Windows 10 Printer Prints Gibberish: Stopping Pages of Random Symbols and Code

You print a one-page letter and the printer churns out page after page of random characters, strange symbols, or lines of code. When a Windows 10 printer prints gibberish, it wastes paper and ink and usually slot online keeps going until you cancel the job.

The printer is receiving data it does not understand. Printers speak specific languages, such as PCL or PostScript, and the driver on the PC translates documents into the right one. If the wrong driver is used, the printer prints the raw instructions as text.

A corrupted print job or a damaged connection can produce the same effect.

Matching the driver to the printer is the main fix.

The problem often appears with laser printers that support several printer languages, or with older printers connected through a USB to parallel adapter.

Why This Happens

Gibberish printouts come from these causes:

• A generic or wrong driver is sending the wrong printer language.
• The print job became corrupted in the queue.
• A faulty USB cable or unstable network connection damaged the data.
• The printer’s own memory holds leftover data from a failed job.

The problem often begins after Windows replaces a driver automatically or after reinstalling the printer.

Start With These Basic Checks

Stop the current job and reset.

1. Press the cancel button on the printer and open the print queue on the PC.
2. Cancel all documents.
3. Turn the printer off, wait 30 seconds, and turn it on again.
4. Print a test page from the printer’s own menu to confirm the printer itself is healthy.
5. Print a simple Notepad document from Windows.

If the printer’s own test page is fine but Windows still prints gibberish, the driver is the cause.

If only PDFs print gibberish, try the “Print as image” option in the PDF reader’s advanced print settings.

Going a Step Further

Install the correct driver.

1. Open Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners, select the printer, and choose Remove device.
2. Download the full driver package for your exact model from the manufacturer.
3. Install it and add the printer again.
4. In Printer properties > Advanced, make sure the selected driver matches your model. If the printer supports both PCL and PostScript, try the other version.
5. Replace the USB cable or check the network connection.

If gibberish appears only with one program or file, try printing that document as a PDF first.

A Word of Caution

Cancel runaway jobs quickly to save paper. Download drivers only from the printer manufacturer. Avoid generic driver websites.

Final Thoughts

Gibberish printing usually means the wrong driver or a corrupted job. Clear the queue, reset the printer, and install the correct driver for your model.

Keeping the manufacturer’s full driver package installed, rather than relying on Windows’ generic driver, prevents most cases from recurring.