Inkjet Printer Displays Garbled or Corrupted Text: Causes and Fixes

One of the more confusing issues in industrial inkjet coding is when the printer suddenly starts printing garbled, unreadable, or incorrect characters—despite the system appearing otherwise normal. This issue can stem from layout file corruption, font compatibility issues, or internal firmware errors. Here’s how to systematically troubleshoot and resolve it.

Common Symptoms

• ⚠️ Printed characters appear as symbols, squares, or random letters
• ⚠️ 2D codes scan incorrectly or return unreadable data
• ⚠️ The user interface shows broken text or message content
• ⚠️ Only part of the message prints correctly; the rest is scrambled

Key Causes and Solutions

1. Corrupted Layout File or Message

• Cause: The saved message file (.msg/.lay) contains damaged data
• Fix:
  • Delete and recreate the message layout from scratch
  • Use simple text and standard fonts during rebuild
  • Test message on screen preview before activating

2. Unsupported or Broken Font

• Cause: The selected font is missing or incompatible with the printer firmware
• Fix:
  • Switch to default system font (e.g., Arial, OCR-A, Helvetica)
  • Avoid loading third-party font files unless validated by the manufacturer

3. Encoding Mismatch for Multilingual Text

• Cause: UTF-8, GB2312, or ASCII encoding mismatch in variable data
• Fix:
  • Verify the encoding of source data, such as from a USB or ERP integration
  • Set the printer’s language or encoding mode accordingly
  • Use only validated characters for QR/barcode encoding

4. Firmware Glitch or Software Conflict

• Cause: Software crash during data upload or firmware conflict
• Fix:
  • Restart the printer and reload the layout
  • Update the firmware to the latest stable version
  • Restore factory defaults if issue persists

5. Variable Field Error or Overlapping Objects

• Cause: Dynamic content field (e.g., date, counter) overlaps with other fields or is misconfigured
• Fix:
  • Check field length, position, and content rules in the layout editor
  • Ensure fields do not overlap or exceed print area boundaries

Prevention Tips

• ✅ Use officially provided layout software or message editors
• ✅ Avoid copy-pasting special characters from external documents
• ✅ Save multiple backup versions of layout files
• ✅ Always preview message before sending to production

FAQs

• Can corrupted print be caused by power interruption? Yes—if layout files or font data are being loaded during the interruption
• Is this issue common in TIJ systems with USB upload? Yes—especially if text files were edited in incompatible software (e.g., Excel into Notepad)

Conclusion

Garbled or corrupted print output often stems from misconfigured layouts, encoding errors, or incompatible fonts. While the printer hardware may be fully functional, it’s the software layer that needs attention. Regular layout validation, font selection discipline, and firmware updates can prevent this frustrating issue. For help with layout troubleshooting or system recovery, contact Cheef Inkjet at sales@cheef.cn.