Paper Jam in HP OfficeJet 3830 but cannot find the jam

[Breckenridge]

I was trying to print on an envelope on my OfficeJet 3830 printer. The printer grabbed the envelope from the input tray and started to process the envelope through the printer and it jammed. I cannot find the jam but I know it is in there. It will print on regular paper fine, so I tried to print another envelope but the text is skewed on the envelope and you can tell something is obstructing it from printing correctly. I cannot disassemble the printer well enough to look inside to get the jam out. Any help?

[Echo_Lake]

@Breckenridge
Thank you for posting on the HP Support Community.

Paper jams can be real or false. The printer might report a paper jam even when there is no jammed paper. The following steps apply to both real and false paper jams.

I have a few troubleshooting steps we could try to fix the issue:  

Firstly: Make sure the ink cartridge carriage moves freely :

1. Turn on the printer.

2. Open the exterior door.

   

3. The carriage moves to the center of the printer. Wait until the carriage is idle and silent before you continue.

4. Open the ink cartridge access door.

1. Figure: Open the ink cartridge access door
   

1. With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer.

2. Unplug the power cord from the power source or electrical outlet.

      WARNING: You must unplug the power cord to move the carriage by hand and reset the paper feed mechanism without the risk of electrical shock.

3. Use a flashlight to check for any paper or objects that might be restricting the carriage, and then remove any paper or objects that you find.

      CAUTION: If the paper tears when you remove it from the rollers, check the rollers and wheels for torn pieces of paper that might remain inside the printer. If pieces of paper remain in the printer, more paper jams can occur.

4. Reach inside the printer through the ink cartridge access door, and then manually move the carriage.

   • If the carriage is stuck on the right side of the printer, move the carriage to the left side of the printer.

   • If the carriage is stuck on the left side of the printer, move the carriage to the right side of the printer.

   • If the carriage is stuck in the middle of the printer, move the carriage to the right side of the printer.

5. Remove any loose paper or obstructions you find.

6. Make sure the carriage can move freely across the width of the printer. Firmly push the carriage to the left side of the printer, and then to the right side.

7. Close the ink cartridge access door.

   

8. Close the exterior door.

   

9. Pull out the output tray, and then the tray extender.

   

10. Reconnect the power cord to the rear of the printer, and then turn on the printer. Try to print. 

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance.
Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

[Breckenridge]

I've already done all those steps and they do not fix the jam. I can't even see the jam through any of the openings in the printer when you go through each step. I put 10 envelopes in the printer and only 9 came out. It still will not print correctly. I feel like you cannot open this printer well enough to find and fix a paper jam compared to other printers. I had to disconnect this printer and hook up an older printer just to be able to get my work done. But I don't want this printer to go to waste just because I can't get the envelope out.

[Echo_Lake]

@Breckenridge

I appreciate your efforts to try and resolve the issue. As you've performed relevant troubleshooting steps and the issue persist, it sounds like hardware related issue with the printer. I would request you to contact our Support and our Support Engineers should be able to check the available service options for your printer.

HP Support can be reached by clicking on the following link:

• Click on this link – www.hp.com/contacthp/
• Select the product type.
• Enter the serial number of your device or select let HP detect your product option.
• Select the country from the drop-down.
• You should see the HP support number or Chat option listed

Please feel free to contact us here anytime you need any further assistance. Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.