Printer not printing images: how to fix pages that print text but no pictures

A printer not printing images produces pages with all the text in place but blank spaces where photos, logos, charts or backgrounds should be. It looks like a printer fault, but in most cases the printer never received the pictures. The app decided to leave them out, because of a draft mode, a hidden print option or a browser setting. This guide checks the app first, then the driver, then the printer.

If the whole page is blank, see printer printing blank pages. If the job stops part-way, see printer printing half page. For PDFs that will not print at all, see printer won’t print PDF.

Step 1: Look at the print preview

Open print preview in the app you are printing from.

• Pictures missing in the preview too: the app or the document is leaving them out. Go to Step 2.
• Pictures visible in the preview but missing on paper: the problem is between the app and the printer: the driver’s quality mode, memory, or ink. Go to Step 4.

This single check splits the problem in two and saves a lot of time.

Step 2: Fix the setting in the app

Microsoft Word

Word has several options that can stop pictures and shapes from printing. In Word for Windows:

1. Open File > Options > Display. Under printing options, turn on Print drawings created in Word and, if your document has a coloured or picture background, Print background colors and images.
2. Open File > Options > Advanced, scroll to the Print section and turn off Use draft quality. Draft quality prints with minimal formatting and can leave out graphics.
3. Check the picture’s position. A picture set behind text can be hidden by a white shape or text box on top of it. Select the picture and bring it forward to test.

Web browsers

Browsers save ink by leaving out background images and colours unless you ask for them.

• Chrome and Edge: in the print dialog, open More settings and turn on Background graphics.
• Firefox: in the print dialog, open More settings and turn on Print backgrounds.
• Many sites load pictures only as you scroll. On a long page, scroll to the bottom and back before printing so every image is loaded.
• Some sites use a special print layout that hides images on purpose. A browser’s simplified reader view, or saving the page as a PDF first, may give a better result.

Excel and other Office apps

• In Excel, open Page Layout > Page Setup, then the Sheet tab, and turn off Draft quality.
• A picture or chart can be set not to print. Right-click it, open Format Picture or Format Chart Area, look under Properties and make sure Print object is ticked.
• Check that the picture is inside the print area; anything outside it is left off.

PDF readers

• In the print dialog, make sure the reader is printing Document and markups or Document and stamps if the missing item is a stamp, signature or annotation, and that form fields are included.
• If the preview looks right but images come out missing or partly drawn, try Print as image in the reader’s advanced print settings.

Step 3: Check the document itself

If only one document is affected, the pictures may not be embedded. Linked pictures in Word, images in an email that were never downloaded, or a picture stored on a network drive you are not connected to can show as an empty box or not at all. Insert the picture again, or download the email’s images before printing.

Step 4: Check the printer driver

If the preview is right but paper is not:

1. In Windows, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select the printer and choose Printing preferences.
2. Change any draft, economy, fast or text only mode to normal quality.
3. Look for options that print graphics in a special way, such as print text as black or graphics mode, and set them to default.
4. If the driver looks damaged or the printer is using a basic driver, install the full current driver. Printer driver is unavailable explains how.

Step 5: Large images and printer memory

Photos and graphics make print jobs much bigger than text. Some printers, especially older or basic laser models, run out of memory on large or complex pages. The result can be a page with missing images, a page cut off part-way or a memory error on the display.

• Print fewer pages at a time.
• In PDF readers, use Print as image, which sends a simpler job.
• Reduce the image size or resolution in the document if it is far larger than needed.
• Check the printer’s display or status page for a memory or overflow message.

Step 6: Check ink and colour

A picture that prints very faintly can look like a missing picture. If one colour cartridge is empty or a colour nozzle is blocked, photos and logos print pale, striped or in odd colours while black text looks fine.

• Print a nozzle check or quality report from the printer’s maintenance menu.
• Replace any empty cartridge and run a cleaning cycle if colours are missing.
• If the printer only prints in black and white, see printer only printing in black and white. If colours print but are wrong, see printer printing wrong colors.

Printing from a phone or tablet

When you print from a phone, the app’s share or print screen decides what is sent, and many apps offer very few options. If pictures go missing only from a phone:

• Wait for the page or email to load completely, including its images, before you tap Print.
• In a mobile browser, try the desktop version of the site, or save the page as a PDF first and print the PDF.
• Make sure the email app is allowed to download images; many hide them until you choose to show them.
• Try another app. A photo viewer prints photos more reliably than an app that embeds them in a page.

If phone printing fails altogether rather than just leaving out images, the cause is the connection, not the content; see printer offline fix.

Pictures print, but look wrong

Sometimes the image is there but so poor that it looks missing: very pale, heavily banded, or blocky. That is a quality problem, not a missing image.

• Pale or washed out: low ink or toner, or an economy mode; see printer printing faded.
• Dark and muddy: paper type or colour settings; see printer printing too dark.
• Blocky or pixelated: the image itself is low resolution, often a small web image stretched across the page. Use a larger original.

Quick checklist

• Print preview checked to decide between app and printer.
• Word: Print drawings, Print background colors and images on; draft quality off.
• Browser: Background graphics or Print backgrounds on; page scrolled to load images.
• Excel: draft quality off; Print object ticked; picture inside the print area.
• Driver set to normal quality; large jobs printed as an image or in smaller batches.
• Nozzle check printed and empty cartridges replaced.