HP printer users often find their devices printing gibberish or unreadable text. The output shows garbled text or random characters. In the Windows system, this problem can occur due to a driver-related issue. You can fix it by using the Windows troubleshooter. If you are a Mac user and find HP printer printing gibberish, you will need to reinstall the printer.
In this article, you will explore different ways to fix this issue.
Why is My HP Printer Printing Gibberish
These are the most common causes of illegible or incorrect output from your printer.
- You are using non-genuine HP cartridges, resulting in this problem.
- Connection issues such as damaged cables and ports can also lead to this error.
- Several stuck print jobs in the queue.
- The printer drivers are outdated or corrupt.
How to Troubleshoot HP Printer Printing Gibberish
Hopefully, you now have a greater understanding of the problem. Let’s find out the different ways to fix it.
1. Cancel the printing tasks
The first step is to cancel the print jobs. To cancel the jobs, follow these points.
- Search and access the ‘Control Panel’ on your Windows.
- Next, go below ‘Hardware and sound.’
- Tap ‘View devices and printers.’
- Double-tap the symbol of the printer.
- Now, double-tap ‘See what’s printing.’
- This will open the print queue.
- Tap the print job to cancel and hit ‘Document.’
- Tap ‘Cancel’ followed by ‘Yes.’
POINT TO REMEMBER: After canceling the print job, if the lights continue to blink, delete the job from the print queue or hold back till the system completes sending information.
2. Reset your HP printer
After canceling the print tasks, try resetting the printer. Doing so can resolve printing issues.
- With your HP printer turned on, disconnect the cord from the device.
- Next, unplug the power cord from its source.
- Wait for a period of 60 seconds and then re-link the power cord.
- Reconnect the cord to the wall outlet as well as the printer.
Take the Advantage of the HP Print and Scan Doctor application
The HP print and scan doctor application is specifically designed for problems related to the HP printer. Downloading and installing it in your system is an effective fix for the printer printing gibberish HP error.
- The application will be downloaded as HPPSdr.exe on your system.
- Run this file from the download place on your computer.
- Once HP Print and Scan Doctor launches, click ‘Start.’ Then choose your printer.
- If you don’t find the printer on the list, turn it on and hit ‘Retry.’
- If a connection issue arises, go by the instructions you notice on the tool.
- Next, click ‘Fix Printing.’
- Test results will show as different icons.
Use the printer troubleshooter.
The next technique is using the in-built printer troubleshooter on your Windows system. Use this fix when you find a network HP printer producing random symbols.
- Hit the Windows and I keys.
- It will open ‘Settings.’
- Choose ‘Update & Security.’
- Go to the ‘Troubleshoot’ tab.
- Click the option, ‘Additional troubleshooters.’
- Next, find the ‘Printer’ option.
- Click this option and choose ‘Run the troubleshooter.’
- Go by the on-screen instructions.
- Select a suitable response for the process.
Reinstall the HP printer drivers.
Do you find your HP printer printing gibberish Mac? The problem may be present in the printer drivers. You can uninstall the existing driver and install the latest driver. Find the latest drivers by going to 123.hp.com/setup.
- Launch your Mac system.
- Now, access the web browser and input ‘123.hp.com/setup.’
- Ensure to have a high-speed internet connection during this process.
- Soon you will see the official HP printer setup site.
- Here, input the make & model number of your HP printer and wait till the driver links appear.
- Now click the ‘Download’ button.
- This will start the driver download process.
- Wait for some time till the download finishes.
- If you have a good internet speed, the download will finish soon.
- Save the file in the default downloads directory of your Mac device.
Use another software application to print.
If nothing can resolve the problem, you must change the software application used to print.
- Access another software application.
- Now, launch a file in the new application and give it a print command.
- If you are able to download it properly, it means that the issue is with the specific software application and not the printer.
Link the printer to the computer directly
Sometimes, changing the connection of the printer can also fix output issues. So, if the connection to the computer is over a network and you find an HP printer printing gibberish PDF, use a USB cable connection. Connect the printer directly to your system via the USB.
- Switch off the wireless signal if your printer has a wireless network.
- Now, disconnect Ethernet or USB cables.
- Turn off the power of your printer.
- Now, turn it on.
- After the printer restarts, connect the USB cables directly.
- After that, try printing.
Reinstall the HP printer
Yet another good way to troubleshoot this output issue with your HP printer is to reinstall it.
- First, uninstall the printer by opening the ‘Control Panel.’
- Here, choose ‘View devices and printers.’
- It is below ‘Hardware and sound.’
- Right-tap on the printer gives the output issues.
- Now, choose ‘Remove device.’
- Tap ‘Yes’ to verify this action.
- After the printer is removed, add it again.
- Go to the ‘Start’ menu.
- Tap ‘Bluetooth & devices.’
- Now, choose ‘Printers & scanners.’
- Hit the ‘Add device’ button.
- Now, tap ‘Add device’ for the printer that has been detected.
Examine the printer’s default settings.
Your printer must be set as default. If it is not, you will find various output and performance issues.
- Hit the ‘Start’ button and navigate to the ‘Control Panel’ section.
- Choose ‘Devices and printers.’
- Look for your printer’s name.
- If it has a tick near it, it is set to default.
- If not, right-tap the printer and select ‘Set as default printer.’
Summing up
All of the fixes described above are suitable for those finding their HP printer printing gibberish. They are easy to follow and implement and will eliminate this annoying problem. However, if the problem persists or you need more help with a specific fix, contact an HP printer technical support service.
