@lizawelch,
Does the printer try to draw in paper? (Can you here the motor turning?) If yes, you have a mechanical problem. If no, you might have a driver or cable problem. Does the computer show that the printer is connected? If no, then you probably have a problem with your cable or printer port. Try connecting the printer to a different port if one is available. If you are running Windows 7 on an older machine, sometimes it loses the USB ports and a reboot will help.