9 Effective Fixes for the HP Printer Printing Gibberish

HP printers offer reliable printing performance at most points in time. But sometimes, you may find it giving unexpected output. Many people complain about their HP printer printing gibberish. This means that the machine starts giving output with unusual characters and random symbols. The printer may also not print in color correctly.

But don’t fret now that you have found this article. Here, you will learn the major causes of this issue and different methods to rectify it.

Why Is My HP Printer Printing Gibberish?

Your printer may print wrongly because of the following key reasons.

• The printer settings are misconfigured.
• Outdated or corrupt printer drivers
• Damaged cables and ports
• Connection issues
• Network errors

9 Ways to Fix HP Printer Printing Gibberish Issue

Now that you have knowledge of the reasons for this printer problem, use resolutions.

1. Cancel printing jobs

This is the first step you can take to rectify this issue. Cancel the print jobs and reset your printer.

• In the Control Panel, get to ‘Hardware and Sound.‘
• Now, tap ‘View devices and printers.’
• Double-click on your printer icon followed by ‘See What’s Printing.’
• The print queue will show up.
• Here, hit the print job to cancel followed by ‘Document.’
• Click ‘Cancel,’ and then confirm it.
• Now disconnect the printer and wait for around a minute.
• Reconnect the printer and try printing.

2. Update the HP printer driver

After canceling print tasks, if you still find problems with the output, update the drivers. This is also a good technique if you find the HP printer not printing color.

• Type ‘devmgmt.msc’ on the Run dialog box and tap ‘OK.’
• Double-click ‘Print Queues.’
• Now, right-click on your HP printer and choose to update the driver.
• Tap ‘Search automatically for drivers.’
• Your Windows operating system will update the drivers and the issue with your output will be fixed.
• Restart the computer after updating the drivers.
• Give a print command and check if the output is according to your expectations

3. Fix the issue with HP Print and Scan Doctor

The HP Print and Scan Doctor will resolve issues with the printer’s output quickly. It is extremely simple to employ and use this troubleshooting tool.

• Head to the official HP website to download the HP Print and Scan Doctor.
• Install the file of this utility.
• After it installs on your system, open it.
• The utility will start and identify the issue in your printer.

4. Remove your printer and reinstall it

Are you still wondering why is HP printer not printing color and giving you gibberish output? If yes, you can try removing and reinstalling the printing device.

• To clear the printer, first head to the Control Panel section.
• Here, hit ‘Hardware and Sound.’
• Now, tap the ‘Devices and Printers’ section.
• Go below the ‘Printer’ section.
• Find your hp printing device and right-tap it.
• Remove the printer.
• Confirm this action by clicking ‘Yes.’
• To reinstall your printer, go to ‘Printers & Scanners.’
• Tap ‘Add device.’
• Now you can add your printer and try to print. Check whether it still prints gibberish.

5. Use the in-built troubleshooting utility

The Windows system has an in-built troubleshooting utility that people can use. It fixes any kind of printer problems, be they internal or related to the output. Use these steps to make your network printer print the correct output.

• Launch the ‘Settings’ application by hitting the Windows and I buttons.
• Now, select ‘Update & Security.’
• Pick the ‘Troubleshoot’ tab.
• Now tap ‘Additional troubleshooters’ on the right-hand side.
• After that, find the ‘Printer’ option and click it.
• Below that, you will see the ‘Run the troubleshooter’ button.
• Click this button.
• You will see many instructions on your screen. Follow all of them so that you are able to fix the problem with the output.

6. Link your HP printer to your system directly

If you still find your HP printer printing gibberish, link it directly to your system. Use these steps to link the printer to the system.

• Check if your HP printer is linked to a wireless network.
• If yes, disconnect the printer from the network.
• After disconnecting the USB or Ethernet cable turn off the printer.
• After that, turn on the printer.
• Link the USB cable directly from your printer to your system.
• Now, give a test print command and check the output.

7. Use a different application to print

This can be one of the last resorts if you find any kind of issues with the output. Use another software application when you notice the HP printer not printing color.

• Open an application other than the one where the issue is occurring. For example, launch a word processing software instead of the image viewing one.
• Now, open a document in this new software or you can also make a new file.
• Now, print this document.
• If you want the document to be printed successfully, your problem has been fixed.
• The cause is the software you were using before.

8. Examine the default settings of your HP printer

Checking the default printer settings is also a simple measure to take when you find your HP printer printing gibberish. Here is how you can check these settings.

• Hit the ‘Start’ button on your Windows computer.
• Now, navigate to the section of Control Panel.
• Here, select ‘Devices and Printers.’
• On the next page, look for your printer’s name.
• If you find the printer with a tick mark beside it, it means the printer is the default one.
• But if there isn’t a tick mark, right-click on your printing device and choose to set your printer as default.
• Now, give a command to print and check the output.

9. Look at the network configuration page

• Go to the home page of your HP printer’s website.
• Input the model number and the name of the printer in the search box.
• Now, input the ‘network configuration page’ in the keyword box.
• Tap Enter and look at the network configuration page.
• It should not have garbled text.

Final Thoughts

It doesn’t feel pleasant to find your HP printer printing illegitimate text. But these measures will rectify the printer’s performance so you can get the needed printouts. If you need more Printer-fixing error assistance, connect with HP Printer Support experts online.

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