The printer gives a printing error: what to do?

There are times when the printer does not print a document. There is paper in the tray, but it does not work. Or it produces blank paper or sheets with smudges. Let's find out what to do.

The printer gives a printing error: reasons

There are several main reasons why a printer produces errors:

1. The driver is outdated or missing.
2. Contacts are stuck.
3. The printer is not connected correctly.
4. The settings are incorrect.
5. There is no ink in the cartridge.
6. There may be several devices connected to the computer at once, and it cannot detect one.

Important! Most types of errors can be resolved at home without taking the printer to a service center.

How to fix a printing error

The correction process will depend on the type of error. For example, if the problem is in the driver (usually this is in 90% of cases), we do the following:

1. Go to “Start”, “Control Panel”, “Devices and Printers” section.
2. A window will appear with all the devices that are currently connected to the computer. We are looking for what we need.
3. Checking the icon. If it is green, then the problem is not with the driver. We are looking for another reason.
4. If the problem is in the driver, it needs to be reinstalled. The kit should include a driver disc. If there is no disk, the utility can be downloaded from the Internet.
5. After completing several installation steps (the installation wizard will help you with this), we try to print the sheet.

Perhaps the reason is in the wire. Standard wires often have poor transmission speeds.Sometimes you have to wait more than an hour to transfer documentation to other equipment. If you encounter this problem, you should buy a cable equipped with ferrite rings. The wire is more stable and is able to quickly transfer documents (transmission speed is 5 times higher).

Attention! The cable may also be damaged. The plug may be broken or the contacts may be stuck. Here it is better to contact the service center.

Check the hardware properties. If the Print Error window appears, do the following:

1. We go to “Start”. Open "Printers and Faxes".
2. We are looking for the necessary equipment. Click on it with the right mouse button.
3. A menu will appear where you need to select the “Properties” line.
4. A window will appear there. We are looking for the “Data Exchange” section.
5. There we select “Disable”.
6. We restart the equipment.

Another method is to find an image of the equipment and double-click on it with the left mouse button. We check in what mode the equipment operates. If it shows that it is offline, change the parameter. We do the following:

1. Go to “Devices and Printers”.
2. A window will appear where you need to select a device.
3. Click on it. A window appears where you need to uncheck the box next to the line “Work offline”.
4. We make sure that the queue is cleared and restart the equipment.

If there is no ink in the cartridge, modern devices should report this. But not all devices have this function. You can download an application from the Internet to check the amount of ink in the cartridge. If there is no paint, we take the part to a service center. If you know how to refill a cartridge, you can do it at home using a syringe. We simply fill it with ink and pour it through the appropriate hole.

It is possible that several printers are connected to your computer at the same time, and you cannot determine which one you want to output text to. We do the following:

1. Open "Devices and Printers".
2. A window will appear there with all currently connected devices.
3. We are looking for the device we need. Make sure that it is connected (see status).
4. Right-click on the printer and select the “Set as default” line.
5. A green check mark should appear next to the device. If it is pale, the computer cannot detect the device.

Check that the connection is correct. The error may have appeared recently (the printer worked fine before). Restart the device and computer. Inspect the wires for damage.

Important! Very often, a printing error appears if the wrong printer is selected (that is, several are connected at once, and the computer does not see the one we need). But still, a driver error is a more common occurrence.

If all of the above steps do not help, there is a possibility that one of the equipment parts has failed. The device will have to be taken to a service center. Try also checking the functionality of the USB connector on your computer. Just plug in your flash drive to make sure it works.