Printers have their share of problems and tend not to work properly when need more but there are several things you can do to get your printer back online if you know what to look for. Printer issues may include
things like printing blank pages, no page printing, strange characters on the page, and so on. Here are some fixes you can try with some types of printer issues:
Windows 10 Troubleshooting – No printing
Make sure the printer is turned on.
Make sure that the USB cable is connected.
Check the wireless connection on your computer and printer if via a wireless connection.
Click the printer queue icon next to the clock on the taskbar and see if failed or backup jobs that do not cause failure to pass. Clear the backup jobs and try again.
Look for error messages on the printer screen, if you have it.
Check to see if the printer appears as “offline” under Devices and Printers.
Restart the spooler service.
Look for errors in Device Manager.
Turn the printer off and on and then restart your computer as well.
Print to a different printer (if available) to see if the problem is specific computers or printers.
Windows 10 Troubleshooting – Printing blank pages
Check the ink levels in the software, if supported.
Remove the inkjet cartridge and shake it to see if it looks like it be ink on it.
If you’re printing something like black text, try changing it to red to see if it’s actually printed. (This way you will know that it is your ink cartridge that is causing the problem.)
Temporarily install a new cartridge (if available) to see if solves the problem.
Clean the print heads for inkjet printers using the printer software.
Remove the inkjet cartridges and clean the tip where the ink comes out with a handkerchief.
Remove the toner cartridge from the laser printer and shake it and then place it go back and try again.
Be sure to print a page with something on it and not a blank page.
Windows 10 Troubleshooting – Paper jams
Make sure the paper is aligned correctly in the paper tray.
Try another paper tray or manual feeding tray (if you have one).
Make sure the paper is not curved or warped.
Make sure you don’t use not-designed paper to printer.
Check for paper tray rollers and feeder for excessive wear or try to clean them up.
Laser printers require periodic cleaning to work as smoothly as possible.
Windows 10 Troubleshooting – Strange (incomprehensible) characters printed on the page
Check the printer property settings on the advanced tab under ensure that the appropriate driver is used.
Download and install a new driver.
If you recently installed a new driver or made some type of printer update, see if it can be restored to the old driver. Photo: Pixabay
