There is rarely just one reason why a printer stops printing. The fault is almost as often caused by Windows, the print spooler or the driver as it is by the printer itself. If you have already replaced the cartridge first, you then need to pinpoint the source of the problem.
In this article
- Why does a printer suddenly stop printing?
- Start by printing the test page directly from the printer
- Unblocking a frozen print queue
- Cartridge not properly seated or empty – the simplest thing to do
- Cleaning blocked print heads without making the fault worse
- It prints via USB but not via Wi-Fi – how can I find out what the problem is?
Why does a printer suddenly stop printing?
A printer that has stopped printing is most often due to it being offline, a blocked print queue, a driver corrupted following a Windows update, or an empty consumable. These four causes account for the vast majority of faults encountered during home repairs, long before any permanent hardware failure occurs.
| Symptom | Probable cause |
|---|---|
| The printer is shown as offline | Network status or driver out of sync |
| The document remains stuck in the queue | Spooler has frozen or the file is corrupted |
| The test page comes out blank | Cartridge, print head or toner |
| The PDF appears blank on screen but not on paper | Layers, transparency or font not rendered correctly |
| It works via USB but not via Wi-Fi | IP address changed or print port out of date |
Start by printing the test page directly from the printer
The test page is not dependent on the computer; it is generated by the printer itself. This is the quickest way to determine whether the fault lies with the printer or the PC, before wasting time reinstalling drivers unnecessarily.
Depending on the model, this page can be accessed from the control screen, via a combination of buttons at start-up, or via the manufacturer’s smartphone app. There are three possible outcomes, which determine the next steps in the diagnosis.
- If this page comes out blank, the problem lies with the printer – the ink, toner, print head, nozzles, drum or internal electronics.
- If this page prints normally, the printer is able to dispense ink or toner. Check Windows, the driver, the print queue or the print spooler.
- If the page comes out only partially printed, with missing lines or white streaks, the most likely cause is a blocked print head.
Unblocking a frozen print queue
A document that gets stuck in the queue and never prints is almost always caused by the Windows Print Spooler service, which manages the queue between the computer and the printer. A single corrupted file is enough to freeze the entire queue and block any documents sent afterwards.
- Open the printer queue and cancel any documents queued for printing, one by one if necessary.
- Type services.msc into the Windows search bar, find Print Spooler, right-click it and select Restart.
- If the problem persists, stop the Spooler service, manually empty the folder C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS, and then restart the service.
- Run a test print after each step rather than carrying out all the steps in one go.
A spool file that keeps growing without ever emptying is a sign of an unstable driver rather than an isolated incident. If the spooler regularly freezes on the same computer, completely reinstalling the driver will resolve the problem in the majority of cases.
Cartridge not properly seated or empty – the simplest thing to do
A cartridge that is not properly seated, is still protected by a film, or is empty is the simplest cause to check before adjusting the drivers or network settings. The levels displayed on the screen are not always reliable with compatible cartridges or those that have been installed for a long time.
Remove each cartridge, check the model, ensure it is properly seated, and check for any protective features that may have been left in place. A new cartridge may still have a plastic film, an orange clip or a tab that is blocking the ink flow. Reinsert it firmly until you hear a click.
- Inkjet: check the black cartridge separately from the colour cartridges; a blank page may be caused solely by the black ink in a document with no colour.
- Laser: check that the toner cartridge is securely locked in place and that no protective tape remains on it.
- Compatible cartridge: if the printer has difficulty recognising it, try using a genuine cartridge or one that has already been verified for use with this model.
If only black is no longer printing whilst the colours are printing fine, first check the black cartridge, its seal and ink level, then run a nozzle check pattern. On an inkjet printer, a single blocked black nozzle is enough to produce a blank page in a text document.
Cleaning blocked print heads without making the fault worse
In an inkjet printer, blocked print heads prevent the ink from reaching the paper, which is a common problem after a long period without printing. The ink dries in the nozzles and eventually blocks them completely if nothing is done.
The first signs are missing lines, incomplete colours or white streaks. When the blockage is more severe, the printout may come out completely white, even though the cartridges still appear to be full.
Run the automatic printhead cleaning function via the manufacturer’s software or the printer menu, then print a nozzle test pattern. If the pattern becomes clearer after one or two cleaning cycles, the problem is indeed caused by a blockage.
If nothing changes after several attempts, there’s no point in carrying on. The automatic cleaning function uses a lot of ink and isn’t always enough to unblock a dried-out print head. On some printers, the print head is integrated into the cartridge and is easy to replace. On others, it is fixed inside the printer and can be expensive to replace – a difference that completely changes whether it’s worth repairing.
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It prints via USB but not via Wi-Fi – how can I find out what the problem is?
A printer connected via Wi-Fi may appear to be available but may have difficulty receiving print jobs because its IP address has changed following a reboot of the router. The simplest way to check this is to switch temporarily to a USB connection.
If printing works via USB, the printer driver is working correctly and the problem lies with the network, the IP address or the print port. Also try printing from a second computer or a smartphone. If the other device prints normally, the problem is specific to the first device. If all devices produce the same result, check for hardware issues.
Turn off your VPN if the printer no longer appears on the network
I recently came across this issue with a client. The printer was properly connected to the Wi-Fi and working normally, but it was impossible to find it from the computer. After several checks, the problem turned out to be simply that the VPN was active on Windows. Once this was disabled, the printer became accessible on the network again.
A Wi-Fi printer communicates with the computer via your router’s local network. However, some VPNs may isolate the PC from the rest of the local network or block the mechanisms used by Windows to discover other devices. Internet access continues to work perfectly, which makes the fault rather misleading.
If Windows can no longer find your printer, temporarily disconnect your VPN and then search for the printer again in Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners. If it reappears, there’s no need to leave the VPN disabled permanently. Check its settings to see if there is an option toallow access to the local area network (LAN), so that you can continue to use the VPN whilst communicating with the printer.
A PDF that appears on screen prints out blank
The printer driver sometimes misinterprets layers, transparency or certain embedded fonts. To rule this out, print a few lines of text in a new document. If this file prints correctly, the problem lies with the original document, not the printer.
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