Easy Fixes for HP Printer Printing Gibberish and Random Text

July 25, 2023 Richard 0 Comments

Sometimes you may find your HP printer printing gibberish or distorted text. The output has random symbols, and unexpected prints that no one can recognize. This problem mainly arises from communication issues between a Windows OS and your printer.

So, when you notice unexpected prints, connect your computer directly to the printer, cancel the print job, and reset the HP Printer. Apart from that, updating the printer driver and clearing the print queue are also some expert steps to deal with this issue. In this article, we will describe techniques to stop your printer from printing gibberish in detail.

Table of Contents

Why My HP Printer Is Printing Gibberish

Undoubtedly, when your printer prints random characters or garbled text, you will feel as if there’s a major problem with the device. Learning the reasons will help you not to panic and troubleshoot this issue. This happens because of the following:

There’s a glitch with your printing device.
A connection glitch between the printer and the computer.
The software used for printing has issues.
Drivers are not updated.
The printer queue is loaded.

Solutions for HP Printer Printing Gibberish

Now you know the causes for your HP printer printing garbled text or characters. Use any one or more of the solutions below to fix the problem.

1. Link your printer directly to your PC

Is your printer linked to your PC via a USB hub or over a network? Try connecting it straight to the computer to fix the problem.

Power off the Wi-Fi signal.
Take out the Ethernet or USB cable from your printer.
Turn off your printing device.
After a few minutes, restart the device by turning on its power.
Now link the USB cable straight from the printer to the PC and give a test print.

2. Reset your printer

If you still find printer printing gibberish HP issues, resetting the device is the next effective step. But before that, ensure to cancel any pending print job.

Launch Control Panel in your system.
Find the ‘Hardware and Sound’ section.
Below it, tap the ‘View devices and printers’ option.
Double-tap the icon of your printer followed by double-tapping ‘See what’s printing.’
In the print queue, tap the print job to cancel and tap ‘Document.’
Tap ‘Cancel’ and confirm the changes by tapping ‘Yes.’
Now, remove the power cord from your printer. Do not turn off the printer.
Remove the cord from its power source as well.
After 60 seconds, plug the cord back into the printer and the outlet.
Finally, give a test print.

3. Use the printer troubleshooter.

If your printer still prints random symbols, use the in-built troubleshooting utility in Windows OS.

Launch ‘Settings’ in your system and pick ‘Update & Security.’
On the ‘Troubleshoot’ tab, click ‘Additional troubleshooters.’
Find your HP printer and tap it.
Hit the ‘Run the troubleshooter’ button.
Use the on-screen instructions and select the right response.
This will fix your network HP printer printing random symbols.

4. Update the drivers

Driver issues also result in HP printer printing gibberish. So, updating them will ensure that the printer connects to the computer and is able to read the print command correctly.

On the Run dialog box (open it by pressing the Windows and R keys).
Type ‘devmgmt.msc.’
Hit ‘OK.’
Now, double-tap ‘Print Queues.’
Expand this section. You will see various devices under it, one of which will be your printer.
Choose ‘Update driver.’
Now, choose ‘Search automatically for drivers.’
Windows will check for pending driver updates and install them.
Reboot your computer afterward.

Read Also:- HP printer driver is unavailable

POINT TO NOTE: If the drivers that get updated do not work for your printer, navigate to the official HP website. From there, go to the ‘Software and Driver Downloads’ section and get the latest drivers.

5. Employ the HP Print and Scan Doctor

The HP Print and Scan Doctor helps you troubleshoot problems in your HP product, such as scanners and printers. Use it to diagnose and troubleshoot the cause of your HP printer giving gibberish text.

Head to the official HP website to download the program. It will be downloaded as a file named HPPSdr.exe.
Once the file is downloaded, tap on it to run it.
When the program opens, tap the ‘Start’ button and choose your HP printer.

NOTE: If you cannot locate your printer, power on the device. After that, tap ‘Retry.’

The HP Print and Scan Doctor will ask you to turn on printer updates. Tap on it. Next, the tool will ask you to set your printing device as default. Tap ‘Yes.’
Soon, the software will diagnose the root cause of the printer printing gibberish and fix it.

6. Convert your document into a PDF.

Do you find your printer printing unrecognizable text when printing from an Excel file, Microsoft Word, or PowerPoint? This happens because the font encryption does not work how it should. A simple fix for this is to make a PDF of the document you wish to print. Just save the file in whichever format it is as a PDF. Now, take a printout.

7. Examine if there’s malware on your computer.

If there’s malware or a virus in your system and you don’t know about it, you’ll wonder why is my HP printer printing gibberish. The malware affects your computer’s security by giving a command to the print spool and not the protected drive.

The malware file is not in the correct format for the printing task to occur. It, in turn, causes your printer to give out random text. So, ensure that you have good antimalware software on your computer. Additionally, be careful of where you download files from. Whenever you are downloading software, don’t simply press the ‘Download now’ button. Only download if you see the direct download link. Otherwise, you may accidentally invite malware to infect your system.

Closing Words

Many factors can lead to an HP printer printing gibberish or unrecognizable text. Miscommunication between the printer and driver is the root cause of the problem. But by using the resolutions above, you can fix this cause. If you still cannot execute smooth printing, contact a printer technical expert.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I fix HP printer ghost printing issue?

Ans:- Fix the HP printer ghost printing issue by cleaning the cartridge. After that, clean the electrical contacts. If you are using old cartridges, ensure that they work. Download the HP Print and Scan Doctor utility and follow the prompts to fix the problem. Also, ensure that your HP printer is in a dry room where humidity is low.

2. Why does my HP printer keep printing on its own?

Ans:- Check if you have turned on Wi-Fi Direct. If you have not set its password and it’s on, your neighbors can connect to it and give print commands. You must disable this feature by navigating to ‘Network setup’ or ‘Wireless Settings’ on your printer.

3. Why is my HP printer printing gibberish in PDF?

Ans:- Use the ‘Run’ option to go to the PRINTERS folder in ‘Spool.’ Here, clear all documents in the queue and try printing. Check if you have the latest HP printer drivers. Remove your printer and reinstall it. After that, give a test print command.