Troubleshooting Apple Printing Issues

1. Technique #1:

OS X Yosemite: Reset the printing system

If you can’t print to your printer and you’ve tried all other solutions, reset the printing system. This process deletes all printers from your list of printers, deletes information about all completed print jobs, and deletes all printer presets.

Important: First, try other troubleshooting techniques in Printing troubleshooting.

• If you’re having trouble printing, first try these suggestions:

• If your printer is attached to your Mac, make sure it’s firmly connected, plugged into an electrical outlet, and turned on.

• If you use a printer on the network, make sure your Mac and the printer are still on the same network, the printer is turned on, and the network isn’t experiencing problems. If the network has multiple printers, check which printer you chose—it may be different from the one you think you chose.

• If you use a shared printer attached to another Mac, make sure the Mac has Mac OS X v10.5 or later, isn’t in sleep, and has sharing turned on. For more information, see Share your printer.

If your printer is attached to your computer’s USB port, open System Information, then click USB. If the printer’s name appears in the hardware list but the printer doesn’t work, review the printer’s documentation for further troubleshooting information or see Check your device’s USB connection.

If you still can’t print, see the additional troubleshooting information below.

To reset the printer:

• Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Printers & Scanners.

• Hold down the Control key as you click in the list at the left, then choose “Reset printing system” from the menu that appears.

• After you reset the printing system, the list of printers in Printers & Scanners preferences is empty.

• You can re-add any printers.

You may also add or remove a printer. To completely remove the printer and reload it slowly, will sometimes show you the mistake, if any, that may have been made while connecting the device.

The HP printer we are using in class can be reset by holding both buttons in the start panel down simultaneously. This resets the printer to default settings and the user may set up the printer again. Without the mistakes.

#2. Check the Printer Queue.

The print queue window is often the best place to find out why the printer won’t print.

Simply go to Print and Fax preference pane > select the printer’s name > and open print queue.

This pane should have the reason that you can’t print. The printer may be out of paper, ink, or just a plain old paper jam. Deleting old print jobs may clear any hardware or software problems. Turning the printer off and clearing the print jobs by turning it back on again may help. My old printer had to be reset by the control panel buttons. Unfortunately I have lost the manual for it, so it’s off to the web site for the instructions. If all else fails, look it up, right? In the past, I have also had to reinstall the drivers for the device. These I have not lost. Reinstallation does wonders for drivers which can get out of sync.

#3. Check the Ethernet cables which connect the two devices (if used).

I actually prefer wireless, it’s easier on the hands and eyes. Since we had to make our own cables for this class, and my eyes and hands are not what they used to be, the cables were not built correctly. After a rebuild session, and replacement of the cables, connectivity was acquired and the two devices were chatting away like two good old buddies. I guess the first place to check for a “no printer” situation would be the cables: did you plug it in?... is it correctly hooked up?

Well I guess we all live and learn. One thing to remeber when troubleshooting devices, The machine is only as smart as the person that set it up. I sometimes forget this and try to blame the machines. Patience is a vertue when dealing with parts and pieces.

Thank you for visiting today.