Why is my printer not printing anything even though it has ink?

One area of technology that needs alteration is the printer. Regardless of the latest brand or style, printers often have issues printing documents properly. Whether you use a printer rarely or too often, minor problems like these are inevitable. 

So, let’s talk about the many causes your printer is not working and ways you can fix it. 

Why Is My Printer Not Printing?

Since printers have many aspects, they have a variety of problems. Ideally, it’s best to check the basics first. Is your printer turned on properly? Are all the power cables connected properly?

If everything is connected well and ready, but your printer is still not responding, we can now look into further causes:

Overuse/Underuse of Printer

If you use the printer too often, it can lead to printers overheating. In that case, the printer may suddenly crash or stop printing. On the contrary, if your printer has been idle for too long and has collected dust, your printer will stop operating properly. This is because the dust can interfere with the connections inside. 

So, you can manage to balance out your printing needs to keep it in a stable condition. 

Paper Jams

If the papers are not placed correctly in the paper trays, the printer can be clueless and get stuck and stop printing. So, firstly turn off your printer and slowly take out the paper from both the rear tray and output tray. Then, you can insert the papers again. Now, you can turn your printer back on and see it’s starting to print. 

Dry Ink Cartridges

If you haven’t used your printer for long, the ink cartridges may have dried up, causing your printer to print blank pages. So, to fix this, you’ll need to refill the ink cartridges. You need new inks and a syringe for printer purposes to refill it yourself. However, you can also refill it at any local electronics repair shop if you don’t want to do it yourself. 

Outdated Printer Driver

If the printer driver is not updated, your printer cannot print correctly. So, prioritize updating or reinstalling the printer driver. 

1. Poor Windows configuration
2. Low toner
3. Incorrect font
4. Your printer is in offline mode.

Printer Queue 

If there are old pending documents to print in your print queue, it can cause a hindrance to printing your current document. Here’s how you can check and clear up the print queue. 

1. Go to Devices and Printers from the control panel. 
2. Select your printer by right-clicking on it and then click on See what’s printing. 
   
   

3. Open the HP printer’s menu and click on Open As Administrator.
4. Go back to the printer menu and click on Cancel All Documents. 
   
   

5. You’ll get a pop-up option asking you to confirm canceling the queue. Click on Yes.

Incorrect Printer 

If you’re in a rush, you may not notice which printer you’ve selected to print. So, you might’ve selected another printer. To check this, go to File and then Print. If you notice a different printer selected in the pop-up menu, click on it to change it to your current printer. 

It’s best to note that even though printer brands may vary, the general mechanism is the same. So, even if your printer is Epson, HP, or Canon, you can still apply the solutions without fear.  

Corrupted Files

If your Microsoft Word documents have corrupted fonts or graphics and corrupted files, it can cause your printer to not print correctly. So, you can perform an Antivirus scan or check for malware on your computer using Windows Defender. 

Printer Not Printing in Color

If your printer is not printing in color or black, or even cyan, this problem has a lot to do with the printer’s ink. So, here are some potential reasons your printer is not printing in the right color. 

Incorrect Settings

One of the first things to look out for when your printer is not printing in color is to check if the settings are correct. If the setting is set to “grayscale,” that is why your printer is printing in black and white. You can change it to print in color and set it as your default setting in these steps. 

1. Open the Start menu in Windows and go to Settings.
2. Select Devices and then click on Printers and scanners on the left panel. 
3. Select your printer and click on Manage. This will lead you to the Manage your device pop-up menu. 
4. Click on Printer properties and then click on Preferences. 
5. Select the Color option.
   
   

6. Click on OK. 

Insufficient Color Inks

If your printer has run out of the primary color inks, then your printer has no other option besides printing in black and white. So, you can check and refill the color inks and print again. If you only use black ink and your printer is not printing in black, it’s best to refill the black ink. 

Color Ink Cartridge 

If your color ink cartridge is clogged and dirty, your printer might not print your document in the correct color. So, it’s best to check and clean the cartridge. Remember that some printers already come with an auto-clean feature. Once you’ve cleaned it, you can test it to see if your documents turn out to be in the right color. 

You can refer to your printer’s manual to clean the cartridge as different brands can have their unique way of cleaning the printer. However, if you don’t have a manual, you can take help from these generic steps to clean the ink cartridge. 

1. Take out the ink cartridge. 
   
   

2. Using a microfiber cloth, clean any dust or residual ink. 
3. Use a damp cloth to clean the print head area. 
4. Insert the cartridge back into the printer. 

If that doesn’t work, remove the cartridge and set it aside for a few minutes. Reinstall the cartridges and close the cover after 10 minutes. This should resolve the issue.

Why Is My Printer Not Printing Even When the Ink Is Full?

The first thing to check is to see if your printer is all correctly plugged in. Some loose wires and cables might interfere with the printing process even when the ink is full. So, make sure the connection is reliable. 

If the ink is all full and ready to go, but your printer is still not printing, there might be other issues with the software or your computer. If you haven’t correctly placed the ink cartridges, your printer will not print properly. This is a common problem if you are new to using printers.

Generally, most printers have a lid at the top that you can lift and find the ink cartridges. Check if the cartridges fit appropriately into the slot. 

It’s also important to notice if the ink cartridges belong to the correct color family. For e.g., you need to place the color ink cartridge on the left side, and the black one must go to the right side of the slot.

Finally, if you hear the cartridge door make a clicking sound when you close it, it’s placed correctly. 

Why Is My Printer Not Printing After Changing Cartridges? 

If your printer is still not working even after changing the ink cartridges, the first thing to do is to check if they’re installed correctly. Also, check if you have installed the correct color cartridges where they belong. If they are, you can then look into other issues:

1. Check if you have paper in the tray. 
   
   

2. Check your Wi-Fi connection. 
3. Check if your power cable is connected accurately. 
4. Check if the font is correct. 
5. Check the correct printer settings. 
6. Check if your printer driver is up-to-date. 
7. Check the printer queue. 
   
   

Why Is My Wireless Printer Not Printing?

Here are some solutions when your wireless printer is not working decently: 

Poor Internet Connection

As mentioned above, an unstable internet connection can cause your wireless printer to function improperly.

You can check the no. of devices connected to your router and disconnect any device to speed up the internet. Another way is to use a cable if your printer is not able to connect to Wi-Fi. 

Bugs and Connection Issues

Your wireless printer can be sensitive to bugs and minor issues, causing it to not work properly. So, to fix this, you can update your router firmware. You can check the router manual or contact customer service to receive assistance on updating the router. 

Why Is My Printer Not Printing Everything on the Page?

Even if your printer is working well, it takes several tries to get the perfect print. Here are a few reasons your printer is not printing clearly. 

1. If your ink is running low, it can cause your documents to have a faint color. So, check and refill the ink cartridges. If you go to the control panel and check the cartridge status, you can figure out the remaining amount of ink or toner. 

1. Check the no. of pages you’ve selected to print. 

1. If your printer is located in a place where there’s low or extreme humidity, it can cause your documents to be printed improperly.
   
   This is because even the ink cartridge and the paper have a humidity rating. Any interference can cause faulty prints. 

1. It’s best to check the options in the printer properties. If the quality chosen is not ideal, it can cause the printer to not print everything.
   • Open Printer and Scanners from settings
   • Select your current printer.
   • Click on Manage.
   • Check Printing preferences
   • Click on the Paper tab
   • Select Plain Paper in the Type field.
   • Select the Print Quality and select Normal.
   • Click on OK. 

Why Is My Printer Connected but Not Printing?

If your printer is connected properly and you’ve also checked the power cables, you can try checking if other factors are in the right condition. For instance, check if the inks are full. Check if the printer driver is updated and ensure the print queue is cleared up. 

Why Is My Printer Spooling and Not Printing?

Sometimes, you might get printer spooler error messages, and your printer won’t work smoothly. Simply put, printer spooling means a printer queue where pending print jobs are lined up. This software comes built-in on Windows. So, here are some reasons your printer is stuck on spooling and is not printing:

1. Corrupted files in the printer queue
2. Printing documents stuck in the queue
3. Spooler service has crashed

You can either clear the printer queue or update the printer driver. To perform these actions, please refer to our step-by-step guide explained above. Alternatively, you can also update your Windows OS or macOS. 

Why Is My Thermal Printer Not Printing?

If the paper rolls have the thermal coating on the opposite side, you might receive blank pages. So, to install the paper properly, take out the paper roll and rotate it. Now, try reinstalling it and see if your printer is starting to print properly. 

Why is my printer printing blank pages when I have ink?