Printer prints blank pages

You’ve done all your work; you hit print, and lo and behold, all the pages come out blank. Our homes and offices are full of machines but, let's be honest, few of them get on our nerves quite as much as printers. It could be new and in perfect condition and the consumables could be loaded. However, at some point a fault will still arise. The best thing to do here is to remain calm, be patient and be capable of discerning between an error that can be easily solved and one that is so serious that it requires a call to technical support. Pay attention because there are many reasons why your printer may print blank pages and in most cases, the problem can be resolved very easily.

Why does my printer print blank pages?

The most common reason why a printer may print blank pages is due to insufficient ink. Nevertheless, while this is the first thing we should check, there could be a number of other possible causes to consider (connection failure, lack of space on the hard disk, clogged injectors, etc.). The first step is to uncover the root of the fault by narrowing down the possible causes.

Does it print blank pages because of the printer or the device?

There are two main reasons why your printer may print blank pages: the problem may be with the printer itself, or it may be with the device you are trying to print from, i.e. your computer, tablet or mobile phone.

To find out if the problem is in the printer itself, you can try printing directly from the printer without a computer, tablet or mobile phone. How do we do this? It depends. If you have a multifunction printer, place any document on the scanner glass and press the copy button. If you have a printer without a scanner, you can print a report from the printer screen. If your printer does not have a screen, you can do this by pressing the main button three times in a row.

If you're able to print a photocopy or report and the printer continues to print blank pages, the problem lies with the printer. If not, the printer is not the culprit and the fault is probably in the device.

Main causes

• Consumables are empty.

The first thing you need to check if your printer is printing blank pages is the condition of the consumables. This can be done from the printer control panel or from the printer software on your computer. If they are empty, here you can buy the ink cartridges you need.

• The consumables are have been incorrectly inserted.

Check that the cartridges have been correctly installed in the printer. Failure to do this may also lead to errors such as blank printing

• The cartridges have a protective tape covering them.

Some cartridges have a protective tape on the ink head, which must of course be removed before inserting the consumables into the printer.

• The consumable's nozzle is clogged.

This may be another of the reasons and in order to rule it out, we should print an injector test pattern or a test page to check if the injectors are clogged. If they are, you will have to clean them.

• Wrong print programme.

The problem may lie in the programme we have used to open the document. To check this, try opening another document with the same programme and click on print. Has it printed successfully? Then, the programme is not the problem. If it continues to print blank pages, try opening the same document with another programme.

• The printer is incorrectly configured.

The printer configuration may not have been set up correctly. Make sure the paper size and alignment are correct.

• The drivers are incorrectly installed.

The printer driver may also be the cause of your blank printouts. You may need to update or uninstall and reinstall it to get the latest version.

• You are using the wrong paper.

Does the paper we are using meet the printer's specifications? It's important to bear this in mind because not all printers accept all types of paper.

• There's no space on the hard disk.

Please note that the hard disk must have at least 2 GB available in order to be able to print. How much free space does yours have left?

What to do when the printer prints blank pages but contains ink?

Now you're aware of the most common reasons for why your printer may be printing blank pages, the next step is to check and exclude the causes until you find the fault that needs to be fixed. Shall we begin?

Check the condition and placement of the cartridges.

Check that the cartridges have sufficient ink and that they are inserted correctly. You can check the ink level from the printer screen, if it has one, or from the printer software on your computer. If the cartridges are spent, you've already identified the problem. The solution? It couldn't be simpler — you just have to replace them.

Make sure you're printing using the correct programme

Which programme did we use to open the document we are trying to print? As we mentioned above, this may be where the fault can be found. Open the document with another programme and see if you have the same issues as before — the solution could be as simple as that.

Check the printer settings

There are two simple checks you can make:

From the computer, go to 'Start', 'Print', 'Properties', 'Paper', 'Advanced Options'. Here we’ll check if we’re using the correct paper size.

Now follow the following steps: 'Start', 'Print', 'Properties', 'Presentation'. Here, check that the paper is correctly aligned.

Check the drivers

The driver may not be sending the right commands to the printer. What should you do? Uninstall and reinstall it. Use the installation CD-ROM again if you still have it. The CD will detect that the program is already installed and offer the option to repair or uninstall it. What if you don't have the CD any more? Find 'Add/Remove Programs' in your computer's settings and uninstall the printer software.

Well, once uninstalled, use the CD to install it again. If you don’t have the CD, you can download the latest version of the software from the printer brand's website.

Check that you're using the right kind of paper

As we've mentioned, not all printers accept all types of paper, so we must check that the one we are using is compatible with our printer. The best way to find out is to take a look at the manual.

Check the space on the hard disk

The pages may be coming out blank because the hard disk does not have enough space. Remember that you must have at least 2 Gb free to be able to print properly. Go to 'My Computer' and you can check how much space is available on your hard drive.

Turn the printer off and on again

And finally, the easiest and most effective of all solutions. Switch off the printer, let it rest for a while, and then switch it on again.