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Editorial team

Fix a Printer Editorial Team

The Fix a Printer team writes and updates independent printer troubleshooting guides, checking Windows and macOS steps against Microsoft and Apple documentation.

Close-up of toner powder on a laser printer photosensitive drum

Print quality Laser printer ghosting: why faint copies repeat down the page and how to stop it Laser printer ghosting puts faint copies of text further down the page. Check paper type, humidity, drum and fuser in order, and learn which part to replace. October 14, 2026

Technician working on an open laptop at a desk

Drivers, queue and errors Error 0x00000709: fix it when Windows won't set a default printer Error 0x00000709 stops you setting a default printer in Windows 11. Turn off automatic default printers, remove old printers and fix the Device registry value. October 14, 2026

Sheet of paper feeding into the front tray of a desktop printer

Paper jams and feeding How to clear a paper jam safely How to clear a paper jam in an inkjet or laser printer: power off, open the right doors, pull in the paper direction, find torn scraps and stop repeat jams. October 14, 2026

Close-up of the metal electrical contacts on an inkjet ink cartridge

Print quality Printer not printing black: how to find the cause and fix it Printer not printing black but colour works? Check the cartridge and settings, clean blocked nozzles and contacts, and learn when a head or drum must go. October 14, 2026

Technician working on an open laptop at a desk

Drivers, queue and errors Printer driver is unavailable: how to fix it Printer driver is unavailable on Windows 11? Remove the broken driver package, install the built-in or manufacturer driver and fix driver errors on Mac too. October 14, 2026

Underside of an inkjet cartridge showing its electrical contacts

Drivers, queue and errors Printer cartridge not recognized: how to fix it Printer cartridge not recognized or incompatible? Remove tape, reseat it, clean the contacts, check the model number and firmware, then test another cartridge. October 14, 2026

Network cables plugged into a switch

Offline and connection Printer not showing up Windows 11: how to get it detected again Printer not showing up in Windows 11? Add it by IP address, turn on network discovery, set the network to private, check the USB port, driver and print spooler. October 14, 2026

Drivers, queue and errors Print spooler error fix: clear a stuck print queue Print spooler error fix for Windows 11: stop the spooler, delete stuck jobs, restart it and stop it crashing again. Includes the Mac way to clear a stuck queue. October 14, 2026

Printer paper tray with adjustable paper size guides

Paper jams and feeding Printer not picking up paper: how to fix it Printer not picking up paper or pulling several sheets at once? Check the stack, guides, tray settings and rollers, then clean or replace the pick-up roller. October 14, 2026

Drivers, queue and errors Printer in error state: what it means and how to clear it Printer in error state on Windows 11 or Mac? Find the real error on the printer, clear paper, ink and door problems, reset the queue and fix the connection. October 14, 2026

A repair bench with tools and electronic equipment laid out for testing

Offline and connection Printer not working on Mac: how to get macOS printing again Printer not working on Mac? Check the network, resume a paused queue, re-add the printer with AirPrint, update macOS and reset the printing system. October 14, 2026

Inkjet ink cartridges in different colours laid out side by side

Print quality Printer printing faded: why prints come out pale and how to fix it Printer printing faded or pale? Check ink and toner, switch off economy mode, match paper type, clean the print head and know when a drum or cartridge is due. October 14, 2026

Open laptop on a workbench during repair

Drivers, queue and errors Printer printing gibberish: how to stop random characters, symbols and code Printer printing gibberish or pages of code? Clear the stuck job, check the cable, fix a PCL or PostScript driver mismatch and fall back to a generic driver. October 14, 2026

Two used inkjet cartridges with ink visible through the casing

Print quality Printer printing blank pages: causes and fixes Printer printing blank pages? Check for protective tape, empty or dried ink, clogged nozzles, toner seals and wrong settings, in order, for inkjet and laser. October 14, 2026

Open laser printer showing the paper path and rollers

Paper jams and feeding Printer paper jam but no paper? How to find the cause Printer paper jam but no paper inside? Find torn scraps, check the carriage path and rollers, reset the sensors and know when a false jam is a hardware fault. October 14, 2026

Network cables plugged into a switch with a green link light

Offline and connection Printer offline fix: how to get your printer back online Printer offline fix for Windows 11 and macOS: check the connection, clear the queue, turn off Use Printer Offline, fix the port and re-add the printer in order. October 14, 2026

Close-up of toner powder on a laser printer photosensitive drum

Print quality Printer printing lines or streaks: what causes them and how to fix it Printer printing lines or streaks? Tell inkjet banding from laser drum marks, run the right cleaning, align the head and know which part to replace and when. October 14, 2026

Drivers, queue and errors Printer printing slowly: how to speed it up Printer printing slowly? Find out if the delay is before or during printing, then fix quality settings, the queue, Wi-Fi, large files and quiet mode in order. October 14, 2026

Cyan, magenta, yellow and black inkjet cartridges laid out side by side

Print quality Printer printing wrong colors: how to find the cause and fix it Printer printing wrong colors? Read the colour cast, run a nozzle check, fix grayscale and colour management settings, calibrate a laser, know what to replace. October 14, 2026

Sheets of paper feeding into the input tray of a desktop printer

Print quality Printer smudging ink: why prints smear and how to stop it Printer smudging ink or toner? Match the paper setting, clean rollers and platen, fix curled paper and spot a worn fuser, with separate inkjet and laser steps. October 14, 2026

Printer chassis held in a vice on a workbench during repair

Drivers, queue and errors Printer troubleshooting guide: find your fix by symptom Printer troubleshooting guide sorted by symptom: offline, paper jams, blank or streaky prints, driver and spooler errors, with the order to check things in. October 14, 2026

Offline and connection Printer won't stay connected to Wi-Fi: how to stop the dropouts Printer won't stay connected to Wi-Fi? Fix weak signal, 2.4 GHz band issues, changing IP addresses, sleep settings and router changes that knock it offline. October 14, 2026

Pilotes, file d'attente et erreurs Erreur spouleur d'impression : débloquer la file d'attente Erreur spouleur d'impression sous Windows 11 : arrêtez le service, supprimez les travaux bloqués, redémarrez-le et évitez les plantages. Méthode Mac incluse. 14 octobre 2026

Printers and parts on workbenches in a printer repair workshop

Drivers, queue and errors Printer won't print PDF files: how to find the cause and fix it Printer won't print PDF files but other documents do? Try another viewer, re-download the file, use Print As Image, update the reader and check the driver. October 14, 2026

Technicien travaillant sur un ordinateur portable ouvert posé sur un bureau

Pilotes, file d'attente et erreurs Erreur 0x00000709 : que faire si Windows refuse l'imprimante par défaut Erreur 0x00000709 en choisissant l'imprimante par défaut sous Windows 11 ? Coupez la gestion automatique, supprimez les doublons et corrigez la valeur Device. 14 octobre 2026

Châssis d'imprimante serré dans un étau sur un établi pendant une réparation

Pilotes, file d'attente et erreurs Dépannage imprimante : trouvez la solution selon le symptôme Guide de dépannage imprimante classé par symptôme : hors ligne, bourrage, pages blanches ou rayées, erreurs de pilote et de spouleur, et l'ordre à suivre. 14 octobre 2026

Imprimante laser ouverte montrant le circuit du papier et les rouleaux

Bourrages et alimentation papier Bourrage papier sans papier dans l'imprimante : trouver la cause Bourrage papier sans papier visible ? Cherchez le morceau déchiré, vérifiez le chariot et les rouleaux, réinitialisez le capteur et repérez la panne. 14 octobre 2026

Câbles réseau branchés sur un commutateur avec un voyant de liaison vert

Hors ligne et connexion Imprimante hors ligne : comment la remettre en ligne Imprimante hors ligne sous Windows 11 ou macOS : vérifiez la connexion, videz la file, désactivez le mode hors connexion, corrigez le port et réinstallez-la. 14 octobre 2026

Ordinateur portable ouvert sur un plan de travail pendant une réparation

Pilotes, file d'attente et erreurs Imprimante imprime des caractères bizarres : comment arrêter les symboles et le code L'imprimante imprime des caractères bizarres ou du code ? Videz la file, vérifiez le câble, corrigez le pilote PCL ou PostScript, testez un pilote générique. 14 octobre 2026

Cartouches d'encre cyan, magenta, jaune et noire posées côte à côte

Qualité d'impression Imprimante imprime mauvaises couleurs : trouver la cause et corriger le problème Imprimante imprime mauvaises couleurs ? Lisez la dominante, vérifiez les buses, corrigez niveaux de gris et gestion des couleurs, puis étalonnez votre laser. 14 octobre 2026