Printer printing blank pages in Windows 11: how to fix it

Applies to: Windows 11 PCs with an inkjet or laser printer, connected by USB, Wi-Fi or a network cable, where paper feeds through but nothing (or almost nothing) is printed on it. Windows 10 uses the same tools, though some Settings pages look different.

If the printer does nothing at all and shows Offline, our printer offline guide is the better starting point. Blank pages mean Windows and the printer are talking; the content just isn’t making it onto the paper.

Start here: two test pages

Two test pages split the problem cleanly. The first comes from the printer itself and never touches Windows; the second goes through Windows and the printer driver. Microsoft’s print quality troubleshooter starts with the printer’s own test page for the same reason.

1. Printer test page: print it from the control panel or buttons on the printer. Where the option lives, and what it’s called (test page, configuration page, quality report), varies by maker and model, so check the printer’s manual or support site if you can’t find it.
2. Windows test page: go to Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select the printer, then Printer properties. On the General tab, select Print Test Page.

What you see	Likely cause	Go to
Both test pages are blank	Ink, toner, cartridges or printhead	Check the cartridges
Printer’s page is fine, Windows test page is blank	Driver, settings or spooler	Check Printing preferences
Both test pages print, one document is blank	The app or the document	Rule out the app
Pages are faint or have gaps rather than fully blank	Low ink or a partly blocked printhead	Clean the printhead

1. Check ink or toner and the cartridges

Microsoft’s first check for poor output is the obvious one: make sure the ink or toner isn’t empty or expired, the paper is the right type, and nothing is jammed, then restart the printer. A blank page is the extreme end of the same problem, so start here even if the printer’s level gauge says there is ink left; gauges are estimates.

The following points are general guidance rather than Microsoft steps, and the details vary by maker and model:

• New cartridge, blank pages: many new cartridges ship with a protective strip or seal that has to come off before use. Take the cartridge out and check against the instructions in its box.
• Seated properly: remove and reinsert each cartridge until it clicks, and close the cover fully. Microsoft notes an open cover can put the printer in an error state.
• One color missing on an inkjet: if black text is blank but color prints, the black cartridge or its part of the printhead is the suspect, and the reverse.
• Laser printers: gently rocking a toner cartridge side to side can spread the remaining toner, but if the printer says it’s empty, replace it.

2. Clean the printhead (inkjet printers)

On an inkjet that sat unused for weeks, dried ink in the nozzles is a common reason for blank or patchy pages. Microsoft’s quality page says to open the printer’s software or its control panel and run a tool such as Clean printhead, Align printhead or a Maintenance option. The exact names depend on the printer.

Run one cleaning cycle, print a test page, and only repeat if output is improving. Microsoft points out that cleaning uses extra ink, so running it over and over on an empty cartridge just wastes ink. If several cycles change nothing, the cartridge or printhead may need replacing; check with the maker, especially under warranty.

3. Check Printing preferences

If the printer’s own test page is fine, check what Windows is asking it to do. Microsoft’s path:

1. Go to Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners and select your printer.
2. Select Printing preferences.
3. Set Print quality (or resolution) to Normal or Best, and turn off Economy, Draft or Toner saver modes if the driver has them.
4. Make sure the paper type matches what’s in the tray, then select Apply and print again.

These settings come from the printer driver, so the tabs and labels differ between makers. A toner-saving or draft mode on a nearly empty cartridge can turn faint output into pages that look blank.

4. Rule out the app and the document

If test pages print but one document doesn’t, the cause is probably on the app side. Microsoft’s guide to printing problems in Word, Excel and other apps suggests these checks:

• Try another app: print something short from Notepad or Paint. If that works, the printer and driver are fine.
• Check the print dialog: in Word or Excel, open File > Print and confirm the right printer is selected and shows Ready. Make sure Print to PDF or Print to file isn’t selected, and check which pages are set to print.
• Repair Office: for Word and Excel, Microsoft suggests a Quick Repair of Microsoft 365 from Settings > Apps > Installed apps, then an Online Repair if that doesn’t help.

Two document-side causes are worth knowing about, though they aren’t on Microsoft’s page. A document can contain genuinely empty pages, for example from extra paragraph marks or page breaks at the end, which print as blank sheets. And text set to white, or placed in a hidden layer, prints as nothing. In Word, our guide on print preview not matching the document covers markup, hidden text and layout settings that change what reaches the paper.

A quick way to separate the app from the printer, again general guidance: print the document to a PDF instead of the printer and open the PDF. If the PDF is blank too, the problem is in the document or the app, not the printer.

5. Restart the Print Spooler and clear old jobs

A damaged job stuck in the queue can sometimes cause odd output for jobs behind it. Restarting the service is quick and safe:

1. Press Windows + R, type services.msc and press Enter.
2. Find Print Spooler, right-click it and select Restart.

To clear stuck jobs as well, Microsoft’s printer connection and printing guide says to stop the service, delete the files in %WINDIR%\system32\spool\PRINTERS, then start the service again and set Startup Type to Automatic. Deleting those files cancels every pending job, so let anything important finish first. If the spooler won’t stay running, see Print Spooler keeps stopping.

6. Update or reinstall the printer driver

A damaged driver, or a driver meant for a different model, can send data the printer can’t make sense of, and some printers respond by feeding a blank or nearly blank page. You need an administrator account for these steps.

1. Select Start, search for Device Manager and open it.
2. Expand Printers, right-click your printer and select Update driver.
3. If no update is found, select Uninstall device, restart the PC and let Windows reinstall the driver.

Microsoft’s printer driver download page recommends Windows Update as the first source. If Windows doesn’t offer one, get the driver for your exact model number from the maker’s support site. Our guide on how to update drivers in Windows 11 compares those routes. If the printer shows Driver is unavailable, follow our driver unavailable guide instead.

7. Remove and add the printer again

If a fresh driver didn’t help, removing the printer clears its saved settings and port as well. Microsoft’s steps:

1. Go to Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select the printer, select Remove and confirm with Yes.
2. Make sure the printer is on and connected, then select Add device.
3. If Windows doesn’t find it, select Add manually and follow the prompts, picking your exact maker and model when asked.

Before removing it, you can also run the printer troubleshooter: Microsoft’s printing guide links to it in the Get Help app on Windows 11.

When it’s the printer itself

If the printer’s own test page is still blank after new cartridges and a few cleaning cycles, no Windows setting will fix it. These are general rules of thumb, not Microsoft guidance:

• Inkjet: a printhead that stays blank after cleaning may be blocked or failed. On models with the head built into the cartridge, a new cartridge replaces it; otherwise it’s a repair or replacement decision.
• Laser: blank pages with toner present can point to a worn drum, imaging unit or another internal part, depending on the model.
• Error lights or messages: look up the code on the maker’s support site, since the meaning varies by model.

In those cases contact the printer maker, especially if the printer is still under warranty.

Related guides

• Print Spooler keeps stopping in Windows 11: how to fix it
• Printer driver is unavailable in Windows 11: how to fix it
• Printer offline in Windows 11: how to get it back online
• Print preview different from the document in Word: why and how to fix it
• How to update drivers in Windows 11 (and when not to)

Official sources

• Microsoft Support: Fix poor print quality in Windows (blurry, faded, or streaked prints)
• Microsoft Support: Fix printing problems in Word, Excel, or other apps
• Microsoft Support: Fix printer connection and printing problems in Windows