How to Repair Outlook Printing Issues in all MS Outlook Versions

Last updated on June 9th, 2022 at 04:59 am

Microsoft Outlook is a great feature for its users that has many useful features that make it easy to work digitally. The program includes a Print feature for Outlook email is that are connected to a compatible printer device is able to print emails that are stored within Outlook. In Outlook users only have to choose the emails, then go to the File > Print menu to print the emails.

In reality, MS Outlook users encounter certain printing issues in nearly every version. The issues that arise with this Print function within Outlook include:

  • “Printer is not available”
  • “Printer isn’t ready”
  • “Print Pictures Error”
  • “Problem on the printer you have selected”
  • “Improper email printing”
  • “Header details not printed”

These problems can be a major source of irritation for users when they are working on a crucial and important timetable or at work. The inability to print during that time is rather frustrating and pointless, however, don’t fret.

In this post, we’ll offer you a few simple methods to fix this problem with printing emails in Outlook. As we mentioned previously in different versions of Outlook the issue with printing differs, as are the reasons.

NOTE: Some Outlook users can print just the first page or select ones of their emails , rather than all which can be a problem. It is thought that the main reason for this is it is because the Outlook printing engine does not accommodate page selections.

Outlook Printing Issues and Solutions

By implementing some of the most common solutions including performing the most current available update for the Outlook version by turning off firewalls and security programs for a short period, Creating a new Outlook profile or setting up a brand new connection with Printer and so on. In this article, we will divide them into three different versions. We’ll analyze the issue with the cause and the solutions.

The Outlook for 2013, 2016 and 2019

Problem – The most significant problem that users face in the latest version of Outlook is that when they attempt to print an email and Outlook will throw an error “Printer has not been set” or “Cannot print without selecting an item. Choose an item, and attempt to print it again.” that ultimately stops the print process.

Cause: The probable causes for this problem could be due to an insufficient connection to printer, problems with the network damaged Outlook file or interruptions due to active Add-ins or issues with the Print spooling feature within Outlook.

Solution: The following are some easy tricks that you can attempt to solve MS Outlook Printing Problems.

Solution 1. Renaming Outlprnt Files

The solution is by re-building the OutlPrnt file that holds the Outlook print style settings, as the old version may become damaged. Follow these steps.

  • Shut down the open Outlook application.
  • Find the OutlPrnt files with the search feature or by following the route “%appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook”
  • Double click it, and change it’s name to an different name, like OutlPrnt1.
  • After that, you can run the Outlook application again to see whether it prints normally.

Solution 2. Verifying Add-Ins 

Users can look for active Add-Ins and disable them one by one, and then start your Outlook application. If the Add-In is disabled and the Outlook Printing issue is solved. To locate the Add-Ins page, go to File>Options>Add-Ins. Click on the Go to Manage Add-ins for COM option. Select the add-ins that you suspect and then disable them by using the disable option. Then restart your Outlook application and then use the Print option in order to print emails immediately. NOTE: Outlook must be running using secure mode. To enable this mode, press Windows as well as R keys in tandem, then type ” outlook /safe” in the open Windows run box, and then select “OK”..

Solution 3. Running Printing Troubleshooting Tool 

Users can attempt to fix the issue with printing using an instrument for troubleshooting. Let’s find out what we can do.

  • Verify network connections and ensure that the printer is not having problems.
  • Download the no-cost printing troubleshooting software online. Install it.
  • Install this program and solve the problem.
  • Check Outlook to see if the issue has been fixed.

Solution 4. Restarting the Print Spooler service 

It’s a service in the system which is designed to handle printing services. If it is restarted this issue can be fixed. Basic Steps: Make sure that the printer is not disconnected and connected to your computer. Connect it using an internet connection. Shut off Printer power for around 30 seconds before turning the printer on. Now move to Settings>Devices>Printers and Scanners. Select the printer’s name then click the open queue option. In the Printer section, click the Set as the default printer option. The printer will now be set to default. Users can also look for documents that are in queue by clicking each name and then clicking to cancel in the Open Queue section. Then, follow these steps.

  • Enter Services into the Windows run dialog box, and it will display Windows Services. Windows Services webpage.
  • Find the the Print Spooler service in the list. Double click on it and choose to stop it..
  • Again, in the search bar, type %WINDIR%\system32\spool\printers and delete the files existing in that folder.
  • Then, go through Windows Services as in step 1. Then, restart the Print Spooler service.
  • Print your emails with the printer after reconnecting to the Outlook application right now.

5. Solution. Update the Driver 

It is also an option in the event that the solutions above do not help, since the driver for the printer could be out of date or not updated for a long period of time. You can upgrade the driver of your printer as this.

  • Visit The Device Manager within your Control Panel of your system..
  • Click on the Printer options, choose the Outlook printer and click on the the Update Driver option.
  • Start the Outlook application once more and test making the mail.

Outlook 2010

Problem: The most frequently encountered issue with this version is printing errors or printing the header when printing emails in Outlook. Because of the unorganized headers that is not properly organized, the email print outs.

Cause – The reason may be that the mail or message is not properly organized within the print page.

Solution – In this instance the user can open the message using browsers and select View and print, or select the part they want to print, avoiding the issue with headers.

Outlook 2007 and older versions

Problem – In the previous versions of Outlook the most common issue with Outlook printing concerns that the emails do not print correctly the header information is not available and the selection of pages is not working.

The reason – Message is not laid out correctly on the printing page and also, there are restrictions in the Internet Explorer web browser, HTML formatting issues.

Quick Solutions

  • Solution 1. Open the message in a browser and print: Users are able to choose the message to change it into HTML format by clicking on the Edit Message. Click on Other Actions, and then choose View in the Browser. After that, print the message.
  • Solution 2. Upgrade your Internet Explorer: For earlier versions such as 2003 or later the best way to solve the issue is to upgrade to the Internet Explorer version and then attempt printing emails using Microsoft’s Outlook version.

We’ve covered all possible manual techniques for nearly every Outlook versions. Use them to resolve your MS Outlook Printing Problems. If you’re still not getting the issue resolved and you are not sure why, it is possible that the PST file requires repair. For repairing corrupt PST file using this PST Repair tool. which is compatible to the majority of Outlook versions. 

Summary

Issues with printing email can be caused by a variety of reasons in various versions. These issues are solvable by using some of the manual methods. A more efficient solution that can be automated when the issue is major such as the issue of PST corrupted is a suggestions for users.