What Causes a Printer to Print Blank Copies?

Running a profitable business necessitates careful cost-cutting. When you look over a printed presentation, reference document, or other business content and find unexpected blank pages, you’ve wasted paper that could have been put to better use. Examine your entire printing process for problems in your hardware before your documents even reach it to trace the source of your output defects.

Sealed Cartridge
When you first unbox and install a new or remanufactured toner cartridge, one of the final steps before inserting it into a laser printer is to remove a seal that prevents toner from exiting the cartridge while in transit. If you install the cartridge without removing the seal, paper will pass through the print mechanism but no image will appear. Your output should return to normal after you remove the seal. Most printer manufacturers make this type of removable protection with a bright orange or other easily visible colour pull ring.

Paper Misfeed
Paper that is too thin or too moist from humidity exposure can misfeed in the printer, causing extra sheets to exit the device. These types of misfeeds can also occur when the paper supply is insufficient for the pickup mechanism to feed sheets smoothly out of the input tray. Examine your supply trays for signs of problematic paper and replace it with better stock, or reload input drawers, to ensure that the machine feeds properly.

Accidental Output
When you print a website page, your browser may split the content into subsequent pages that appear blank because the length of the material exceeds the printable height of your current sheet size. You may be able to capture the page on a single sheet if you use longer paper (legal or even tabloid). Check for stray carriage returns or page breaks that force the application to add a blank page in the middle or end of the document when printing from word processing software.

Blank Document Page
Some documents purposefully include blank pages. A reference work may begin each chapter on the right-hand page by using strategically placed blanks. Because the original printed version cut costs on its four-color exterior, a PDF brochure may include blank inside front and back covers. You may be able to omit blanks by activating a printing preference depending on the application from which you’re printing. If your software does not provide this option, you can manually scan the file, noting where the blanks appear and skipping those pages when printing.