Printer printing slowly: how to speed it up

A printer printing slowly can mean two very different problems. Sometimes you wait a minute or more before anything happens, then the pages come out normally. Other times the printer starts straight away but each page creeps out. The fixes are different, so the first step is to watch where the time goes.

This page updates the old “slow printing” advice on this site with specific steps for Windows 11 and macOS. If jobs never print at all, see the print spooler fix; if the printer shows offline, see the printer offline fix.

Where does the time go?

Send a simple one-page text document and time it.

• Long wait, then normal printing: the delay is on the computer, the queue, the network or the printer waking up. Read the first set of fixes.
• Starts quickly, prints slowly: the delay is in the printer’s settings or mechanics. Read the second set.
• Only some documents are slow: the file is the problem. Skip to “Large or complex files”.

Slow to start

Clear the queue

Old jobs, especially failed ones, can block new jobs. Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select the printer, choose Open print queue and cancel everything you do not need. On a Mac, use Printer Queue in System Settings > Printers & Scanners.

Wake-up time

Printers in deep sleep can take a while to wake, warm up and, on laser printers, heat the fuser. If the first page of the day is always slow but the next ones are quick, that is normal. Some printers let you lengthen the time before deep sleep in their energy settings; this uses a little more power.

Network speed

On Wi-Fi, a weak signal slows the transfer, which matters for large jobs.

• Check the signal indicator on the printer’s display or network configuration page.
• Move the printer and router closer together or remove obstacles between them.
• As a test, connect the printer by USB or network cable. If printing is fast with the cable, the Wi-Fi connection is the bottleneck.
• If the printer drops off the network now and then, see printer keeps disconnecting from Wi-Fi.

Spooling settings (Windows)

Windows normally spools a job, saving it to disk and handing it to the printer in the background. Two options in Printer properties > Advanced affect how quickly printing starts:

• Start printing immediately lets the printer begin while the rest of the job is still being prepared. Start printing after last page is spooled waits for the whole job, which can add a noticeable delay on long documents.
• Print directly to the printer bypasses the spooler. It can help as a test, but it ties up the application until printing finishes, so it is not a good permanent setting.

If changing these makes no difference, put them back as they were. A spooler that is struggling or holding corrupted jobs is a separate problem, covered in the print spooler fix.

Printer shared through another computer

If the printer is connected to another computer and shared from there, every job travels through that computer first. When the host computer is asleep, busy or on Wi-Fi, jobs start late or stall. Where possible, connect the printer to the network directly and add it on each computer by its own network address.

Wrong printer or port

If Windows tries a port that no longer works before falling back to another, jobs start late. In Printer properties > Ports, check that only the correct port is selected and that its address matches the printer’s current IP address.

Slow while printing

Print quality

Quality settings have the biggest effect on speed. In Printing preferences (Windows) or the print dialog (Mac):

• Choose Standard or Draft quality for everyday documents. Best or Photo quality makes inkjets make more passes.
• Choose Plain paper as the paper type. Photo paper settings slow printing on purpose.
• Use black only or grayscale for text documents if your printer offers it.

Quiet mode

Many printers have a quiet or silent mode that lowers noise by printing more slowly. It is in the printer’s settings menu or the printer software. Turn it off when speed matters.

Two-sided printing

Automatic two-sided printing is slower because the printer has to pull the sheet back in, and inkjets often pause to let the ink dry before printing the second side. Print one-sided when speed matters.

Long jobs and heat

On long jobs, some printers slow down to keep the print head or fuser within safe temperatures. This is normal and usually listed in the printer’s specifications.

Large or complex files

PDFs with many images, high-resolution photos and web pages with heavy graphics take longer to process and transfer.

• Print only the pages you need.
• In the PDF reader, try the option to print as image, or reduce the quality setting.
• For photos, check the resolution; there is rarely a benefit in sending images far larger than the print size.
• Close the other apps that are printing or exporting at the same time; the computer prepares jobs one at a time.

If a PDF does not just print slowly but stalls part-way, prints only some pages or fails with an error, see printer won’t print PDF. If a slow job finally comes out as pages of random symbols, the driver is not the right one for the printer; see printer printing gibberish.

A quick speed checklist

Where the time goes	Check first
Nothing happens for a minute	Print queue, deep sleep, Wi-Fi signal
First page slow, rest normal	Warm-up after sleep (normal)
Every page slow	Quality setting, paper type, quiet mode
Only two-sided jobs slow	Duplex drying pause (normal)
Only one file slow	File size and images

Driver and firmware

An outdated or mismatched driver can make processing slow. If everything else checks out, reinstall the driver as described in printer driver is unavailable, and check the manufacturer’s support pages for firmware updates for your model.

For any other problem, go back to the printer troubleshooting guide.