Print to PDF issue on Mac Mini Post Sonoma 14.0 Update

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac? If so then that may be part of the problem. Uninstall any such app according to the developer's instructions.

Also give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.

You could try resetting the print system in System Settings -> Printers & Scanner. Control-click on a printer in the list, or on "No Printers" if you don't have any, and select "Reset Printing System…".

You'll have to re-add your printers, but it may get you past this.

Saving to PDF shouldn't depend on the printer, unless the current printer is a vendor driver and something is causing problems.

You can also attach a full spin report here - maybe someone will be able to tell what's going on.

Hope this helps.

Installing Sonoma 14.1.1 resolved the issue with printing to pdf for me. Thanks to the tip I saw posted on another thread.

I had the same issue after installing Sonoma. I could see the PDF in Preview, but only got blank pages when I tried to print.

I updated Sonoma to 14.1 and the QuickBooks online reports are now printing correctly.

This is addendum #2: One of the suggestions on the Adobe Acrobat site was to check for updates. I did and updated Adobe Acrobat Reader and it finally printed with no problem. So, with the updating to OS 14.1.1, one needs to be sure to check your applications for updates. Updating Adobe solved my problem.

After installing Sonoma, I was unable to print PDF documents. The issue was resolved after I uninstalled Adobe Acrobat Reader and then re-installed it.

Hi Peter,

If you have had this problem on OSes before Sonoma, it's not related to PSNormalizer. PSNormalizer was only removed starting in Sonoma.

The filter failed is a different problem, and one workaround is to print using Preview. I am not sure about other workarounds, due to the PSNormalizer changes, but it may be helpful to make sure you are using the most recent Acrobat and HP drivers. Hope this helps.

Hi Kathleen,

PDF printing with Apple's «preview» (instead of Acrobat) is working.

KR ...Peter

I finally found the fix until Adobe and Sonoma OS get it worked out. It works!!! https://helpx.adobe.com/download-install/kb/fix-printing-pdf-adobe-apps.html

Check that your printer drivers and such are up to date and that your printer settings are still OK. From your description, it sounds like the OS looks for the printer, can't find it so defaults to something that produces no output.

I had the same issue on an M1 Mini running Sonoma. Neither the existing version of Acrobat Reader nor Preview would print PDFs showing a "Filter" error for our Canon MF series printer. This usually means that one needs to update the printer driver. That was done and the printer system reset, all to no avail. What did fix the issue was going to Adobe's website and downloading the freshest distribution of Acrobat Reader and installing it. Then AAR printed the PDF file just fine. - something that we had not seen for a while - we had been using Preview to get around that glitch until Sonoma stopped us cold.

This is different from the original topic.

It sounds like you are printing a pdf from Acrobat, in which case you are running into the removal of PSNormalizer:

macOS Sonoma 14 Release Notes | Apple Developer Documentation

Does printing from Preview work?