Is the printer functional?

Before you start chugging coffee, you should check to see if the printer is functional. Is your printer online? Is paper loaded in the trays? Does it have plenty of toner or ink? You should also make sure that there are no paper jams and that the printer is getting electricity. One good way to test the functionality of the printer is to run a self-test. Most printers will allow you to press certain keys to print a test page. If you’re uncertain how to print a test page, refer to the owner’s printer manual. 

The basics

Now that you’ve determined the printer is functional, there are some other basic steps you can try. Begin by turning the printer off and waiting about five seconds. Now, turn the printer back on and try printing again. If you still have difficulty printing, check to see if you’re printing to the right printer. You can also make sure the cable is still connected securely to the CPU and to the printer. Finally, if all else fails, try rebooting your computer.

Is the driver installed correctly?
After walking through the basics, checking the driver is another good step to try. To check the driver, double-click My Computer. When you see the My Computer dialog box, double-click the Printer icon, and select the printer you’re trying to print to. Next, right-click the printer to see if it’s set as the default printer and if it’s set to print online. If the printer isn’t set as the default, you can do so by selecting Set As Default from the printer’s shortcut menu. Of course, you don’t have to set the printer to be the default printer. You can always select the printer from within an application.

If Use Printer Offline is selected in the printer’s shortcut menu, as shown in Figure below, try deselecting it, and then printing again. If the print job still doesn’t print, verify that Windows didn’t insert a check mark again. If it did, there’s a communication problem between Windows and the printer. If the printer is set to work online but it still won’t print, there’s a good chance there’s a problem with the application or with your networkqueue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’ve made sure the printer is online but you still can’t print, select Properties from the printer’s shortcut menu. From the printer’s Properties sheet, select the General tab. Try printing a test page by clicking Print Test Page, shown in Figure below. If the page prints, you have a good driver and a good link to the printer. Therefore, the problem is probably that the application is set to print to the wrong printer or that the application is damaged. Confirm that you’re printing to the correct location. If you are, try reinstalling the application.