A full paper tray and a "paper out" error at the same time almost always points to how the paper is loaded or a dirty sensor — not a genuinely empty tray.
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Printers detect paper using a small mechanical or optical sensor near the bottom of the tray, not by "seeing" the whole stack. If the paper isn't sitting flat against that sensor — because it's stacked unevenly, curled at the corners, or loaded slightly off from the guides — the sensor can report empty even though there's plenty of paper physically present. A dirty or worn sensor can cause the same false reading over time, independent of how the paper is loaded.
Remove the entire stack, square the edges by tapping it on a flat surface, and reload it flush against the back and side guides of the tray. Uneven or fanned-out paper is the single most common cause of this specific error.
Check the width guides are snug against the paper, not loose or overly tight. Guides that are too loose let the stack shift and lift away from the sensor; guides that are too tight can bow the paper slightly and cause the same issue from the opposite direction.
Clean the paper-out sensor if it's safely reachable — usually a small lever or optical window near the bottom of the tray. A dry, lint-free cloth or a gentle puff of compressed air removes the dust that commonly interferes with it over time. Check your printer's manual for the sensor's exact location before reaching in, since forcing access on the wrong spot can cause more harm than the dust itself.
Try a different ream of paper. Unusually thin, glossy, or heavily textured paper can sit differently against the sensor than standard copy paper. If a different ream loads without the error, your regular paper stock — not the printer — is the underlying cause.
If this only happens with the tray nearly full or nearly empty specifically, rather than at a consistent level, that's a strong sign the sensor itself (rather than the loading) is the actual cause — worth flagging separately if it needs service.
An error on literally every print attempt, even with a single fresh sheet loaded correctly, points more strongly to a genuinely faulty or worn sensor than a loading issue — this is less common but does happen on older printers, and usually requires a service technician or a replacement part from the manufacturer rather than a settings fix.
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Our general paper jam guide covers the safe removal sequence for any brand.
Read the paper jam guideA related but different problem — the tray feeds nothing at all.
Read the article →The safe removal sequence, and when a recurring jam means something more.
Read the article →What GSM means and which weights your printer can handle.
Read the article →These visuals are matched to this page topic. They show the important printer parts, screens, connections, and test steps using lightweight, fast-loading local images.
