Today, you can find a printer in every setting, like office, home, and school. HP Printers potentially dominate the market. They offer high-performing printing and scanning. However, during the course of their usage, people can also encounter numerous errors.
One of the most annoying ones is when the printer starts to print blank pages. In fact, HP printer printing blank pages is a commonly reported issue. If you want to print an important file or document, this problem can particularly feel frustrating. However, there are various troubleshooting techniques at your disposal. In this article, you’ll find all the resolutions for it.
Why HP Printer Printing Blank Pages?
If you are repeatedly finding that your HP printer prints blank pages, it may indicate an issue with your printer, software, or hardware. It’s important for you to determine whether it’s a software or hardware problem. If there’s an issue with the hardware, you will have to take your printer to an expert to fix it.
Another cause of the problem is the lack of ink in the printer’s ink cartridges. Apart from that, congested nozzles and incorrect cartridge installation are other probable causes.
Also Read: hp preparing automatic repair
Troubleshoot HP Printer Printing Blank Pages
You can fix this issue through various hp printer troubleshooting techniques. It can be as small as restarting your printer to more advanced methods like cleaning the print head.
Restart HP Printer
By simply restarting your HP printer, you can resolve a lot of mechanical problems. So, before you progress to other troubleshooting techniques, try restarting the printer. If it works, you don’t have to implement other more advanced fixes.
- Press the ‘Power’ button of your printer and wait for a few moments till the device shuts down.
- Disconnect the power cord from its outlet. After waiting for three minutes, reconnect it to the outlet.
- Push the ‘Power’ button, so the printer turns on. Carry out a test print and see if the printer is printing normally.
Fix Toner Cartridges Problem
Problems with ink cartridges are a leading cause of HP printing blank pages. Follow these points to ensure that your toner cartridges are functional and in optimal condition.
- Inspect the ink levels to find if there’s adequate ink in it. If there’s insufficient ink in the tank, replace the cartridges with new ones.
- Take away the ink cartridges and look for any damages. Replace all the faulty units with new cartridges.
- Check that every cartridge is properly installed. You can reinstall them by first removing them from their place. Every unit should lock firmly into place.
- You must use cartridges from the HP brand only. Do not use cartridges of any other printer brand. They are not compatible with the HP printer.
Clean The Printer Printhead
One of the significant reasons your HP printer is printing blank pages is a clogged printhead. It generally occurs when you use your printer after an extended time period.
The ink of the cartridge hardens and blocks the printhead nozzle. Printheads are crucial for smooth printing. Any problem with them will result in you not being able to print correctly. Follow the steps below to clean the printhead from the printer control panel.
- Insert the plain paper into the printer’s input tray.
- From the ‘Control Panel,’ choose the ‘–‘button.
- Tap the right arrow button.
- Choose ‘Tools,’ followed by ‘OK.’
- Now, tap the right arrow button again to choose the option of ‘Clean Printhead.’
- Allow the printing device to clean the printhead.
- When this process is over, you’ll see a message on your computer screen.
Repair System Files
Damaged, missing, or corrupt files can lead your printer to not print properly. You’ll not complain, ‘My HP printer is printing blank pages’ after repairing system files through a free Windows repair tool like Restore.
This tool scans the overall status of your system, detects faulty files, and replaces them. You also do not lose any settings, programs, or personal information during this process. To use the tool to repair files on your system, follow these steps.
- Begin by downloading and installing Restore.
- Open it and execute a free scan on your system.
- Wait for the tool to scan your device. After a few minutes, you’ll see a comprehensive report of your system status.
- You’ll see the summaries of the problems detected after the scan ends.
- Tap ‘Start Repair’ to begin the repair process.
Start the HP Printer Troubleshooter
You can also use the troubleshooting utility that Microsoft offers. You can use this utility whenever you notice that your HP printer is printing blank pages. Just run it and let it take care of the issue. Here are the steps you should follow to run the printer troubleshooter.
- Navigate to the ‘Start’ menu and tap ‘Settings.’
- After that, choose the option ‘Update & Security.’
- On the left part, you will notice a ‘Troubleshoot’ option. Tap it.
- Under this option, choose ‘Printer’ and then click ‘Run the Troubleshooter.’
- Another screen will come up with some instructions. Follow them carefully.
Employ the HP Print & Scan Doctor
The HP Print & Scan Doctor is an effective tool that fixes many issues pertaining to the scanners and printers of this brand. It’s a free tool for Windows that you can use to fix your printer and scanner problems. Whenever your HP printer starts to print blank pages, you can use this tool by following the instructions given below.
- Firstly, download the HP Print & Scan Doctor Utility on your system.
- Open the file you’ve downloaded and follow the different instructions to install it correctly.
- After the tool installs, run it on your system.
- Tap ‘Start’ on the tool and adhere to the instructions.
- After completing the process, you will find that your HP printer starts printing normally.
Install the Updated HP Printer Driver
The HP printer driver is a program that makes the hardware and system work together. If it is not installed correctly on your computer, your printer will malfunction. As a result, you’ll question why is my HP printer printing blank pages. It is important to update the driver when something goes wrong with your printer.
Navigate to the HP Support website to get the latest driver. On the website, locate the driver that’s compatible with your Windows version. Download the driver by tapping the ‘Download’ button. After downloading the driver, double-tap on it to install it.
Set Up Printer Spooler Service
You may find HP printing blank pages when there are missing or damaged printer spooler files on your system. You should restore the printer spooler service files to check if that’s the issue.
- Hit the Windows logo key present on the keyboard and input ‘services.’
- Choose ‘Services.’
- Double-tap ‘Printer Spooler.’
- Tap ‘Stop’ followed by clicking ‘OK.’
- Launch Windows File Explorer. You can do it by pressing the Windows logo key and ‘E’ simultaneously.
- Navigate to ‘C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS:’ If you get a prompt about permissions, tap ‘Continue.’
- Delete every single file in this folder.
- Press the Windows logo key that’s there on your keyboard and input ‘services.’
- Choose ‘Services.’
- Double-tap ‘Printer Spooler.’
- Tap ‘Start.’ Ensure to set the ‘Startup Type’ to ‘Automatic.’ Then, tap ‘OK.’
- Try to print a page to see if the problem has been resolved.
Inspect Your System for Viruses
If you find that your HP printer prints blank pages after every print job, it may be that it is infected with viruses or spyware. In this case, you should conduct a full scan of your system to check for a possible threat. Also, before scanning, ensure that you update your antivirus.
Final Words
After reading this post, you’ll know exactly what to do whenever you find your HP printer printing blank pages. There are a lot of fixes that you can implement. So, don’t worry if some of them don’t work out. You can also speak to professional printer support services if the issue persists. The expert technicians are always available to diagnose and fix any kind of HP printer problem.