tens of thousands of pages and need a maintenance kit replacement, which is a standard scheduled service item on higher-volume Lexmark models rather than a sign of a defect.

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