Nine printer faults out of ten are communication problems, not mechanical ones. The machine is perfectly fine : it is simply no longer being reached.
The word "printer" covers two separate things : the device, and the link between the computer and it. It is nearly always that link that breaks, and that is good news - it is fixed without any spare parts.
Before suspecting the computer, print a test page from the printer's own screen - usually under a Reports or Configuration menu. If that page comes out properly, the mechanics, the cartridges and the print head are working : the problem is in the link. If it does not come out, the fault is in the device.
This is the most frequent message, and it often lies : Windows simply lost contact for a moment and never restored the status.
Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select the printer, open its queue and untick Use printer offline if that option is active. Clear the queue while you are there : one document stuck at the front stops everything behind it.
A Wi-Fi printer receives an address from the router. After a power cut or a router restart, that address often changes, and the computer carries on addressing the old one.
The sequence that settles most cases : switch the printer off, restart the router, wait until it has fully come back, switch the printer on, then restart the computer. If the problem returns after every power cut, the real answer is to reserve a fixed address for the printer in the router.
Look at the list of installed printers. It frequently holds several entries for the same device, one of them created automatically. Documents then go to a dead entry.
Delete the duplicates, keep the one that responds, and set it as the default printer. Also turn off the option that lets Windows choose the default printer by itself, a permanent source of confusion.
The service that manages the queue can jam, and then nothing goes out at all, even to a printer that is perfectly reachable. Restarting the computer is generally enough ; failing that, the Print Spooler service can be restarted by hand from the Windows services console.
A major update sometimes replaces a manufacturer's driver with a generic one of reduced capability : black and white printing only, double-sided gone, scanning no longer responding. The answer is to reinstall the official driver from the maker's site, after first removing the printer from the list.
Change the port, try another cable, and plug straight into the computer rather than into a hub or a monitor. Printer USB cables are often old and roughly treated.
Streaks, banding or missing colours on an inkjet : the head is clogged, and a cleaning cycle from the printer's screen often solves it. A device that is little used dries out - printing one colour page a week costs less than a new print head. On entry-level models, a blocked head often costs more than the device is worth.
This is a frequent and separate case : printing works, but the scanner no longer responds. It is usually the manufacturer's software, uninstalled or made incompatible by an update. Scanning from the Windows Scan app is a quick way to check whether the device is reachable at all.
Setting up a network printer, sharing it between several computers and getting scanning working again are usually handled remotely. We also come to you across Lyon and the Rhone.
Almost always because its network address changes every time the router restarts. Reserving a fixed address for the printer in the router settles it for good.
They do not damage it, but some models refuse them after an update to their internal software. An error message on a brand-new cartridge often comes from that.
On entry-level models, the cost of a part frequently exceeds that of a new device. A laser printer or a professional model, on the other hand, is well worth repairing.
Most cases are settled remotely, with no visit and no waiting.
Automatic assistant: it can make mistakes. Never share a password or a card number.
