It is so irritating when you are working on an important project, and your printer not responding to anything. Nothing kills productivity quicker than waiting for your printer to catch up. If you are experiencing this kind of situation, the problem is probably with the cache of your printer. Gradually, over time, this cache fills itself with old files, and it starts to get slow. The good news is that it is easy enough to get your printer working like it is new all over again just by clearing the printer cache.
What Is Printer Cache, and Why Should It Affect Printing?
How can something this simple be messed with your printer? That can’t be even imagined: whenever you print anything, some data stays in the cache for a while. That prints fast for the reason it may have at hand speedily its data. However, when filled with old and useless data, the entire process becomes slow. And it is very irritating when sitting there watching a small spinning wheel, wondering why this printer isn’t doing its thing. That is why clearing it is so important to do regularly.
Clear Printer Cache On Windows
If you’re a Windows user, don’t worry—it’s easy to clear printer cache. Here’s how:
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Stop the Print Spooler Service
- Press the Windows key along with the R button to open up the Run dialog. In services.msc click on the Enter key. Now, access the services, then search for Print Spooler and right click, select stop
- Remove Cached Print Jobs
- Move over to the path C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS. This is where all print jobs get stuck. So remove all files that exist here in this folder. Believe me, it’s gonna do it.
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Restart Print Spooler Service
- Go back to the Services window, locate the Print Spooler, right-click on it, and then select Start to restart the service.
- Test Your Printer
- Print again, to see if your document will print at a faster rate, minus the awkward pauses. Oh so sweet that everything is back to normal!
How to Clear Printer Cache on Mac OS
Worry not, Mac users, because clearing out the printer cache is as easy as can be:
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Open Print Queue
- Go to Apple Menu > System Preferences > Printers & Scanners. Choose your printer and then click Open Print Queue. Cancel All Print Jobs
- You will probably have a long list of waiting print jobs in your print queue. Just cancel all of them to get rid of your printer’s print queue.
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Delete Printer Caches
- In the Finder, navigate to Go > Go to Folder, and enter /Library/Printers/. Press Enter and delete everything in that folder.
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Restart Your Printer
- Turn off your printer, unplug it for about 30 seconds, and then plug it back into power. They say that will bring your printer back to life, good as new.
Troubleshoot Printer Cache
If the solution above doesn’t work, all hope is not lost. Here are a couple of things to try in the queue:
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Check Driver Updates
There is nothing worse than when our printers start malfunctioning; however, sometimes it’s only the driver which has got stale. So you should download fresh drivers. If you know which manufacturer has your printer you should visit the website or otherwise you can automate the download process from Windows or Mac.
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Reset Printer
If your printer remains slow even after clearing the cache, try to reset it. Turn off your printer, then unplug it for a short time and reconnect it. That’s like putting your printer into a little sleep.
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Check Your Printer’s Connection
If your printer is wireless, make sure it is well-connected to your network. Sometimes, simple disconnection messes everything up.
No experience is more infuriating than waiting for a printer to print very slowly when you urgently need it during an important working session. Have no fear; all it takes are just a few steps on how to clear the printer cache, and you’ll be on your way back to printing seamlessly. A little maintenance goes a long way; soon you’ll be printing fast and efficiently!