Windows 10: Prints to File instead of to printer

Discus and support Prints to File instead of to printer in Windows 10 Drivers and Hardware to solve the problem; after Win 10 update....print jobs go to file intsteadof to printer....how do I correct this?... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Drivers and Hardware' started by Rockin Randy, Mar 28, 2020.

  1. Prints to File instead of to printer


    after Win 10 update....print jobs go to file intsteadof to printer....how do I correct this?

    :)
     
    Rockin Randy, Mar 28, 2020
    #1
  2. Jan123 Win User

    Windows 10 Home Won't Print to Remote Printer


    I have three computers.
    Machine 1: Windows 10 pro, has the USB Brother HL-5040 printer
    Machine 2: Windows 10 pro, prints OK to the remote printer.
    Machine 3: Windows 10 home, Used to print, but not anymore (THIS IS THE PROBLEM).
    I’ve tried everything that I can think of, and would appreciate any suggestions.
    I did these steps on Machine 3 that did not work.

    1. Remove the printer device.
    2. Add a Printer
    3. The printer that I want isn’t listed
    4. Select a shared printer by name
    5. Browse
    6. Select the displayed Machine 1.
    7. Select the displayed Printer.
    8. Next
    9. Failure “Connect to Printer”.
    10. Add a printer using a TCP/IP address or Hostname
    11. Next
    12. Set Hostname to Machine 2, and set port name.
    13. Detecting TCP/IP Port
    14. Additional Port information required.
    15. Device Type – Standard, Brother Port Server
    16. Next
    17. Detecting the Driver Model
    18. Install The Print Driver
    19. Select Brother and Brother HL-5040
    20. Next
    21. Replace the Current Driver
    22. Printer Name (setting it to HL-5040)
    23. Next
    24. Do not share this printer
    25. Next
    26. You’ve successfully added “HL-5040”
    27. Finish
    Printing on Machine 3 puts the document in the print queue, which reports error printing.
    Printing from Machine 2 to the printer on Machine 1 works perfectly.
    All three machines are in the same HomeGroup. Machine 3 can access the shared files from Machine 1.
     
    Jan123, Mar 28, 2020
    #2
  3. Error - Printing on Network printer

    We have 4 printers on our Windows print server. The server was migrated from win2k3 to 2k8 on friday. 3/4 printers are working great, the other is having issues. When trying to print a test page to it, it gets a job status of Error - Printing.

    When sending a small word document to it, it sends it to the printer, the queue is empty but nothing prints. If I goto the printer itself, it doesnt show any errors and I can print things such as information sheets and diagnostic files just fine.

    All four printers are the same model, all 4 have a static IP. I can ping the printer successfully. I've tried printing from both an XP machine and the print server itself. I tried removing and adding the printer on the print server. And lastly, uunplugged the printer for 30 seconds, plugged it back in.

    Any ideas?
     
    Hybrid_theory, Mar 28, 2020
    #3
  4. Prints to File instead of to printer

    Print to PDF missing in Printer List

    Hi William,

    We suggest that you disable and re-enable the Print to PDF feature. Here are the steps:

    • Click on the Start menu and type in Windows Features.
    • Choose Turn Windows features on or off.
    • On the next window, find Microsoft Print to PDF and disable it. Click
      OK to save changes.
    • Restart your PC.
    • Repeat the same steps to re-enable Microsoft Print to PDF.
    If the issue persists, we suggest that you perform the troubleshooting steps suggested on the link below under
    Advanced:

    Fix printer problems

    Regards.
     
    Rolando Vil, Mar 28, 2020
    #4
Thema:

Prints to File instead of to printer

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