Printer Center Says Printer is Out of Paper, And It Is Not

[JoelBC]

@Dutch749 reinstalling macOS wont fix the problem. I tried, what a waste of time!

 

[El Pescador]

I have the same problem described by the original poster. It started when I upgraded to Sonoma. I print all the time so it was noticeably linked to the move to Sonoma. I have an HP Envy 7640 and prior to Sonoma, I nice icon of my actual printer showed up for print center. Now there's this ugly generic printer icon instead and it constantly says my printer is out of paper when it's definitely not and prints just fine. While I'm glad the printer works fine, I find this problem annoying and wish there was a solution. I've tried everything and it's definitely not the printer.

 

[JoelBC]

Hi All!

I am sad to report that teh Sequoia upgrade did not solve this problem for me. I am curious / wondering whether the Sequoia upgrade solved this problem fr anyone?

It amazes that this continues to be a problem for +/- 1 year!

Thank you.

 

[davida425]

Same here as well!

 

[webbga]

I have Canon TS 6320 and I get that same message periodically. I have to take the paper out, reinsert it, and try again. Sometimes the message goes away and some times it remains until I shut the printer off and reboot it. I also get the message that I do not have the correct paper loaded in the feeder (this occurs with almost every 4x6 and 5x7, and Red River Card 7x10 print job that I do). Most of the time the printer will ask me if i want to go ahead and print anyway and allows me to do so. Sometimes though, it insists I put the "correct" paper in and I have to reboot etc. to get it to recognize the paper. I believe this is a Canon issue and not Apple. Trying to get through to Canon tech support is an exercise in frustration so I just live with it. My little inkjet is almost 4 years old and for the $120 I paid for it I cannot complain.

 

[perfectpizza]

@JoelBC If you put paper in the fold-out rear tray (settings for which trays to use don't matter, and doesn't matter if you use the rear tray or not), does the banner go away?

 

[JoelBC]

@JoelBC If you put paper in the fold-out rear tray (settings for which trays to use don't matter, and doesn't matter if you use the rear tray or not), does the banner go away?

I wish but unfortunately not.

Question, did that work for you?

 

[perfectpizza]

@JoelBC It did work for me initially! So that's what I thought the answer was (I have your same printer). But now it's back, so I'm afraid my idea did not stick. Sorry!

I think that the first time the printer tries to check for paper in a tray that has no paper in it (whether you selected it or not), Print Center shows that error and the bug is that error just sticks. (You can reset the incorrect warning manually by editing the printer, changing any setting in Options, and saving it. I am assuming you are using Epson's driver and not Apple's driver.)

Do you usually have paper in the rear tray? I usually don't. But leaving paper in the tray and then resetting the error, so far no errors have reappeared. It's not ideal, I know. I'll leave it that way for a while and report back if it doesn't stick.

 

[JoelBC]

@perfectpizza I appreciate the added insight noting:

1. I cannot leave paper in the rear tray as the printer is in a cabinet and the cabinet is not deep enough to accommodate the printer with the rear tray open.

2. This problem never appeared before Sonoma so there should be a fixed. I have tried to contact Epson support but that is TRULY PAINFUL!

Question: Please explain "resetting the error", how does one do that?

 

[perfectpizza]

2. This problem never appeared before Sonoma so there should be a fixed. I have tried to contact Epson support but that is TRULY PAINFUL!

Painful indeed. You may reach someone who actually knows more or can escalate the issue on Epson's side by reaching out to Epson Japan support via email (writing in Japanese – use a translation tool and don't mention being wherever you are that's probably not Japan).

Or you can ignore the error.

Question: Please explain "resetting the error", how does one do that?

In Print Center: click Epson printer, click (info) button at top right, go to Options tab, change any setting, click OK. This makes any active errors disappear for me, resetting the incorrect state. (Though you have to then go back and change the setting back to its original setting.)

 

[JoelBC]

Painful indeed. You may reach someone who actually knows more or can escalate the issue on Epson's side by reaching out to Epson Japan support via email (writing in Japanese – use a translation tool and don't mention being wherever you are that's probably not Japan).

Or you can ignore the error.

I worked my way up their tech support food chain but it is so painful that I am done with their tech support. It is truly a life shortening experience (including very difficult to understand English) and yields no results. They simply do not care!

In Print Center: click Epson printer, click (info) button at top right, go to Options tab, change any setting, click OK. This makes any active errors disappear for me, resetting the incorrect state. (Though you have to then go back and change the setting back to its original setting.)

Hmm, I am not seeing the Optiosn tab, perhaps this is because I may be using Apple's driver. Can you please:

1. Assist me in determining which driver I am using (i.e., Apple or Epson); and

2. Point me in the direction of the Epson drivers as the ones on their support page are very dated (are there newer ones)?

Thank you.

 

[webbga]

I have this issue periodically with my Canon TS6320. I can usually resolve it be taking the paper out and reinserting it. I also get the message that the paper I have loaded in the feeder does not match my settings. This happens consistently with 4x6, 5x7, and the 7x10 Lightroom Cards. The printer usually asks if I want to print anyway and then it works, but once in a while it will refuse to print until I muck round with the feeder and reload paper. I believe these are Canon issues and not Apple, but that is just my belief. Canon tech support is a rat hole I am not willing to go down.

 

[perfectpizza]

Hmm, I am not seeing the Optiosn tab, perhaps this is because I may be using Apple's driver. Can you please:

1. Assist me in determining which driver I am using (i.e., Apple or Epson); and

In System Preferences > Printers & Scanners, select the printer to view details. Does the "kind" show "AirPrint" somewhere in the text? If so, you're using Apple's driver.

Once you've installed Epson's driver (below), it's actually kind of confusing to make sure you've selected it vs Apple's driver. Remove the printer and re-add it, and instead of selecting "Auto Select", choose "Select Software", and select the printer manually from the list. I believe this ensures that Epson's driver is selected.

Once you've set up again, you won't see AirPrint in the "kind" field if the driver is selected correctly. Another easy way to know if you're using Epson's driver or not is that you get a lot more options in the print screen. When printing, under Printer Options, you'll get all these options (each with their own dialog) vs. more generic Apple options:

FYI, my Options tab looks like this:

2. Point me in the direction of the Epson drivers as the ones on their support page are very dated (are there newer ones)?

You have an ET-5850, right? So they're here: https://epson.com/Support/Printers/...850/s/SPT_C11CJ29201?review-filter=macOS+14.x

Last updated in March, so not that old – perhaps you are looking elsewhere?

 

[JoelBC]

@perfectpizza excellent and thank you, I am clearly using Apple's driver.

Quick questions about the Epson driver: Do I need to download the "Driver and Utilities Combo Package" or just the Driver (dated 9/26/23)?

The reason that I ask is that I like to keep my instal as clean as possible.

Thanks.

 

[perfectpizza]

@JoelBC I've had the whole package installed, but I just tried downloading the driver itself (9/26/2023) and actually it's a newer version than what I had installed with the combo package (which is really lame). So definitely just the driver.

 

[JoelBC]

Awesome and thank you. Will give it a go!

 

[JoelBC]

@perfectpizza apologies but I do have 1 follow up.

Does resetting any item in the Options tab permanently solve the problem (i.e., I want to make sure the effort is worthwhile).

Thank you.

 

[JoelBC]

@perfectpizza apologies for the long delay between response.

I noted last night that there is a new driver for the Epson ET-5850. I downloaded the driver and followed your instruction and installed the printer as you recommended.



The results were a step backward in that:

1. I lost automatic duplex printing (i.e., only manual duplex printing was available); and

2. I now have a duplicate / "extra" installed printer that I cannot delete listed under "Other Printers".

3. The out of paper bug continues to survive!



I downloaded the Epson uninstall program which appears to have removed the drivers but:

1. The duplicate / "extra" installed printer that I cannot delete listed under "Other Printers" is still present.

2. There are Epson printer applications (i.e., Epson Printer Utility Lite, Epson ET-5850 Series.app and Epson ET-5850 (Remote).app) which I cannot find and I cannot delete.



The asks:

1. Does anyone know how to delete / remove the duplicate / "extra" installed printer t listed under "Other Printers" ?

2. Does anyone know how to delete the above listed Epson printer apps?

3. Does anyone know how to fix the lingering "Printer is out of paper" bug that no one at Apple seems to care about?


Thank you.

 

[Dutch749]

Still no solution so keeping it as is for now.
I changed the paper tray selection from automatic to tray 1 for my default printer settings and suddenly the out of paper message disappeared! Printed one page and it was back. It's almost comical.
I'm pretty sure the problem is that it thinks the rear input is the first. That one is, of course, always empty. My wife's Mac always wants to print from the rear input unless she actively selects tray 1. Mine always prints in concept mode unless I actively select the system printer settings.

Other printers have other problems, I gather. Must be really hard to make printer drivers.

 

[JoelBC]

@Dutch749 appreciate the response though I will politely disagree as this problem ver exited before Monterey. I think it is just super low priority for Apple.

I was tempted to change printers over Black Friday but the only other printer I would want is massive, so it was a no!

If this continues I probably will change as I cannot stand this bug!!

 

[JoelBC]

@Dutch749 and @perfectpizza, please note:

1. I confirm that the problem is the absence of paper in the Rear Tray. If I put a few sheets of paper in the rear tray, the red dot and error message disappears. I would think this would be a simple software fix!!

Is there a way to disable the rear tray as I would think this could / would be a workaround? I checked the Administrator wen interface and saw no way of doing this.

It amazes that after 3+ years this bug has not been fixed. It seems like a simple fix to me (i.e., if the selected tray has paper then good to go, no need for an error message)!

2. Just to be clear and to double check, did installing the latest Epson printer driver solve the problem (i.e., Epson printer driver + no paper in red tray -> no red dot!)

Thank you

 

[tsboh]

PROBLEM: The problem arises when the printer runs out of paper. After the paper refill, the error message stayed. And couldn't print any more from any application.

RECREATION OF THE PROBLEM: print a document with two pages, and have only one page in the paper tray.
then you get:

SOLUTION:
- fill paper tray
- reset printer (unplug, and plug the power outlet)
- go the print queue and press the play 'button' (upper right corner)

SOLVED:
It prints the remaining document and the message is gone. And I'm able again to print from other applications again.

 

[JoelBC]

@tsboh , the problem you describe is a different problem and entirely unrelated to the problem described in this thread. Please read / see the post immediately preceding your post.