Introduction
Probably the most common cause of your Epson printer not acting well is having a bad print driver. Drivers are just simple parts of software that facilitate your computer to talk to its printer. Well, this means that most errors why an Epson printer fails or fails to generate a response tend to be bad drivers for printing Epson. All these problems can be solved easily by using the following simple troubleshooting methods.
Let’s go through some of these simple fixes you can try to get the Epson printer back in action.
1. Make sure that the printer connection is correct:
Before attempting driver-specific troubleshooting, start with something more basic. Make sure your printer is properly connected to your computer. That lost cable or disconnected jack can easily lead to the situation.
- USB Connection: Connect the USB to both the computer and printer ends while making sure they fit nicely and using different ports on your USB cable.
- Wireless Connection: Connect your device and computer through wireless internet on the same network local to the one with your Epson printer, which you will be connecting to.
- A loose connection that is faulty causes devices not to talk to each other, hence resulting in failures of Epson printer drivers on your device.
2. Reinstall an Epson printer driver OR update an Epson printer driver:
The Epson printer driver is usually the cause of any printing problem. You should probably reinstall or update your Epson printer driver.
- Uninstall the previous driver: First, open up your computer’s Device Manager, locate the Epson printer in the “Printers” section, and then uninstall the driver.
- Download the latest driver: Go to the Epson official website and download the latest driver of your specified printer model and operating system.
- Reinstall the driver: Download the latest driver and run the installer. The instructions on the screen are followed, and then the printer and computer are restarted for completion.
3. Clear the Print Queue:
Sometimes, a stuck or jammed print job in the queue might be the reason for an Epson printer failure, even when the driver seems to be performing well. How to clear the queue
- Open your computer to the Devices and Printers section and click on the Epson printer icon.
- Right-click the printer icon, and subsequent options are there. There’s now a menu that includes “See what’s printing.”
- If print jobs are queued, select Cancel All Documents.
- Sometimes this cancels the print queue, and your printer returns to normal.
4. Run Printer Troubleshooter:
Troubleshooters are available in both Windows and Mac that may be able to identify most problems with a printer, including Epson printer driver problems.
- For Windows: Open Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot. Select “Printer” and follow the instructions on the screen.
- Mac: Go to System Preferences > Printers & Scanners, right-click on your Epson printer, and hit Reset Printing System.
The troubleshooter could detect all the problems of your printer driver automatically and also auto-apply its solutions.
5. System Update:
Sometimes, your system updates resolve compatibility issues between your computer and the Epson printer driver. Your system may also maintain an outdated version that may later cause a problem in your Epson printer driver. The Windows update may be obtained as follows:
From Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.
- Launch your Mac using the System Preferences, then click on Software Update from the top column and download them.
- Keep this operating system or printer driver from getting out-of-date problems.
6. Disable Antivirus/Firewall Temporarily:
Sometimes, security software conflicts with the communication between the printer and the computer, hence causing driver-related problems. Try disabling your antivirus or firewall temporarily to see if that is the cause of the problem and try printing.
After you have resolved your problem, you would also want to add your Epson printer to your allowed device list on your antivirus or firewall program, in case subsequent connections from your computer to your Epson printer being blocked by your security application.
7. Compatible Driver:
Perhaps the operating system update will not touch your Epson printer since the old driver will not work on it. And so, you need to download a compatible driver with the right version of your operating system here.
- Check through the Epson website if there is a compatible driver for your operating system.
- The right driver will run your printer with no errors.
Dealing with driver print Epson errors is very frustrating, but I’ll be listing some of the procedures that can be used to troubleshoot and solve it in no time. Check your connections, reinstall the driver, clear the print queue, and run the built-in troubleshooter, but if the problem persists, make sure your operating system is updated and that your security software does not block the printer.
If none of the above works, then this may be the perfect time for Epson support to call for some help.