Printers are great when they work, but when they don't information technology can exist extremely frustrating. Here's how to solve some of the most common problems, including not printing at all through to blocked nozzles and other problems.

Printers tin run reliably for many years and thousands of prints, merely they can also malfunction or stop working entirely.

Sometimes the reason is equally simple every bit over- or under use. Many people don't employ their inkjet printers often enough and this can pb to bug with dried-upwards ink blocking the nozzles. Overuse is less common than misuse: paper clips, hair bands and even food can autumn into printers and cause newspaper jams (and worse).

If your printer can't be stock-still with these tips, check out our list of the best printers to buy, and the all-time printer deals correct now.

My printer won't print

There are many reasons why your printer won't impress, so start with the basics such as checking to see whether in that location is an error bulletin or warning low-cal on the printer. Make sure in that location is paper in the tray(s), check the ink or toner cartridges aren't empty, the USB cable is plugged in or the printer is connected to Wi-Fi.

And if it is a network or wireless printer, endeavor using a USB cablevision instead. In our experience, some Wi-Fi printers are unreliable in terms of their connection. Then it's worth unplugging your printer and whatever powerline network adapters it's connected to, and then turning everything back on again.

Select the right printer!

Sometimes the reason a printer won't impress is because you've installed some software which has a 'virtual' printer and this has set itself every bit the default. When you hit Print, a file will be saved by this virtual printer instead of the certificate being sent to your physical printer.

To check this, open the Command Console from the Offset menu. So go to Devices and Printers, right-click the right printer to employ and prepare it as the default. (While you're in that location, you can also ensure the printer's status is set to Ready. If not, this could be the source of the problem.)

Side by side, brand sure that the correct printer is selected in the programme you are printing from - you should run into an selection to choose from a listing equally in the image below.

Solve common printing problems: default printer

Microsoft has a printing troubleshooter that can help to place issues. Click the Fix it push, download and run the program, then follow the steps in the wizard.

You tin can also open the Control Console, Devices and Printers, right click the printer icon and select Troubleshoot. It doesn't always assist, simply it's worth trying.

How to fix printer problems HP

HP has a Print and Scan Physician to place problems, and Canon has lots of smashing videos on its website – click your printer model and then click the Troubleshooting videos link.

Why can't I print from my phone or tablet?

Solve common printing problems: Cloud Print

To print from an iPad, iPhone or iPod Bear on, the printer must take Wi-Fi and also back up AirPrint. The listing of AirPrint printers is growing, but at that place are still a lot of printers, particularly older models, that don't support it.

If you have a Mac with a printer attached, you can plow it into an AirPrint printer using HandyPrint. Printer Pro is an app for iOS devices that enables them to print to many wireless printers or a wired ane attached to a PC or Mac.

Some Samsung phones, tablets and printers are designed to piece of work together and press is straightforward. Samsung also has its own app for printing to its printers, including from iPhones.

To print from any Android phone or tablet to any PC-continued printer y'all can use Google Deject Print.

Install Cloud Print on the mobile device from the Google Play shop. Next, using Google Chrome on your PC, go to the menu, Settings, Advanced Settings and click Manage. You can so add the printer fastened to the PC. Provided the PC and printer are switched on, y'all tin can print from the Android device.

Practice I demand to replace the cartridges?

Printers warn that the ink is running out before information technology actually does. If you print only occasionally the remaining ink or tonermight last another couple of weeks, if not months.

Order new cartridges as soon as the message appears, just don't install them until it either stops press or the colours fade. A pull a fast one on with laser printers is to remove the cartridge that's running depression and shake it gently from side to side. This sometimes allows the residuum of the toner to be used. In other cases a counter is used and one time a certain number of pages has been printed, the cartridge volition be deemed every bit empty.

HP has an interesting scheme with many of its printers where you lot pay per month and cartridges automatically arrive at the correct time.

If your colour ink has run out, merely you lot must keep press, you lot might be able to set your printer to impress in black and white just. This is a setting yous'll discover in printer properties in the Control Panel - or click the option when y'all become to print via an application you desire to print from.

Why won't web pages, Excel documents and photos print properly?

Web pages

Web pages tin exist any size and they aren't limited by the width or height of the paper in your printer. They aren't usually designed to be printed, which is why problems can occur.

Always choose the Impress Preview choice so you can meet what you'll get. You lot might not demand all the pages, for instance, if at that place are lots of comments or adverts, so use the selection when printing to select the pages to print, such as two-four to print pages 2 to 4. Choose mural mode if the spider web page is very broad.

Much of the fourth dimension y'all will find a shrink-to-fit option in the printer settings that helps when your certificate or photo is just a bit too big to fit on the page. Some web pages, such every bit those with printable coupons, take a print button within the web folio. Use that and not the impress menu in the browser.

Office documents

If you lot're trying to impress an Excel sheet, be sure to select just the cells you need to impress before clicking Impress. And so you can choose 'Print selection' and change the other options to make sure information technology fits well on an A4 sail. You tin can do other things, such as reducing the size of the margins, and switching from landscape to portrait orientation.

Fix printing problems - Excel

Similarly, when printing a Discussion document or any other, you lot tin can usually specify which pages to print so you don't have to print them all.

Photos and pictures

For photos or images you desire to print, it'due south usually best to right-click on them in Windows Explorer and click Impress. This way y'all will go to cull how large to print each photograph.

If yous select multiple photos in a folder, then right-click and choose Print yous will exist able to impress them all at in one case, with more than 1 per sheet of paper (and you tin can choose the newspaper size here too). Information technology's similar to the 'n-up' pick that you'll observe in Printing properties which allows you to impress multiple pages of a document on a unmarried sail of A4.

Fix printing problems - Photos

Westhy does my printer say "Error"?

There are a few possible reasons, just the most common is to do with paper. The first thing to check is whether the input tray is empty, just information technology's also worth checking for paper jams. If you find ane, try to work out why it'due south happening rather than just pulling out a crumpled piece of paper from the paper tray and assuming you've fixed it.

Take the paper out of the tray, open all the flaps and look within. You might need a torch to see the paper and long tweezers to accomplish information technology, particularly if it's only a very small piece which has been ripped off and left inside.

Await underneath the printer because there may be an access panel that tin can exist removed to examine and clean the paper feed mechanism.

Old paper tin absorb wet, which makes information technology stick so it is pulled through 2 or more sheets at a time. Continue information technology in a bag until it is needed. Cheque out Canon's troubleshooting videos to encounter how to remove pieces of paper stuck in printers.

Likewise, endeavour using thinner newspaper: most home printers volition merely handle photograph paper at a maximum. They tin can't commonly print on carte equally information technology's as well stiff to be fed around corners.

Why is the print quality poor?

The nozzles on inkjet printer heads can become blocked causing horizontal streaks on prints and poor or wrong colours. Cleaning the print heads can solve the problem. The procedure varies from printer to printer and at that place may be an option on the printer control panel or in the printer software on the estimator.

Y'all might need to expect this up in the transmission. In your printer'south properties (either in an app or in the Windows Control Panel) you might observe a maintenance section.

Solve common printing problems: maintenance

Click it and yous can clean the print heads or marshal them. Head cleaning kits are bachelor for effectually £10 from Amazon although you should compare information technology to the cost of a new cartridge - there's no guarantee a cleaning kit will fix the trouble.

The type of paper affects the impress quality and photocopier newspaper might be letting you downward.

It can be besides absorbent and inkjet ink soaks into it like blotting paper. Buy good quality paper for the best prints, and this is commonly from the printer manufacturer itself, particularly for printing photos.

Laser printers are less dependent on paper, and smudges or spots in the same identify on each page usually hateful there's clay somewhere in the printer, typically on the 'drum'.

Be very careful when cleaning the imaging pulsate, using only isopropyl alcohol and a soft lint-free textile.

Read the manufacturer's guidance on how to remove and clean the drum, which is often called an OPC.

We've also written a guide on how to match the colours on your screen to your printer.