When a printer works well, it is a wonderful piece of equipment, but when it malfunctions, it can be incredibly annoying. Your printer may run smoothly for years, producing thousands of prints, but it may also malfunction or stop working altogether. We’ll look at some of the most frequent printer issues to see if there are any issues printing your documents. It’s possible that the cause is anything as simple as excessive use or wear on printer components. Surprisingly, underusing your printer might cause printing issues, as dried-up ink can clog inkjet printer nozzles. You may also find that detritus, such as lint, clogs your printer, resulting paper jams or damage. The problem could, however, be more complex, resulting in an error message. An error notice usually indicates that your printer’s software is wrongly installed on your computer or that your device drivers are malfunctioning. Fortunately, you can quickly find how to fix the Printer Driver Is Unavailable Error in Windows 10 and restore functionality to an unresponsive printer.
Why Is My Printer Not Printing with Windows 10?
Your printer may be unresponsive for a variety of reasons. To begin, make sure there is paper in the tray, that the printer’s wires are connected, that the printer is linked to your Wi-Fi, and that the toner cartridges are not empty. You should also check for any warning lights on the device or any error messages that your Windows 10 computer displays. Furthermore, if you just changed your computer’s operating system from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10 and now your device won’t print, it’s possible that the upgrading procedure corrupted the printer driver. It’s also possible that your printer driver is incompatible with your new Windows version.
When Windows 10 was released, Microsoft stated that it would not provide backward compatibility for some software and applications. The same can be said for some printer drivers. Several printer manufacturers neglected to update their drivers in a timely manner, adding to the issue’s complexity. The Driver Unavailable error reason could be caused by an incompatible driver or a corrupt file. Fortunately, if you adopt a logical approach, you can easily fix this. All you have to do now is check for Windows updates and install the most recent printer driver.
How can I find out what a printer driver is?
A printer driver is essentially a piece of system software that enables your computer to communicate with your printer. It converts instructions supplied from your operating system or application software into a form/language that your printer can understand, allowing it to respond appropriately to those instructions. There are numerous types of software and printer models, each with its own method of data encoding. To allow practically any software and printer to communicate, a translator is required – the printer driver fulfils this role.
A printer driver’s job is to turn your document (in this case, your label template) into a Page Description Language that your printer can understand. These languages describe the content on a page as well as the content it is organised. This is accomplished by the use of a set of geometric lines and shapes that can be expressed with mathematical equations. It has two primary roles. The first is to act as a link between your printer and your computer, allowing your computer to understand the printer’s physical specifications and details. Second, the driver is in charge of converting print job data into signals that the printer can understand. Every printer has its own driver, which is tailored to its specific needs on a specific operating system, in this example, Windows 10. The computer will be unable to recognise your printer if it is not correctly setup or if you have installed an inappropriate device driver.
Another responsibility is to communicate your printer about the print settings that should be used when printing your document. It’s possible that this is a default set of print settings, such as those saved in the printer driver. Alternatively, it could be a collection of settings you’ve specifically chosen to print a specific document. The page size and any scaling choices applied to your document are included in the print settings; if these are incorrect, the alignment of label templates will be ruined in an instant. They also include how your printer works when printing on various print media. When compared to regular sheets of paper, printing self-adhesive labels necessitates a more specialised mode of printing.
How to fix the Error “Printer Driver Is Unavailable”
You may be sitting at your computer, having downloaded or typed a document that you require in hard copy, but nothing occurs when you try to send it to print. If your printer has stopped working and you’re getting a Printer Driver Is Unavailable error problem, you’ll need to find out what’s wrong. Here are three options for resolving this common error in Windows 10:
1. Use the Windows Update Tool to update your operating system.
One reason for the Printer Driver Is Unavailable error on your Windows 10 computer could be that your operating system is out of current. As a reason, you should install all available Windows updates as quickly as possible. This will not only get you printing again, but it will also assure your computer’s overall stability and security. To use the Windows Update programme, run these steps:
-Go to the bottom-right corner of your screen and press the Start button.
-Click the Settings icon on the toolbar.
-Select Update and Security from the drop-down menu.
-Windows will search for updates and, if any are found, will automatically download and install them.
-Restart your computer once the update process is finished.
After your computer has restarted, look for the error notice and attempt printing to see whether the problem has been resolved.
2. Update Your Printer Drivers Manually
If the error persists after a Windows update, you should look into updating your printer drivers. You could check the printer manufacturer’s website to see if Windows 10 supports the device. In most cases, driver downloads may be located in the manufacturer’s Support section. You should download the most recent stable version if your device is supported. To install the new driver, double-click the installer file when it has been downloaded. However, it’s possible that your printer only supports manual driver installation. Follow the steps below to accomplish this:
-Go to the Control Panel and open it.
-Select the Small Icons view on the upper right-hand side of the interface, then click Device Manager.
-Find the printer you want to install drivers for in the Device Manager window. A yellow exclamation mark will frequently find next to the name of a printer that has missing, corrupt, or outdated drivers.
-From the pop-up menu that appears, right-click the printer name and select Update Driver Software.
-A new window with two options appears. Select the “Automatically search for updated driver software” option. If you don’t already have the latest drivers for your printer, follow the instructions in the wizard that appears. Select “Browse my computer for driver software” instead if you’ve previously downloaded drivers from the manufacturer’s support site.
3. Update Your Printer Drivers Automatically
As you can see, you can search for printer drivers on the manufacturer’s website, download them, and manually install them. However, it should be obvious that this is a complex and time-consuming process, especially if this is your first time. Furthermore, if you make any mistakes or install the incorrect printer drivers, your computer may become unstable or unusable. As a result, professional driver search and upgrading software is recommended to make the procedure easier for you and eliminate all uncertainty. Once installed, such a tool will automatically detect and resolve any problems that may be causing your printer to malfunction.