Sometimes it may happen that the printer does not respond to the print command and even if everything seems to be on and connected and nothing has been touched, something has stopped. This may depend on the printer itself or on the configuration of the PC, which for some reason has changed and needs to be reset.
In some cases there may be a problem with the management software or with the driver, although in recent versions of Windows, in particular Windows 10, this has fortunately become a much less frequent problem.
Here is a quick and concrete guide on everything you can do if the printer no longer prints, whatever brand it is (HP, EPson and others), what are the most common causes and the most frequent problems that, usually, they are really easy for everyone to solve.
First of all, if the printer does not print, you should check that the connection is active.
I shouldn't even write it, but it's always good to check that the printer is turned on, that there is paper and then that its light is not flashing.
If the light is flashing, then there is a problem on the printer and the easiest way to solve it is by turning the device off and on again.
If it is a wifi printer, the flashing light can mean that the network is not configured or not seen.
Then make sure that the wifi router works and is not far from the printer and then run the configuration wizard, which in the HP and Epson printers opens from the settings menu.
On Epson, the exact network settings menu is usually found under the Maintenance item in the main menu.
After writing the password for the wifi network, the router should assign an IP address to the printer; but if this does not happen, then you need to enter the router configuration menu and make sure the automatic IP assignment via DHCP is active.
In the case of a printer shared by another computer, refer to the guide to share the printer on the network, remembering that in order to function, the PC that shares it must always be turned on, that is, the one to which the printer is connected by cable.
If the printer is correctly connected to the Wifi network or via USB cable to the PC from which you want to print, then the problem is on the Windows PC and everything should be solved in a few clicks.
Then open the Start menu to be able to use the search box and search for the word " Printers ".
In all versions of Windows you will find the result " Devices and printers ", to be opened.
From here you should see our printer among those listed and if it is not working, it should have a semi transparent icon, which means disconnected.
If we are sure that the printer is active and connected in wifi, press on it with the right mouse button and then click on " Remove ".
If it does not happen automatically, press hours on the Add printer button at the top.
Windows will scan the network, find our printer and make it available.
If it is not found and is not visible from Windows, which is strange, you can still click on the link " the printer I want is not listed ", giving several options to locate it manually.
In the case of a wireless printer, you can indicate its IP address, which is readable from the printer display in the wifi settings menu (depending on the brand and model, this menu may change, but it should not be difficult to locate it anyway).
In this case, you may need to install the printer drivers before scanning.
You can then open the HP drivers download page or the Epson printers page, search and locate your printer among the various listed and download its management software which also includes the driver.
After installation, try scanning and adding the printer again.
If the situation is still not resolved, try repeating this installation step of the management program, after uninstalling the one already present on the PC.
To do this, open the Control Panel and access Programs and features to uninstall all HP, Epson or the same brand software of our printer.
If it is listed but indicated with a semi transparent icon or that indicates problems or if the printer still does not print, the first thing to do is to use the Windows troubleshooting tool.
his tool, called Problems to print can be found from the Control Panel in normal view by categories, press on " System and security " and then on the "Troubleshooting" link (From here, press on the left on view all to find the tool that solves printer problems), or, from the Devices and printers screen, pressing the icon of our printer with the right mouse button to start troubleshooting.
This tool is completely automatic and usually works: it checks, restores print services and corrects problems.
Still in the Devices and Printers window, press the right mouse button on our printer icon and set it as default if it is not already.
Also from this screen, by pressing the right mouse button on the printer that does not work, then go to "View printing in progress to open the printer queue and, if necessary, cancel the prints that have remained blocked and waiting.
In this regard, I recommend reading the guide to manage and eliminate print queues quickly and without waste.
Still from the Devices and Printers screen, you can double-click on the printer to enter the management menu .
By pressing on it with the right button, however, you can open the options page of the printer properties and for printing preferences .
In Windows 10 you can open the Start menu, go to Settings> Devices, to find a configuration screen similar, but more intuitive, to the standard Devices and printers screen .
From here you can click on our printer and open the print queue or go to the management menu.
From the management menu, you can also launch the specific troubleshooting tool and check your printing preferences and printer properties.
In Windows 10, always from the Settings> Devices menu there is an option that automatically sets the last used as the default printer.
On the right you can then turn off the " Allow windows to manage the default printer " option.
These procedures should really solve almost all of the causes of a printer malfunction.
To learn more, I also refer to the guide with solutions to the most frequent printer problems on Windows.
