It could be quite a fix if you are asking yourself that why is my HP printer is printing blank pages? The printer not printing black or color happens from time to time but blank? Yes, that ends up being confusing, especially when you are working on something important.
However, we will be sharing why the printer is printing blank pages and what you can do to fix it.
The reasons behind the HP printer prints blank pages
Are you asking yourself that how to fix an HP Printer that prints blank pages? Before that, you should know the reasons as to why it is happening. Once you are aware of it, you will get your HP Printer in a normal state again.
The cartridge is empty
We often forget to replace the cartridges and then wonder why we are unable to print. You should always make it a point to check the ink levels in the cartridge if your HP printer prints blank pages.
The cartridge is not connected
If your cartridge is full and ready to print, it might have been slightly dislodged and no longer in complete electrical contact with the printer. All you need to do is remove and reinstall the cartridges to see if your printer is printing blank or not.
Wrong size of the paper
If you have changed the in-program paper size for your previous task and forgot to change it now then it could confuse the printer. Visit the ‘Print Preview’ on the settings of the printer and ensure that you choose the correct size of the paper.
The nozzles are clogged
If you use your printer rarely then there is a possibility that the nozzles have been clogged up. If your printer comes with a ‘Print head nozzle check’ then you can click on it and clear the nozzles. This will help you to print again.
The document has blank pages
If you are printing a document that has multiple pages then the blank sheets might just be a part of it. You are in luck as both Mac and Windows have come up with some steps. It makes sure that your printer totally ignores the blank sheets and gets stuck right in the good stuff.
Ways to fix printer prints blank sheets
Once you know why your printer is printing blank sheets, you can fix it in a moment. We will be sharing several ways to get your printer back to printing.
Fix 1- Check and fix your ink cartridges
Cartridges play a major role when it comes to your printer printing blank pages. There are quite a few things that you can do to print properly. Firstly, you should see if your ink cartridge has been clogged or not. If that is the problem then just cleaning it should do the job.
You should also check the ink levels on the printer and low or empty cartridges can cause this printer printing blank issue. Therefore, check the toner levels and replace them if necessary.
You can remove the cartridges if they are defective or when the connection is weak. If they are in a good state then you can just reinstall the cartridges.
Fix 2- Run the Windows troubleshooter
This is a Microsoft built-in utility that can find and fix common printer issues on its own. If your printer is not working properly, you can use these steps:
- Click on ‘Windows logo key’ and then type ‘troubleshooting’
- Click on ‘use a printer’ and then choose ‘next’
- Once you are done with the troubleshooting process, try to print a page to see if your printer is working fine or not
Fix 3- Download the latest update of the printer
If you have not yet downloaded the latest update then you are going to face an issue for sure. If the driver has not been installed properly then your printer won’t function and things like a printer prints blank pages will come up from time to time.
You can either update the driver manually or automatically as per your convenience. You can update the drivers by visiting HP’s official website or download them.
Fix 4- Use HP Print and Scan Doctor
It is a free tool that you can use to find the root cause of the printer problem. You can use it to troubleshoot the HP printer issues. You can follow the instructions that we will be sharing with you:
- Download the HP Print and Scan Doctor from the support website of HP
- Open the file that you have downloaded and follow the instructions that you see on the screen to install it
- Run it and click on start to fix the issue
If this doesn’t help you then you can continue with the fixes below:
Fix 5- Configure the printer spooler service
If the printer printing blank issues take place then the Printer Spooler files on the system are damaged or missing. You can restore the printer spooler service files by following the steps mentioned below:
- Press the Windows key and type services
- Select it and double click on ‘printer spooler’
- Choose to ‘stop’ and then select ‘Ok’
- You can open the Windows file explorer and go to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS
- If you are asked for permissions then you can approve them
- Delete all the folders in the file and then type services then select it
- You can print a test page to see if the issue has been fixed or not
Fix 6- Automatically fix printing blank documents
There are times when the document that you are printing has some blank pages. You can automatically choose not to print them by following the steps that we will be sharing with you:
- Open the ‘Settings’ and then Click on ‘Devices and Printers’
- Click on the printer and then choose to ‘Manage’
- Go to printing preferences and then click on ‘skip blank page’
- Save the settings and then Click on ‘Ok’
Fix 7- Align the printer
You are bound to face issues if your printer has not been aligned. You can do it with the help of these steps that we will be sharing with you!
- Ensure that the printer has been turned on and the paper is loaded
- Click on the button next to the setup icon in the lower-left corner of your control panel
- Click on the right button to choose ‘tools’ and then ‘Ok’
- Touch ‘Align printer’ and then click on ‘Ok’
- Lift the lid of the printer and place an alignment page
- Close the lid and then click on ‘Ok’
- Wait till the printer scans the alignment sheet and is done with the process.
Fix 8- Print in a backup mode
If you have to print on an immediate basis and don’t care about the printouts’ quality, you can print in the backup mode. If you don’t have a replacement cartridge then you can print with the ink in the backup mode. You can remove the problematic cartridge and then print with the remaining one.
- If you remove the tri-color cartridge then the printouts will be in grayscale
- If you remove the black cartridge then the product prints slowly and the printout might differ.
Conclusion:
We hope that these suggestions will help you to fix the HP printer printing blank pages. If there is anything else that you should like to know, you can connect with HP printer support experts.
