Is your printer producing random code, unreadable characters, or garbled text instead of your business documents? This can be extremely frustrating!
A printer that outputs gibberish can interrupt productivity, waste paper and toner, and delay important business tasks. However, you do not have to stand by helplessly while your printer destroys stacks of valuable paper.
This guide explains the most common causes of printer gibberish and provides practical troubleshooting steps to resolve the issue. Follow these steps, clear your print queue, and finally end printing gibberish for good!
Quick Answer: The top offenders when a printer starts spitting out random characters are out-of-date printer drivers, a jammed print job, a mismatched printer language (PCL vs PostScript), outdated firmware, and some communication error. Often, clearing the print queue, restarting your printer, updating drivers, and checking your settings should fix the problem.
Why Is My Printer Printing Gibberish?
A printer prints gibberish when it receives data it cannot correctly interpret. Driver issues, corrupted print jobs, incorrect printer language settings, or communication errors usually cause this.
Understanding how your computer communicates with your printer makes it easier to identify where the problem occurs.
When communication between your computer and printer breaks down, the printer may output raw commands, symbols, or unreadable text instead of the intended document. When you order a page to be printed, the computer will convert the entire contents of the document into a particular digital form.
If the print data becomes corrupted during transmission, the printer may interpret the raw commands as printable text. It will print out the raw coding, which then comes out looking like pages of hieroglyphics and symbols. Unlike ink or toner issues, printer gibberish is typically caused by communication or software problems rather than printing supplies.
Quick Troubleshooting Guide
If your printer is spitting out a bunch of garbage, code-like language, or meaningless symbols on your page, the symptoms are a telltale sign as to what is going wrong. Here’s a table to help you determine the possible cause of your printer problems before diving into specific troubleshooting instructions:
| What You See | Most Likely Cause | Recommended Solution |
| Random symbols or unreadable characters | Corrupted print job or print spooler | Clear the print queue, restart the Print Spooler, and resend the document. |
| Raw code or PostScript/PCL commands | Incorrect printer driver or printer language mismatch | Install the correct printer driver and verify the printer’s Page Description Language (PCL or PostScript) settings. |
| Garbled text across multiple documents | Outdated or corrupted printer driver | Remove the existing driver and install the latest version from the printer manufacturer’s website. |
| Strange characters only when printing PDFs | PDF reader or application issue | Update your PDF reader or use the Print as Image option when printing. |
| Gibberish from a network printer | Network communication or TCP/IP configuration issue | Verify the printer’s IP address, network connection, and TCP/IP settings. |
| Gibberish continues after restarting everything | Firmware issue or hardware failure | Update the printer firmware. If the problem persists, contact a qualified printer technician for diagnosis. |
Common Reasons Your Printer Prints Strange Characters
Any one of several print-related software, hardware, or network errors can corrupt your print signal. By recognizing these root causes, you will know which action to take to correct the signal without wasting valuable paper and toner!
Finding the underlying cause of your printer error is the first step toward a lasting solution. Numerous hardware and software issues will cause your outgoing print signal to go rogue, and by knowing the most frequent causes, you can find the right solution quickly.
1. Outdated or Incorrect Printer Driver
A printer driver allows your operating system to communicate correctly with your printer. If the installed driver is outdated, corrupted, or incompatible with your operating system, the printer may receive unreadable print commands.
Driver incompatibility often occurs after major Windows or macOS updates if the printer software has not been updated. Your printer driver may no longer be compatible with recent OS updates, leaving you with symbol output to the printer.
2. Corrupted Print Job
A corrupted print job can cause the Windows Print Spooler to send damaged print data to the printer repeatedly. Now and then, you might experience a random network failure, power surge, or application freeze, which can cause an individual print job in your computer’s print queue to become corrupted.
The printer receives the corrupted data and prints random symbols or unreadable characters instead of the original document. It interprets the data in a faulty way and then continues to churn out trash characters and eat through your paper supply.
3. Printer Language or Emulation Mismatch
Printers understand a particular set of “Page Description Languages” (PDLs) to understand what they need to do, in the form of something like PostScript or Printer Command Language (PCL). Most business printers use Page Description Languages (PDLs) such as PCL or PostScript to interpret print jobs.
If a printer receives commands in the wrong page description language, it may print the raw code instead of the document. This commonly happens after replacing a printer without updating the installed driver. The computer still thinks that it can speak to a Ricoh with Canon proprietary commands.
4. Connection Problems
Damaged cables or unstable network connections can corrupt print data before it reaches the printer. Worn-out USB cables or frayed ports can lose print job data, and if you have a network printer, poorly configured TCP/IP settings can lose data en route through any dropped network traffic.
5. Software, Firmware, or Settings Issues
Certain applications can also generate print jobs that some printers cannot correctly process. These kinds of situations typically include PDFs with many elements, rich graphics at high resolutions, or unique fonts.
For example, the printer may successfully print a Windows test page but fail when processing complex PDF files or browser-generated documents. Or your firmware might be corrupt, or you might have Page Description Language configuration errors resulting in the system not sending certain data packets.
How to Fix a Printer That Is Printing Gibberish?
Most printer communication errors can be resolved with a systematic troubleshooting process. Follow this methodical approach to reset your printing system, create solid physical connections, and refresh your drivers.
The most common gibberish printing issues are simple communication errors you can fix yourself. Here’s a step-by-step method to reset your printing queue, ensure your physical connections are secure, and update your printer software.
1. Cancel All Pending Print Jobs
You will need to get your printer to stop wasting paper right away. Go into the print queue of your computer. You access it by going into your Control Panel and clicking Devices and Printers. Once inside Devices and Printers, double-click the printer in question, then right-click all the print jobs and “Cancel them all.” This will clear your corrupted print files.
To also help clear out your Windows Print Spooler, open up Services. Close Print Spooler, delete the content in the C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS folder, and start your Print Spooler.
2. Restart Your Printer and Computer
Restarting both the printer and computer often clears temporary communication errors. Power cycle the printer. Turn off the printer and unplug the power cord for 60 seconds. During that time, reboot your computer and clear the temporary print memory buffer there. Plug the printer back in, turn it on, and see if it prints non-stop.
3. Check the Printer Driver
Download and install the most recent compatible driver from your printer manufacturer’s website. Go to your hardware manufacturer’s website and download and install the most recent compatible driver for that model. Remove the existing printer driver before installing the latest version provided by the manufacturer. For a huge office network, make sure to install the compatible printer driver on the print server for all your workstations.
4. Check Your USB or Network Connection
Check that the wires coming from your physical printer are not damaged and are properly attached. Connect the printer directly to the computer using a known-working USB cable to rule out connection issues. Print a network configuration page to verify the printer’s IP address and confirm that the computer is connecting to the correct device. Then, you would also want to check your TCP/IP settings.
5. Try Printing from another Application
Printing a simple text file from Notepad can help determine whether the issue is application-specific or system-wide. If your Notepad prints without any issues, but your PDF file has corrupted characters, you most likely have a problem with your PDF reader application. The fix is to update your PDF reader or choose the “Print as Image” option in your print dialogue box.
6. Adjust Language Settings, Update Firmware, or Reset Your Printer
Access your computer’s printer properties to confirm Page Description Language settings are applied correctly. If simpler changes don’t solve the problem, update your printer’s firmware through your printer manufacturer’s portal to fix bugs in the communication code. If the problem persists, consider restoring the printer to its factory settings after backing up any required network configuration.
Preventing Gibberish Printing in the Future
After resolving the issue, a few preventive maintenance practices can help reduce the likelihood of future communication errors.
First, always keep your printer drivers updated so the system can “talk” to the printer. Run a test print right after a major Windows or Mac operating system update to make sure the system detects the printer information properly.
Second, protect your physical connections by always buying the best quality, shielded USB and Ethernet cables. Never run network cables parallel to heavy electrically powered equipment, since signal interference increases the likelihood of dropped print packets.
Third, run a test print regularly to confirm that drivers, network connections, and printer settings are functioning correctly. This way you’re not facing potential driver and/or connection problems when you have a big, important, time-sensitive batch of printing to do!
When Should You Contact a Printer Repair Professional?
Most printer issues can be resolved through software troubleshooting, but persistent problems may indicate a hardware failure. You can save your IT department a lot of headaches if you know when to consider a hardware problem.
Most printing issues are software problems you can fix in just a few minutes. However, if errors persist, this indicates hardware failures, which will only be resolved by a certified professional. Recognizing when professional service is required can help minimize downtime.
If none of these fixes work, you may need to have some hardware components replaced. If your printer prints gibberish even when the normal test page is printed in the machine via its physical control panel without being connected to a computer, you should contact a certified technician.
Hardware failures such as a damaged formatter board, faulty controller, or defective system board can prevent the printer from correctly interpreting print data. Also, if the printer jams frequently for no obvious reason, or if the hardware error lights flash and the printer loses power altogether, you’ll need professional repair.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. How To Fix Your Printer When It Starts Printing Gibberish?
If your printer is spitting out random characters instead of printing, first clear the Windows print spooler and any other queued jobs. Second, unplug and reboot the printer and wait 60 seconds. Finally, download the latest compatible printer driver from the manufacturer.
2. Why Is My Printer Printing Coding?
Your printer starts to print plain text when there’s a serious trouble with printer driver compatibility or emulation problems. Your print driver is unable to decode the computer document. The print driver fails to tell the printer, and it prints your data in raw form.
3. Can New Printers Also Print Gibberish?
Yes. Even brand-new printers can produce gibberish if they are configured with an incorrect driver, port, or printer language. Make sure to install the proper driver/software from the manufacturer as soon as the printer is set up.
4. Is Printing Gibberish the Same as a Printer Printing Blank Pages?
No. Printing gibberish implies the printer received corrupted data. Instead of printing an image, it’s printing out your underlying computer code. Whereas if it’s printing blank pages, you’re likely printing nothing, or your printer is all out of ink.
