How to fix a printer that is printing gibberish or strange characters

Hardware & Peripherals KB-385

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to fix a printer that is printing gibberish or strange characters. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

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Common Causes

Printing "gibberish"—random symbols, strange characters, or endless pages of nonsense—is usually caused by a communication breakdown between your computer and the printer. This typically occurs when the wrong printer driver is being used or when the print spooler has become corrupted, causing the printer to misinterpret the data it receives.

Quick Fix Steps

Before attempting a full driver reinstall, try these rapid recovery steps to clear the current error:

Cancel all print jobs: Open the print queue by clicking the printer icon in your system tray (or via Settings > Printers & Scanners > your printer > Open queue), then right-click each document and select Cancel. Ensure the queue is completely emptied.
Power cycle the printer: Turn the printer off, unplug the power cable from the wall for 30 seconds, and then plug it back in.
Restart your computer: This clears the temporary system cache and resets the connection.

Important: If your printer is currently printing pages of gibberish, turn it off immediately to avoid wasting expensive ink or toner cartridges.

Detailed Instructions

Step 1: Clear the Windows Print Spooler

If a corrupted file is stuck in the queue, the printer will continue to output strange characters even after you restart the device. To fully clear the spooler:

Press Win + R on your keyboard, type services.msc, and press Enter.
Scroll down to find Print Spooler.
Right-click Print Spooler and select Stop.
Open File Explorer and navigate to: C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS.
Delete all files within this folder (do not delete the folder itself).
Return to the Services window, right-click Print Spooler, and select Start.

Step 2: Update or Reinstall the Printer Driver

The most common cause of this issue is an outdated or generic driver that does not properly translate the document for your specific printer model.

Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager.
Expand the Print queues or Printers section.
Right-click your printer and select Uninstall device.
Unplug the printer's USB cable (if applicable).
Visit the official manufacturer's website (e.g., HP, Brother, Canon, Epson) and download the latest "Full Software Package" for your specific model.
Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts.
Reconnect the printer only when prompted by the installation software.

If you are using a network printer and the issue persists, check if your printer is offline or experiencing connectivity drops.

Troubleshooting Specific Scenarios

Printing from a PDF

Sometimes, the gibberish is caused by how a specific PDF is encoded. If this only happens with one file:

Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Click File > Print.
Click the Advanced button.
Check the box for Print As Image and click OK.
Try printing the document again.

Checking Hardware Connections

While less common, a faulty cable can corrupt data packets during transmission:

Ensure the USB cable is plugged directly into the computer, not through a USB hub.
Try a different USB port on your machine.
If using Wi-Fi, ensure the printer has a strong signal and is not experiencing interference.

If you have followed these steps and your printer is still producing strange characters, please Open a Ticket so our technical team can analyse the issue further.

Still Having Issues?

Need more help? If the issue persists after trying these steps, please open a support ticket and our team will assist you.

💻 Open a Ticket