paper goes in crooked, no jams, rollers appear off kilter? HELP

[Leftthe994me]

Watched a bunch of youtube tutorials still no bueno.  There is no paper jam & when I visualize where the paper feeds I can see the 2 rollers & maybe they're crooked?  When I attempt to print the paper gets "sucked in crooked hence not able to print .    I REALLY REALLY need to use this printer HP Deskjet 2842e & only been using for a few months & up until now worked great!  

[Garp_senchau]

@Leftthe994me, Welcome to HP Support Community,

Thank you for posting your query; I’m here to help by guiding you through steps to resolve this issue

1. Turn off and inspect the printer carefully
Unplug the printer completely. Open the front and rear access doors. Use a flashlight to look for even the smallest scraps of paper or debris near the rollers or paper path, especially behind the rollers. A tiny bit of torn paper can throw off alignment.

2. Check and clean the paper rollers
Look at the rollers inside the input tray area and the back. If they look crooked, gently press them with your fingers to see if they're loose or unseated.
Use a lint-free cloth slightly dampened with distilled water (or isopropyl alcohol) to wipe the rollers. Rotate them manually as you clean.

3. Reseat or adjust the input tray and paper guides
Remove the paper and check that the input tray is fully seated and not bent. Insert a fresh stack of paper—no more than 20–25 sheets. Make sure the paper width guides are snug but not too tight. If they're loose or too tight, paper feeds unevenly.

4. Reset the printer
Unplug the power cable with the printer on. Wait 60 seconds. Plug it back in and power it up. This resets the paper feed mechanism.

5. Print a test page using HP Smart app
Use the HP Smart app to print a test page. If paper still feeds crooked, try feeding a single sheet. If it feeds better, that confirms it’s a misalignment issue in the tray or rollers.

6. Inspect for internal roller dislodgment (if you're confident)
Gently press down on each roller while comparing both sides. If one feels looser or lower than the other, it may be dislodged. Unfortunately, internal roller misalignment usually requires service unless it visibly snapped out of place and can be nudged back into alignment.

I hope this helps.

Please feel free to reply here if you have any questions or if you need further clarification on any of the steps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

If my response helped, please mark it as an Accepted Solution! ✅ It helps others and spreads support. 💙 Also, tapping "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" makes a big difference! Thanks! 😊

Regards,