If your PDF document isn’t printing, either your printer is faulty or there may be some issue with PDF settings. Both the printer and your PDF file must meet certain criteria to print your PDF document.
Below, we’ll discuss a few reasons why your PDF is not printing along with its fixes in detail.
Why can’t I print a PDF?
The first thing you need to know is if the problem you are facing is in the printer or your pdf file. You can check this by trying to print any webpage or even a .doc file to know where the issue is.
The above are some of the most common reasons you cannot print a pdf. Now, let’s get onto what we should do to fix these issues.
Fixes for Why You Can’t Print a PDF
If you cannot print any document, then the problem is with the printer. Here are some steps you’re able to do to fix your printer issue.
Set Your Printer as the Default Printer
Sometimes, if you have not set your printer as the default printer, it cannot print your document. To set a printer as your default printer, you can follow these steps:
Update Your Printer Driver
You can update your printer drivers if your printer isn’t working. To update your driver, you can go toControl Panel>Device Manager > expand “Printer queues“> select your printer> right click andupdate.
After the update is complete, you’re able to try to print the PDF file to see if it worked.
Clear Files That Are Left to Be Printed
Another reason your PDF isn’t printing might be because there are already some files that are on the list of the printer that needs to be printed. The printer works on the First-In-First-Out policy, which means whichever file it gets first is printed.
To clear your printer queue, you’re able to follow the following steps.
Clear the Print Spooler
The print spooler is an in-built application that stores the printing tasks on your computer. Above mentioned steps may not always work while clearing files that are left to be printed. In that case, you’re able to follow these steps to clear your print spooler.
Note:you have to be logged in as an administrator to do these steps.
Restart your computer and try to print your PDF.
Troubleshoot Your Printer
This is kind of a last resort if nothing works on fixing the issue with the printer. Troubleshooting a device works in most cases, windows can figure out exactly what is wrong with the device and give a solution. You can troubleshoot a printer using the mentioned steps.
For Windows 11
For Windows 10
Windows will tell you what is wrong with your printer driver and suggest some fixes. Once you are done with the fixes, you’re able to print your PDF file.
If the issue is not with the printer but something else, you can try the following fix.
Save as New PDF
This is one of the easiest fixes. All you have to do is to save the PDF file again as a different name or replace the existing one. Doing this removes some corrupted bits from the file and you will be able to print your file.
Unlock PDF Files
To unlock your PDF files, you can use websites likeiLovepdf,Smallpdf. Once you are on the site, you can upload your locked pdf and get the unlocked version of it.
Fix Corrupted Files
If your files are corrupted, there is nothing you can do except for using third-party software or a web application to recover and print those files. Software and websites such as recovery toolbox, SysInfotools PDF repair, Datanumen PDF repair, etc. can be used to uncorrupt those files.
Print PDF as Image
This fix usually works for most of the users, as this fix doesn’t print the pdf but it prints the PDF as an image.
You can follow these steps to print a pdf as an image.
However, there is one disadvantage to it, as it can take a while to print. The final step of printing the document as an image works most of the time if your PDF document fails to print.
