Printers can sometimes malfunction in a way that makes the problem difficult to figure out. Figuring out why your printer is printing extra blank pages can be a mystery for most. But in this article, we will focus on unveiling this mysterious happening.
We’ll be looking at 4 reasons your printer is printing blank pages and what you can do to solve it.
The fixes are quite easy once we get into them. We just need to get past the what’s causing it to happen stage so we can focus more on the solution.
So let’s discover the top 4 reasons that could be causing this bizarre behavior, and what to do to fix it.
Printer Settings are Incorrect
Having the wrong printer settings that definitely contribute to this issue. Here are a few things that you can double-check and adjust in the settings.
If your printer is set to print double-sided, it’s possible that it’s printing that extra blank page on the back of each page. Go into your printer settings, check to see if it’s set to double-sided, and change the setting to print single-sided.
That is, of course, single-sided printing is what you want.
While you’re in printer settings, check to make sure that the paper size is correct for what you need.
Adjusting the printer margins also can help in the area.
The easiest way to get to the margins settings is when you click on print. When that print window comes up, asking you to select the printer, number of copies to print, etc., there’s an option for “Margins”. Clicking there to see what the settings are for that particular print job, and making any changes needed is how you would do that.
Another tip here that can help is to try cleaning the print head.
Over time, ink or toner can build up on the print head and cause problems with printing. To clean the print head, follow the instructions in your printer’s manual. You can always look it up on the internet, by doing a Google search for your particular printer.
Outdated Printer Drivers
If your printer is printing extra blank pages, it may be due to outdated printer drivers.
Printer drivers can, and do become outdated for a number of reasons, including new software releases from the manufacturer or changes to your operating system.
Windows updates, for instance, are known to cause some malfunction of specific software after the updates are installed. They can sometimes trigger updates to your printer drivers as well.
If you think your printer drivers may be outdated, the first step is to check with the manufacturer to see if there are any new updates available. Go to the manufacturer’s website directly and check under support for the latest printer driver for your particular printer.
Download and install the latest driver and see if that solves your problem.
And if you’re not sure which driver to download, that’s not a problem.
Most manufacturers provide detailed instructions on their websites on how to download and install print drivers.
They usually ask that you input the make and model of the specific printer you need the drivers for. Afterward, they’ll provide you with a list of available drivers/software that’s available for that printer.
If that still didn’t solve the issue, you can do a simple trick of uninstalling and then reinstalling your printer drivers. Sometimes that’s all it takes to solve these types of printing issues.
You’d be surprised how a simple uninstall and reinstall of the printer drivers can get the printer back up and running again smoothly.
If the issue still persists after going through all those steps to troubleshoot the drivers, then feel free to contact their customer support for assistance.
Low-Quality Paper
This one is pretty much self-explanatory and doesn’t require much explanation. So I’m not going to spend too much time on this one.
Because I’m not a printer paper expert, I will simply talk about the quality of the paper based on the weight of the paper you’re using.
Most standard printer paper comes in a 20lb finish. These are your day-to-day printing paper for all types of print jobs from faxes, and draft printouts to multi-page documents.
Using standard 20lb paper works just fine. The quality of the paper could vary depending on the brand. You could get a better quality 20lb paper by choosing a higher quality brand over another brand that’s not all that great that you’ll see at Walmart with the cheapest price.
You can also opt to go for a heavier printer paper, which will also be more expensive. Anywhere from 22lb to 24lb could give a much better performance for your printer. You’ll immediately notice the difference when you get a heavier printer paper vs the standard weight.
And they look nicer too.
Just consider what your budget is for paper, and decide what would work best for you. Here are some options for you to choose from online for printing paper.
- Hp Printer/Copier Paper 20lb 5 Ream Case
- Hammermill Printer/Copier Paper 20lb 8 Ream Case
- Hp Printer/Copier Paper 22lb 8 Ream Case
Issues with the Printer Itself
This too can be another self-explanatory one. If not much can be done for the printer, it just may need replacing.
But before giving up completely to replace our printer, let’s look at a few more options we can try.
Here are a few more tips to try if your printer is printing extra blank pages:
- Make sure that your printer is connected to your computer correctly and that the drivers are installed properly. We talked a little about this in the section on outdated drivers.
- If you’re using a wireless connection, try connecting your printer directly to your computer with a USB cable. Sometimes doing a direct connection to your printer as opposed to a wireless connection can solve these types of problems.
- Consider contacting the manufacturer of your printer for additional troubleshooting help. You’d be surprised at how this one method can save you a lot of time and money. You should be able to contact the manufacturer from their website. Either by phone, email, or via live chat.
Conclusion
So when your printer is printing extra blank pages, this could leave you feeling a little perplexed as to why this is happening. There could be many reasons for this to occur, however, the four that I have given here in this article, I believe are the top reasons.
If the printer settings are incorrect, go into the printer settings to adjust the settings as needed. Outdated drivers can definitely play a major role in your printer behaving in this manner. So be sure to get the latest print drivers from the manufacturer’s website and update your print drivers.
Look at the paper quality that you’re using to print on, and consider upgrading to a better quality printer paper and see if that solves your problem.
If you suspect the printer to be the issue, attempt the troubleshooting tips mentioned above, and check if that helped.
And if all else fails, consider reaching out to the manufacturer’s support team. They may be able to provide you with additional assistance or service.