HP printers get massively utilized in schools, offices, and household settings. They can print practically anything from colored photos to office documents and reports. Nevertheless, the printing devices from HP have certain flaws that can leave people confused and annoyed. One of the most infuriating situations occurs when users find their HP printer printing blank pages. The problem can arise suddenly and halt any kind of work you may be doing. But there are ways to fix it efficiently. The problem is due to particular causes, and when the user addresses them, they can work with their printing device. In this article, you’ll find how you can get rid of this problem.
Why Do You Find HP Printer Printing Blank Pages?
For fixing this problem, you need to know its causes. When your HP printer is not giving you the desired output, it can be a result of various factors. If you don’t know about them, you may wonder why is my HP printer printing blank pages? The most probable reasons are as follows.
- Clogged or congested nozzles
- Low levels of ink in the cartridge
- Corrupt printer drivers
- Software problems
- Faulty cartridge installation
Fixes to Implement When You Notice HP Printer Printing Blank Pages
After you know the causes behind your printer printing blank pages, it’s time to implement a suitable technique according to what you think is the cause. There are many quick and easy fixes for this problem. All of them are given in a detailed manner below.
1. Employ Original HP Cartridge
HP recommends that every printer owner use original ink cartridges from the brand. It’s because these original cartridges cause no harm to your printing device. They also minimize the likelihood of your printer suffering from various errors. Moreover, genuine HP cartridges increase the lifespan of your device. On the contrary, if you use cheap ones that are not from the HP brand, your printing device will be prone to many long-term damages.
2. Inspect the Ink Levels in Your HP printer.
Another thing to check when you find your HP printer printing blank pages is its ink levels. When there are low ink levels or the ink cartridge is empty, your printer will be unable to print. Go through these steps to inspect the ink levels in your printer.
- Place the plain paper in the printer’s paper tray.
- Tap the button beside the setup icon in the Control Panel.
- Navigate to the option of ‘Tools‘ and hit ‘OK.’
- Select the ‘Estimated Ink Levels’ and hit ‘OK.’
- If you find that there are low ink levels, you’ll need to purchase new ink cartridges.
3. Replace the Ink Cartridges
When the HP printer prints blank pages, it perplexes the user. They may wonder why my printer is printing blank pages. Well, it might be because of old cartridges. Changing or replacing them can fix this problem. But you need to follow the process for switching them very carefully. Change the cartridges when your printer is idle. Follow these points for it.
- Remove the cartridge by opening the cartridge door. Do not disturb the contacts and nozzles.
- Remove the plastic tape.
- Next, place the fresh HP cartridges in your printer.
- Place the colorless paper inside the input paper tray.
- Now switch on your HP printer by hitting the Power button.
4. Run the Troubleshooter
This resolution will work best for all those Windows 7, 8, and 10 users who are wondering why is my printer printing blank pages? You can resolve this problem by using the Windows troubleshooter. It is a Microsoft in-built utility that automatically identifies and troubleshoots common HP printer error. In the following part of this article, you’ll find how to use the tool on Windows 7 and 8 and Windows 10.
1. For Windows 7 or 8 users
- Start by pressing the Windows logo key on your keyboard. Type’ troubleshooting.’
- Now choose ‘Troubleshooting.’
- Tap ‘Use a printer.’
- Now tap ‘Next.’
- When the troubleshooting process ends, print a page to check if your device is working correctly.
2. For Windows 10 users
- Start by hitting the Windows logo key on your keyboard. Enter ‘troubleshooting.’
- After that, choose ‘Troubleshooting settings.’
- Tap’ Printer.’ After that, click ‘Run the troubleshooter.’
- Let the troubleshooting process complete. After that, print a page.
5. Update Your Printer Driver.
The driver is a program that allows your hardware and computer to function together. If you haven’t correctly installed the driver on your system, your printing device will not function properly. You’ll thus find yourself dealing with blank page problems more frequently. When some problem occurs with your driver, you should always think of updating it. HP updates its drivers regularly.
To get the most current driver, navigate to the support page of the official HP website. Here you can find a driver that’s compatible with the Windows version you’ve installed on your system. You can then download this driver from the website manually.
After downloading the driver, double-tap its downloaded file. Then adhere to the instructions on the screen for installing the driver properly.
6. Install Printer Driver Again
Even if you have an updated printer driver, there are chances that it might be corrupt. So, you can uninstall and reinstall the driver when you find your HP printer printing blank pages. Follow the directions given below to reinstall the printer driver.
- Launch the ‘Search‘ box on the taskbar and input ‘add or remove programs.’
- Tap on the ‘Add or Remove Programs’ icon.
- Locate and tap on your HP printer in the list of installed programs.
- Choose ‘Uninstall‘ and adhere to the guidelines that appear.
- For reinstalling the printer driver, switch on your printer.
- Navigate to the page of ‘HP Printer Driver Download.’
- Give the model number of your HP printer and locate the driver.
- Now, download the printer driver.
7. Use the HP Print and Scan Doctor
If you’ve tried the resolutions above but still find that the problem persists, you may wonder why my HP printer is printing blank pages. At this time, you can utilize the HP Print and Scan Doctor, which is a free tool to troubleshoot the problem in your printer. Go through these steps to download and use the tool.
- Go to the HP Support website and download the HP Print and Scan Doctor.
- Launch the file you’ve downloaded and adhere to the instructions on your screen for installing the tool.
- Now run the tool.
- Tap ‘Start‘ and abide by the instructions you see to fix the problem in your printer.
8. Restore the Printer Spooler Service
You may find your HP printer printing blank pages due to damaged printer spooler files on your computer. You can restore the spooler service files and eliminate this problem. Here’s the process you should follow for configuring the printer spooler service.
- Hit the Windows logo key and input’ services.’ Then select ‘Services.’
- Double-tap ‘Printer Spooler.’
- Tap ‘Stop‘ and click ‘OK.’
- Launch the Windows File Explorer.
- Navigate to ‘C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS:’
- Remove all files present in this folder.
- Hit the Windows logo key and input’ services.’ Choose ‘Services.’
- Double-tap’ Printer Spooler.’
- Tap’ Start.’ Check that you have set the ‘Startup type‘ to ‘Automatic.’ Then click ‘OK.’
- Try printing a page.
9. Clean the Printhead of Your HP Printing Device
Clogged nozzles make your HP printer print blank pages. When you clean the printhead, you can find the pages getting printed as you want them. Follow the points below for cleaning the printhead through the ‘Control Panel‘ of your HP printer.
- Place plain paper in the input tray.
- Tap the ‘–‘ button on the ‘Control Panel.’
- Hit the right arrow button.
- Select ‘Tools.’ Confirm it by hitting ‘OK.’
- Press the right arrow button and choose ‘Clean Printhead.’
- It’ll take some time for your printer to execute the cleaning. You will get notified after the process ends.
10 Turn Off the Option of Cover Page/Separation Page
You can sometimes find your HP printer printing blank pages before performing any job. It occurs because the cover or separation page option has been mistakenly left turned on. Go through these steps to turn off this option.
- Launch the ‘Start‘ menu and click ‘Settings.’
- Now, click ‘Devices.’
- Tap on ‘Printer & Scanners.’
- From the given list of printers, choose your HP printer.
- Click on ‘Manage.’
- Next, tap on ‘Printer Properties.’
- Navigate to the ‘Advanced‘ tab.
- Launch the ‘Separator Page.’
- You’ll find a small window with a file location opening up. Delete this location.
- Tap ‘OK‘ for saving all the changes you’ve made.
Also See: Hp Printer Paper Jam Error
Conclusion
Use the recommendations in this article whenever your HP printing device produces a blank page. They are very easy to comprehend and apply. If you have any questions regarding these troubleshooting methods, don’t hesitate to get in touch with knowledgeable printer error us. The professionals will quickly fix any issues you have with your HP device.