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6 Ways to Overcome Printer Ready But Can't Print

Printer Ready But Can't Print

Printer ready but can’t be used for printing often happens, whether on Canon, Epson, HP and other brands. If this happens to you, then you must know how to solve printer ready but cannot print.

Usually, one of the causes of this problem is the rules that exist in the computer. So when you use the printer for the first time, the computer settings still use the settings for the printer you normally use.

Immediately, here are some solutions that can be tried to overcome this problem.

How to Overcome Printer Ready But Can’t Print

1. Perform Basic Check

Before discussing the solution to the problem above, you must first make sure a few things, namely:

  • The printer and its drivers must be installed on the computer.
  • Cartridges must be installed correctly and perfectly.
  • Ink must be readily available.
  • The printer must be properly connected to the mains and the computer.
  • The printer indicator light should be on and normal.

If the printer is in a state as above but still cannot print, then you can try the next solution.

2. Restart Printer Service Via CMD

The first way you can do to solve print ready but unable to print documents is to restart the printer service via CMD or Command Prompt. This method is very powerful to make the printer work again as usual.

This method is universal. so you can apply it to all printer brands, from Epson, HP, Canon and so on. Here are the steps:

  1. First open CMDcan look for it in the Start Menu, type cmd, right click then select Run as administrator.
  2. you can too pressing Win + R on the keyboard, type cmd then press OK or Enter.
  3. After Administrator Command Prompt open, type the command net stop spooler then press Enter. This command is useful for stopping the print spooler.
  4. Next type the command del /Q /F /S /”%systemroot%\System32\Spool\Printers\*.*” then press Enter on the keyboard. This command is useful for deleting all files in the printer folder.
  5. Next type the command net start spooler then press Enter to start the print spooler again.
  6. Done, now you reset the computer and try to print the document again.

3. Restart Printer Spooler Via Microsoft Windows Service

The second way, you can also restart the Printer Spooler via service.msc or Microsoft Windows Service. Just like before, this method can also be applied to all printer brands. The tutorial can be seen below:

  1. Press the Win + R key combination on the keyboard to bring up Run.
  2. Next type the command service.msc then click OK or press Enter.
  3. After the Microsoft Windows Services window opens, you look for the service menu with the name Print Spooler.
  4. After meeting, right click on Print Spooler then select Stop then Minimize the Microsoft Windows Services window.
  5. Now press Win + R again, then type the command “C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS” then click OK or press Enter.
  6. After opening, delete all files in that folder.
  7. Now Reopen Microsoft Windows Service, right click on Print Spooler then select Start.
  8. Done, before printing the document, it is better if you restart the computer first for optimal results.

4. Set Printer As Default

If the computer has been used with other printers to print documents, then this time you must make the printer that is used now the default. In this way, the printer can detect commands from the computer immediately.

See below the steps:

  1. First, you Go to Control Panel menuwhich is in the Start Menu.
  2. Next select View devices and printers which is in the Hardware and Sound.
  3. After that you can see some of the devices that have been connected to your computer.
  4. Next right click on the name of the printer you are using now then select Set as default printer.
  5. Final click Finish to save the new setting.

5. Make sure the printer name is the same as the printer used

Printer ready but can’t print? Maybe the printer is not the printer you are currently using. For that, you must match the printer name so that the document printing process can continue.

It’s like this:

  1. Do the document printing as usual, that is with press CTRL + P on the keyboard.
  2. Next look at Printer Name is it the same as the printer brand you are using now?
  3. If it’s different, you can choose the right printer.
  4. If everything is correct, now click Print to print the document.

6. Clear the Print Queue

The way to deal with printer ready but unable to print next is to empty the print queue aka the print queue. If the print queue is large, the printer does not immediately respond when you want to print a document.

Therefore, you must clear the print queue so that your request can be executed immediately. Here’s how:

  1. Click the up arrow (Show hidden icons) which is at the bottom right of the computer screen.
  2. Next double clicks on the printer icon then Click Print Queue.
  3. There you can see some of the documents that are currently in the print queue.
  4. Next right click on document that was then select Cancel.
  5. Now reprint document which you have not successfully printed.

Also read: How to Install the Epson L120 Printer

You can use one of the ways to solve printer ready but cannot print above to make the printer work normally again. If the printer is still having problems, taking it to service sounds wiser.