Step One: Open the Printer queue and see if there are print jobs in the queue

Windows:

  1. Click on the start button.
  2. Click on Printers and Faxes.
  3. Double click on the printer icon.
  4. Begin cancelling the printing of jobs starting at the top by:
    1. Click on the job to select it.
    2. Click on the Document menu.
    3. Click on Cancel.  Wait for the job to completely disappear and see if that frees up the printing.  If not, continue cancelling print jobs until the queue is empty.
  5. Check to see if anyone else is having problems printing to the same printer.  If yes, turn the printer off, wait 60 seconds and turn it back on.  If no one can still print to that printer, contact the van.evita@wsu.edu to request help.
  6. Try printing again.  If other people can print to the printer, restart your computer and try printing again.  If you still cannot print, try some of the other steps below and contact van.evita@.wsu.edu if you still cannot print

Macintosh:

  1. In OS 10.3 or later, open the System Preferences and select Print & Fax
  2. Select the printer you are attempting to print to and double click
  3. Select the print job in question and click delete on the print dialogue box.
  4. Resend print job
  5. Visit the printer and make sure that it is “online” and not jammed.  Many times, cycling the power off and on again will clear memory

Step two: Make sure that you have selected the correct printer. If you are connected to more than one printer, check to make sure you are sending your document to the printer you thought you were.

Windows:

  1. Open the document you want to print
  2. Click the File
  3. Click on Print
  4. Look at the Name box to see if you have the correct printer selected
  5. Click on the drop down box to select another printer

Macintosh:

  1. Open the file you want to print
  2. Click on the File Menu > Print
  3. Select the printer you wish to send the job to from the dialogue box that appears

Step Three: See if you can print from other programs.

Windows and Macintosh:

  1. Clear out the print queue as described above.
  2. Open a different program.
  3. Try printing again. If you cannot print from another program, continue with the troubleshooting tips and contact van.evita@wsu.edu

Step Four: See if you can print to other printers. If you are connected to more than one printer, try printing to a different printer. This will help isolate whether the problem is the printer or printing from your computer.

Windows and Macintosh:

Try printing to another printer. If you cannot print to another printer, restart your computer and try again. Then contact van.evita@wsu.edu

Step Five: Reinstall printer. Occasionally, it is helpful to reinstall the printer and printer drivers fresh.

Windows and Macintosh:

  • If you know how to install your printer, try deleting the printer, restart your computer and reinstall the printer.
  • If this is a USB printer connected directly to your computer, turn the printer off, remove the printer cable from your computer, delete the printer, restart your computer, plug the printer cable back in. If you had disks that came with your printer, have them available to reinstall the printer if needed.