Printer Printing Blank Pages? 8 Quick Fixes to Try First

Printers are used by millions of people worldwide. Although the devices have had decades to evolve, like other electronics, they still have errors that occur. The article below discusses the best solutions to try if your printer prints blank pages.

Skip Blank Page

If your printer is printing blank due to an unknown error, this must be fixed before printing anything again. Most of the time, you must fix the printing preferences by following on-screen instructions on the device. For issues like printers printing blank pages skipping the blank pages can solve the problem. Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1: Launch settings from the main menu. Click the Windows icon and select the settings icon. Double-click the option to launch.

Step 2: In the settings menu, select the option of devices followed by selecting printers and scanners from the left pane in the next window.

Step 3: In the printers and scanners window, select your device (printer). Click manage, followed by selecting the option of printing preferences.

Step 4: In the printing preferences window, click the option of skip blank page to complete the action.

Print Test Page

You need to do a test run for print settings disturbed due to blank pages printed by your inkjet printers. This could be done by printing a test page to check if the printing preferences are working fine. One can use a control panel for this purpose. Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1: Launch the control panel Windows main menu. Type control in the taskbar’s search box and double-click the option from the list to launch the utility.

Step 2: Select the devices and printers option in the control panel window.

Step 3: In the next window, select the targeted device and right-click the device to select printer properties from the context menu.

Step 4: In the properties window, navigate to the general tab and click the print test page option.

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Align Printer

If your printer was printing blank pages due to empty ink cartridges or toner cartridges, then aligning the cartridges should be done. Here is how you can act.

Step 1: From your device, launch the printer solution center. In the solution center, click settings, followed by clicking printer settings.

Step 2: Click the printer toolbox option in the printer settings section. In the next window, select the option to align the print cartridges in the section of device services. Follow on-screen instructions to align the cartridges to avoid printing blank pages.

Run Windows Printer Troubleshooter

The hardware troubleshooter scans the root cause of errors in hardware devices like printers and gives appropriate solutions to resolve the functionality problems. Using a troubleshooter can resolve the printer prints blank pages error. Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1: Launch the settings menu from the Windows key+ I shortcut keys.

Step 2: In the settings menu, select the option of update and security.

Step 3: Select Troubleshoot from the left pane in the update and security window. In the next step, select additional troubleshooter.

Step 4: In the additional troubleshooter section, click on printers under the option of get up and running.

Step 5: Click the option to run the troubleshooter to complete the action.

Update Printer Driver

An outdated printer driver can cause errors interfering with the normal functioning of a hardware device. Updating the drivers to the latest versions can resolve the error. Here are the steps to update the printer drivers to fix the printer printing blank pages .

Step 1: Launch the device manager with Windows key+ X.

Step 2: In the next window, select the option of print queue and right-click it to expand.

Step 3: Select the printer device option and right-click it to select update driver from the drop-down menu. 

Step 4: In the next pop-up window, select the mode to update the driver. Click the option to search automatically for drivers.

Stop Printing Only Data

Suppose your printing document carries images and media along with the data but gets only data printing and leaving media, i.e., printing blank pages. In that case, it happens due to the print-only data from the form option. Here is how you can deactivate the option to get media printing along with data to resolve the issue of the printer printing blank pages.

Step 1: Launch the word document and click the option of file in the upper left corner.

Step 2: In the file option, click options followed by selecting advanced.

Step 3: In the window of advanced, navigate to the section of the print. In this section, uncheck the box for the option of Print only the data from a form. Click ok to complete the action.

Print Directly to Printer

If your printer is still printing blank pages when you reach the function via any other utility, then print from the printer directly. It could be done from the control panel feature. Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1: Launch the control panel Windows main menu. Type control in the taskbar’s search box and double-click the option from the list to launch the utility.

Step 2: Select the devices and printers option in the control panel window.

Step 3: In the next window, select the targeted device and right-click the targeted printer to select properties from the context menu.

Step 4: In the properties window, head towards the advanced tab and check the box for the option of print directly to the printer. Click apply and then click ok to complete the action.

Set Specific Area to Print

Sometimes, if the printing device prints blank pages, it could happen due to a huge area with empty spaces targeted for printing. You need to specify the area to print, excluding all blank and empty spaces. It could be done by following steps:

Step 1: Open the word document and click the file option in the screen’s upper left corner.

Step 2: In the file window, navigate to the print option. Click the option, and select print selection in the settings section.

Step 3: From the drop-down, select the mode of print selection to only print the current selection.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Printer Printing Blank Pages