I can't print a document

Possible reasons for printing failure

A document might not print because of:

  • Printer problems or,

  • PDF printing restrictions.

Printer problems

There are many reasons why your printer might not be working. For example, it could be out of paper or ink, or unplugged or damaged.

To check if your printer is printing correctly:

  1. Open the Activities overview and start typing Settings.

  2. Click on Settings.

  3. Click Devices in the sidebar.

  4. Click Printers in the sidebar to open the panel.

  5. Click on your printer in the list.

  6. Click on Print Test Page. A page should be sent to your printer.

    If this fails, see Printing help. You may also need to see your printer's manual to see what else you can do.

PDF printing restrictions

Some PDF documents have a setting which prevents you from printing them. Authors can set this printing restriction when they write a document. The document viewer overrides this restriction by default, but you may want to check that it hasn't been disabled:

  1. Press Alt+F2 to open the Run Application window.

  2. Type dconf-editor into the text box and click Run. The Configuration Editor will open.

  3. Browse to /org/gnome/evince using the side pane.

  4. Make sure that the override_restrictions option is checked.

  5. Go back to the Document Viewer and try to print the document again.