Can you keep using it?
Can you keep using it?
Contact customer support if any of these apply
- !Tray jams return repeatedly on clean paper after a full clear.
- !The same tray path jams every time, pointing to a pickup or guide hardware issue.
What to check first
Step-by-step checks
- 1
Consumable check
Open the tray path and remove any jammed paper or scraps fully.
Start with the official recovery step before moving on to parts or deeper servicing.
- 2
Consumable check
Reload a smaller stack of clean, flat paper below the fill line.
- 3
Consumable check
Verify the paper guides are aligned with the loaded media.
Background
What this message usually means
Lexmark's MX431 and MS431 office family guides treat tray-feed jams as a full tray-path clear, not just a quick pull from the paper drawer. In practice this usually means a sheet stalled near the tray pickup or entered the main path badly and must be removed fully before printing resumes.
Before the message
What users usually notice first
Messages like this often appear after a hidden paper-path interruption, tray setup issue, or a small obstruction that is easier to miss than a full visible jam.
Diagnosis
Likely causes
Paper loaded unevenly or above the tray fill mark.
A torn scrap remains near the tray pickup path.
Damaged or curled paper entered the feed path badly.
Service
When service or replacement is more likely
- -Repeated tray jams on office printers often point to feed wear rather than one bad sheet.
Avoid wrong turns
Common misreads of this message
- -Treating the message like a confirmed failed part instead of a support clue about which system has stopped the printer.
- -Assuming no physical path issue exists just because no full sheet is visible at first glance.
See also
Related codes in this family
Explore more
More Lexmark printer families
Read this next
Helpful guides for this problem
Boundary
When to stop troubleshooting and move to support
Use the message once to classify the problem, then move to support if the printer still cannot return to ready after the first safe checks.
Keep browsing
Where to go next
Source notes
Lexmark's official MX431 interactive guide includes tray-jam procedures that focus on clearing the tray path fully and reloading the media correctly.
Built around official Lexmark user-guide and service-manual material for the MX431 and closely related mono office models. Exact code behavior can vary a little by print-only versus MFP model and installed options, but the main paper-jam and supply messages stay close across the family.
Printer error codes can vary a little by firmware, region, and exact model variant. Use this guide as a family-level starting point and stop if the next step would require disassembly or service-mode changes.
Known family variants: MX431adn, MX431adw, MS431dn, MS431dw, XM1342
Last reviewed: 2026-04-12
Reference: Open reference