Dell Printer Won't Print: Troubleshooting Guide

Start Here: Five Checks That Take Two Minutes

When a Dell printer stops printing, the fault is more often on the computer side than inside the printer. Run through these before you reinstall anything.

1. Read the printer's screen or lights. An open cover, a paper jam, or a toner warning will block every job, and your computer won't always tell you about it.
2. Power cycle it the right way. Turn the printer off, unplug the power cord from the wall or surge protector, wait at least 30 seconds, then plug it back in and turn it on. Switching it off and straight back on isn't the same thing.
3. Restart your computer. This clears a hung print service more often than you'd expect.
4. Check the USB cable, if you use one. Reseat both ends, and plug it straight into the computer rather than a hub or a monitor's USB port.
5. Print a test or configuration page from the printer itself, using its control panel menu (often under Report or Print Settings).

That fifth check is the most useful one on this page. If the printer's own test page comes out fine, the printer works, and the problem is the print queue, the driver, or the connection. Jump to the Windows or Mac section below. If the test page won't print either, skip ahead to the blank pages section or the hardware section.

Why Your Dell Printer Won't Print

A bit of background explains a lot of Dell printing problems. Dell stopped selling Dell-branded printers in 2018, wrapping up the exit at the end of July that year. That means every Dell printer still in service is several years old, while Windows and macOS have kept changing underneath it. Dell has also said plainly that it doesn't post printer drivers for every version of Windows, so plenty of models were never given a driver built for Windows 11.

With that in mind, these are the causes we see behind a Dell printer that won't print:

• A stuck job in the print queue. One failed document can block everything sent after it.
• A frozen Print Spooler service. This is the Windows service that hands jobs to the printer. When it hangs, nothing moves.
• The wrong default printer. Windows 11 can switch your default to whichever printer you used last, so your job quietly goes to a PDF writer or an old printer instead.
• The printer is set to Offline or Paused in Windows, even though it's powered on and connected.
• An outdated or corrupted driver, especially after a major Windows update.
• A network change. A router restart can hand a wireless or Ethernet printer a new IP address, and your computer keeps sending jobs to the old one.
• A consumables issue. A new toner cartridge with its seal still in place, a cartridge the printer doesn't recognize, or a model that refuses to print once it decides the toner is low.
• Paper feed problems, like an empty or overfilled tray, the wrong paper size setting, or worn pickup rollers on an older machine.

How to Fix a Dell Printer Not Printing on Windows 11 and Windows 10

Work through these in order and test a print after each step. Most people are printing again by step 3.

Step 1: Clear the queue and take the printer out of Offline or Paused

1. Press Windows + R, type shell:PrintersFolder, and press Enter.
2. Right-click your Dell printer and choose See what's printing.
3. Open the Printer menu and select Cancel All Documents.
4. In that same menu, make sure Pause Printing and Use Printer Offline are both unchecked.

If jobs refuse to cancel, or they sit at "Deleting" forever, go straight to Step 3. For a deeper walkthrough, see our guide to a Dell print job stuck in the queue.

Step 2: Make sure your Dell printer is the default

On Windows 11, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners. Scroll to Printer preferences and turn off Let Windows manage my default printer. Then select your Dell printer and click Set as default.

On either version, you can also do it from the shell:PrintersFolder window: right-click the Dell printer and choose Set as default printer.

Step 3: Clear and restart the Print Spooler

This is the fix that gets a "stuck" Dell printer moving again more than any other.

1. Search for Services from the Start menu and open it.
2. Scroll to Print Spooler, right-click it, and select Stop.
3. Open File Explorer, paste %WINDIR%\System32\spool\PRINTERS into the address bar, and press Enter. Approve the admin prompt if Windows asks.
4. Delete everything inside that folder. These are only temporary spool files for pending jobs, not your documents or drivers.
5. Go back to Services, right-click Print Spooler, and select Start. Double-click it and confirm the startup type is Automatic.
6. Restart the computer and send a test print.

Step 4: Run the Windows printer troubleshooter

On current versions of Windows 11, the old built-in troubleshooters have been retired and the printer troubleshooter now runs through the Get Help app. Search for Get Help from the Start menu, type "printer troubleshooter," and let it run. It checks the spooler and connection and applies fixes automatically.

Step 5: Remove the driver completely, then reinstall it

Dell's own guidance is worth repeating here: installing a driver over a corrupted one won't fix it. The old driver has to come out first.

1. In Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select your Dell printer and click Remove.
2. On the same page, open Print server properties (under Related settings) and go to the Drivers tab.
3. Select every Dell driver listed, click Remove, and choose Remove driver and driver package.
4. Restart the computer.
5. Download the current driver for your exact model from Dell's support site, or reconnect the printer and let Windows install one. Then add the printer again.

If printing broke right after a Windows update, our guide to Dell printer problems after a Windows update covers rolling back and reinstalling in more detail.

No Windows 11 Driver for Your Dell Printer? Here's What Still Works

Look your model up on Dell's support site and you might find no driver listed for Windows 11, or even Windows 10. Dell's own compatibility list marks many older inkjets, including the P513w, the V105, and several 900-series models, as not supported. That doesn't always mean the printer is finished. Try these, in this order:

• Let Windows supply the driver. Dell notes that many of its printers get a driver automatically through Windows Update when connected by USB. Plug it in, give Windows a few minutes, and check Printers & scanners.
• Use the Dell Open Print Driver. This is Dell's universal driver for laser printers that understand PCL 5, PCL XL, or PostScript. Dell lists it as officially supported on Windows 10 and Windows 11, and it often rescues older Dell laser models that lost their dedicated driver.
• Use driverless printing, if your model supports it. Some later Dell models, including the E310dw, E514dw, and E515dw, support Mopria. Windows 11 can print to Mopria printers with its built-in IPP class driver, with no Dell software needed at all.
• Try the older driver in compatibility mode. Dell says a driver from a previous version of Windows, installed in compatibility mode, may work with some or all features. Treat this as a stopgap, not a long-term fix.

What Microsoft's printer driver changes mean for your Dell

Microsoft is phasing out third-party printer drivers on Windows 11 in stages. Since January 15, 2026, no new printer drivers are published to Windows Update for Windows 11, and from July 1, 2026, Windows ranks its own IPP class driver ahead of manufacturer drivers when it picks one.

For a Dell owner, the practical takeaways are these:

• Existing drivers are not being blocked. Microsoft says previously released drivers can still be installed, and manufacturer installation packages are still allowed.
• If your Dell printer now shows up as "Microsoft IPP Class Driver" and prints fine, leave it alone. If you've lost features like tray selection or two-sided printing, install Dell's driver package manually.
• Check Windows protected print mode. This setting in Windows 11 version 24H2 and later is off by default. If someone turned it on, Windows removes third-party printer drivers, and a Dell printer without Mopria support simply stops working. You'll find it under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.

Need help picking the right driver for your model? Our Dell printer driver guide goes model by model.

How to Fix a Dell Printer Not Printing on a Mac

Mac users run into a specific wall: Dell has said it can't offer laser printer drivers for macOS Catalina (10.15), so on recent versions of macOS, most Dell printers print through AirPrint or a generic driver instead of Dell software. Here's how to get yours going.

Step 1: Check the Mac's print queue

Open System Settings > Printers & Scanners, select your Dell printer, and click Printer Queue. If the queue is paused, click Resume. Delete any job that's showing an error, then try again.

Step 2: Remove the printer and add it back with the right driver

1. In Printers & Scanners, select the Dell printer and click the minus (-) button, or right-click it and choose Remove Printer.
2. Click Add Printer, Scanner, or Fax and select your Dell.
3. In the Use menu, pick the best available option:
   • AirPrint if it appears. The E310dw, E514dw, and E515dw support it.
   • Generic PostScript Printer for Dell laser models that support PostScript.
   • Generic PCL Printer for PCL-only laser models.

Generic drivers print reliably, but you may lose extras like tray selection or finishing options. For a full walkthrough, see how to add a Dell printer to a Mac.

Step 3: Reset the printing system

If nothing else works, reset macOS printing entirely. In System Settings > Printers & Scanners, Control-click any printer in the list and choose Reset printing system. You'll need an administrator account, and afterward the printer list will be empty, so add your Dell printer again as in Step 2.

Dell Printer Printing Blank Pages, Garbled Text, or Refusing to Print

Sometimes the job reaches the printer, and the printer still lets you down. These are the usual reasons.

Blank pages right after a new toner cartridge

Take the cartridge out and look for a seal or pull tab you missed. Laser toner cartridges usually ship with a long strip of tape that has to be pulled all the way out, and a cartridge with the seal left in prints perfectly clean, perfectly blank pages. Also check for foam or plastic packing pieces. Before reinstalling, gently rock the cartridge side to side a few times to spread the toner evenly.

Pages full of random characters or code

If your Dell prints strings of symbols, or page after page of text that looks like programming code, the printer is receiving data it can't interpret. That usually means the wrong driver is in use, for example a PostScript driver talking to a printer that only understands PCL, or a job that got corrupted on its way out. Dell's support notes that its 016-series error codes point to a problem with the information sent to the printer and rarely mean the hardware has failed. To fix it:

1. Cancel every job and clear the spooler (Step 3 in the Windows section).
2. Remove the driver completely and install the correct one for your exact model.
3. Test with a different document, from a different app, to rule out one bad file.

The printer stops at a "Replace Toner" message

Some Dell laser printers stop printing entirely once they decide the toner is low, even if there's still usable toner left. On certain models, including the E310dw, the printer's built-in web page (type the printer's IP address into a browser) has a Replace Toner setting with a Continue option that lets it keep printing until the toner is actually empty. Make sure the queue is empty first, or the setting may not save.

If the printer doesn't recognize a new cartridge at all, reseat it firmly, check that the chip contacts are clean, and confirm the cartridge is the right part number for your model.

Dell inkjet not printing ink

Dell inkjets that have been sitting unused often have dried ink in the printhead. Run the cleaning or maintenance cycle from the printer's menu or its software, and if the cartridge has been sitting for months, a fresh one is often the quickest fix. Keep in mind that most Dell inkjet models have no current drivers, so it's worth weighing the cost of new cartridges against the printer's remaining life.

For specific codes on the printer's screen, look them up in our Dell printer error codes guide.

Wireless Dell Printer Not Printing

If your Dell prints over USB but not over Wi-Fi or Ethernet, the problem is almost always the network connection, not the printer.

• Confirm both devices are on the same network. A laptop on a guest network, or on a separate 5 GHz network name, may not be able to see the printer.
• Check the printer's IP address. Print a network configuration page from the printer's menu and compare the IP address with the one set in your computer's printer port. If the router handed the printer a new address, update the port or add the printer again.
• Stop it from happening again. Reserve a fixed IP address for the printer in your router's settings so it keeps the same address after every restart.

Still dropping off? See our guides for a Dell printer that won't connect to Wi-Fi and a Dell printer showing offline.

When the Problem Is the Printer Itself

If you've power cycled the printer and it still can't print its own test or configuration page, the computer is off the hook. The fault is inside the printer: a stuck sheet deep in the paper path, a failing fuser, an imaging drum at end of life, or a board problem that shows up as a numbered error code.

A few things are still worth trying before you give up on it:

• Look for a hidden paper jam. Open every door and tray, including the rear access panel, and use a flashlight. A small torn scrap is enough to stop a laser printer. Our Dell paper jam guide covers where to look.
• Note any error code exactly and look it up. Some codes, like 009-654, first ask you to restart the printer before anything else. See our Dell error 009-654 guide.
• Replace the wear part, not the whole printer, if the code points to a drum or fuser and the part is still available for your model.

Be realistic about the math. Because Dell no longer makes printers, genuine parts depend on what stock is left and on third-party suppliers. If a repair costs close to what a new printer does, replacing it is usually the better call.