Error code
“Error - Printing” status in the Windows print queue
“Error - Printing” beside a job means it started and then stalled. Clear the queue, check the printer, then fix the driver or port if it keeps happening.
Windows message
What it means
Windows shows Error - Printing in the status column of the print queue when a job began sending to the printer and then failed partway. The job usually stays stuck at the top of the queue and blocks everything behind it. The cause can be the printer, the connection, the driver or the document itself, so work from the quickest checks outward.
When you’ll see it
- In the print queue, against the first job in the list
- When the printer ran out of paper or jammed mid-job
- Printing a very large or complex PDF
- After the printer slept or lost Wi-Fi during a job
Usually caused by
- Most commonThe printer hit a jam, empty tray or open cover mid-job
- Most commonA damaged job is stuck in the queue
- SometimesThe connection dropped while the job was sending
- SometimesThe driver can’t process the document
- Less commonTwo-way status communication with the printer is failing
How to clear it
Work down the list in order. Tick off each step as you go: your progress is saved on this device.
Windows 11 and 10
0 of 7 tried
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Check the printer for a paper or cover problem
Look at the printer’s screen or lights. Clear any jam, load paper and close every cover. Some printers resume the job by themselves once the problem is cleared; others need you to press OK or a resume button on the panel.
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Cancel the stuck job
Open the queue from Printers & scanners > your printer > Open print queue. Right-click the job showing the error and choose Cancel, then cancel any others that won’t move. A job that sits on Deleting for more than a minute needs the next step.
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Restart the spooler and empty the spool folder
In an administrator Command Prompt, run
net stop spooler, then the command below to clear the jobs waiting in the spool folder, thennet start spooler.del /Q /F %systemroot%\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*You should see: The print queue opens empty.
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Restart the printer and print a test page
Turn the printer off, unplug it for 60 seconds and turn it back on. In Printers & scanners, select it and click Print test page.
You should see: The test page prints, which shows the printer, the connection and the driver all work.
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Print the original document another way
If the test page prints but your document still errors, the job itself is the problem. Try printing a few pages at a time, or save the document as a new PDF and print that. Some PDF readers also offer Print as image in their advanced print options, which sends simpler data the printer is less likely to choke on.
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Turn off bidirectional support
Open Printer properties > Ports, clear Enable bidirectional support and click Apply. This stops Windows waiting on status replies the printer may not send reliably. You can lose live ink-level readings, so turn it back on if it makes no difference.
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Reinstall the driver
If every job errors, remove the printer, delete its driver package under Print server properties > Drivers, restart, and install the current driver from the manufacturer’s official support site.
Common questions
Why won’t the job with the error delete?
The spooler is holding it open. Stopping the spooler, clearing the spool folder and starting it again removes it every time.
Will clearing the queue delete my document?
No. Only the copy waiting to print is removed; the original file stays where you saved it.
Why does only one document give “Error - Printing”?
That document probably contains something the driver struggles to process, such as a huge image or a damaged font. Printing it as an image or re-saving it as a new PDF usually gets it through.