Why did my printer stop printing?

Question

Level 1

38 points

Why did my printer stop printing?

I just got a new iMac and installed my little HP 1012, and it worked great. Then about 3 days ago it wouldn't "do" anything when I wanted a page printed. Later in the day it started printing again when I asked it to, even though I hadn't done anything to 'make' it print. Now it's stopped printing again. Why would this be?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Dec 5, 2008 11:12 AM

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Answer 1

pogster

Level 5

4,247 points

Dec 5, 2008 11:23 AM in response to amember

When you try to print is there a print notification on your dock? If so, when you open it does it show any old print jobs waiting in que that hasn't printed?

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Answer 2

elmac

Level 5

4,252 points

Dec 5, 2008 11:59 AM in response to amember

Hi, I would uninstall the drivers, then Repair Permissions, then SMC reset.
After that reinstall drivers from the HP site.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1452
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=434756
...L

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Answer 3

amember Author

Level 1

38 points

Dec 5, 2008 12:23 PM in response to amember

The printer on the Doc just says that the document is "Printing", which it isn't.

Also, the Printer Utility has no printers listed.... But the Icon Printer has it listed, with the Driver version and URL listed.

Message was edited by: amember

Message was edited by: amember

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Answer 4

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,364 points

Dec 5, 2008 12:25 PM in response to amember

One of the printers I have is a HP 1012 too. How to add it is Go to System Prefrences, Choose Print and Fax. Then look to see if your 1012 is there. If it is not then add it by clicking the + sign. If it is there then delete it by clicking the - sign. Then try adding it again and test to see if it works. I'm assuming you have it connected via a USB cable directly to your iMac and don't have it connected to any other external device like a print server, Airport Extreme or Express.

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Answer 5

amember Author

Level 1

38 points

Dec 5, 2008 1:49 PM in response to amember

It's listed there, so if I delete it, will the computer +for sure+ recognize it when I try to load it again since it is plugged in to a USB port? In other words, will it just come up automatically in the window?

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Answer 6

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,364 points

Dec 5, 2008 6:26 PM in response to amember

Yes it should.

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Answer 7

amember Author

Level 1

38 points

Dec 5, 2008 9:19 PM in response to amember

One more question first. If I delete it, will I have to re-download drivers or will they not be deleted? Also, my printer connects directly to the USB in the computer. I unchecked the "shared printer" box. It's convenient but not really necessary if that's the problem (it was sharing with a Sony laptop).

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Answer 8

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,364 points

Dec 5, 2008 10:45 PM in response to amember

Your drivers will remain on your computer, all you do by clicking the - key is just eliminating that printer from your choices of installed printers. Clicking the + key just (hopefully) re-installs it.

One last thing did you download and install this update:

http://support.apple.com/downloads/HPPrinter_Driver_1_11

If you haven't yet I would strongly suggest doing so using it's the most up to date drivers currently available from HP the LJ 1012 is listed in it as one of the supported printers.

That should do it. I have my 1012 set as Shared and use Bonjour on my HP notebook to make the connection. Printing on the notebook also works just fine. Not that it matters but I also have a Officejet 7410, and Color Laserjet 2600N that all work perfectly on my iMac and Windows machine.

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Answer 9

amember Author

Level 1

38 points

Dec 6, 2008 7:56 AM in response to amember

That's good information! My iMac is only a week old. Is there a way to know if I've already got the update...or not? I'll go ahead and delete the printer and reinstall it later today and see what happens. Thanks!

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Answer 10

amember Author

Level 1

38 points

Dec 7, 2008 7:26 AM in response to amember

I appreciate the input from all of you. Yesterday, I tried printing a page and it worked...why I don't know, I didn't do anything different, or change any settings, etc. So in the Print settings box I "locked" the settings, whatever they were, and hopefully the printer will continue to work.

I'm going to leave the question open as unanswered so others can give their ideas as to why a printer would simply stop printing. There must be many reasons, so if a lot of them are given here, maybe others can figure out what's wrong with their printer too.

Thanks to all of you for submitting your answers to help me.

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Answer 11

amember Author

Level 1

38 points

Dec 17, 2008 7:25 PM in response to amember

I've changed my mind. Others can jump in here and add to the conversation although the question is marked answered. So thanks again to all!

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