HP printers are well known for their printing speed and versatility but every mechanical device like the printer will run into problems from time to time but for every problem there's a solution. Now we will focus mainly on the slow printing issue of HP printers.
Before we proceed with the solution, you must know that setting print quality in normal or draft mode increases printing speed. The higher the print quality is, the more it will consume ink and it’ll print more slowly.
Here are the basic steps so we can fix slow printing.
- Reset your printer. Turn it off, remove from the power source and leave for about 3 mins for the printer to cool down then plug it back in and turn it on again.
- Use different USB cables, in some cases a damaged USB cable can cause this problem.
- Check your printer preferences:
- Go to Control Panel by searching the Start menu, next click on Devices and Printers
- Right click on your printer, and then select Printing Preferences.
- Click the Paper/Quality tab.
- In the Paper Type field, make sure Plain Paper is selected.
- In the Print Quality field, make sure Draft or Normal is selected.
- Click Apply and then OK to save the changes.
- This should now solve the issue. Do a test print and see if the print speed goes back to normal.
If the problem still persists. You can try these advanced steps to fix your HP printer slow printing issue.
Reinstall Printer Software & Driver
- Go to Control Panel then click on Programs & Features
- Look for any HP Printer Software, right click on it and hit Uninstall
- Now go back to Control Panel then select Devices and Printers
- Look for your HP printer, right click on it then select Remove Device
- Open Run command by pressing Windows key + R buttons.
- Type in printui.exe /s and click OK.
- Select the Drivers tab on the top
- Look for HP printer driver if listed, select it and click Remove and OK to confirm.
- Restart your computer.
- Remove all instances, then select Apply and OK on the Print Server Properties
- Now go to the official HP website, search for your printer driver & software.
- Make sure to download the latest version of the driver as well as the correct operating system that your device is using.
- Install the printer driver and software, follow the installation guide and restart your computer.
- Do a test print and see if the print speed goes back to normal.
Disable Quiet Mode
Using HP Printer Assistang on Windows 10 Devices
- Search for HP Printer Assistant on the Start menu of your Windows 10 device.
- Click on the Quiet mode button on top of the HP Printer Assistant window.
- Turn it off and click on Save.
Using HP Smart App
- Open the HP Smart app on your device.
- Select your printer.
- Go to Advanced Settings and hit Settings
- Select Quiet Mode tab and turn it Off.
- Hit Save
Choose Both Cartridge To Print
On older HP printer models. It allows to print with only one cartridge causing a very slow printing speed. Follow these instructions to make the printer use both cartridges.
- Make sure all cartridges are properly installed.
- If there’s an empty cartridge, replace or refill it immediately.
To Sum it all Up
- Make sure all cartridges has ink and all cables are properly connected and working.
- See to it that the printer driver and firmware are updated.
- Setting print quality to high slows down printing.
- Type of paper also slows down printing, make sure you use the right paper for the print job.
- Avoid too much workload on the printer.
