New iMac only printing gibberish and all my sheets of paper

[DLaBash]

When trying to print from my new iMac, all I get is this and it printing all my sheets of paper.

% ! PS-Adobe - 3.0

                                     %APL_DSC_Encoding :    UTF8

                                                                                                 %APLProducer :    (Version 10 . 12 . 6.   (Build   17G65

Prints fine from my MacBook Pro in the same house.  Saw other posts like this, but tried resetting my printing options and starting from scratch, but the same thing.  Choosing anything, but the one it lists as nearby results in it not communicating at all.  But once I pick the one it sees nearby, there does not appear to be anyway to change how it is configured on the iMac.

Have MacOS High Sierra Version 10.13.6

[senan6806]

@DLaBash

Thank you for being a part of HP Forums. This is a great place to get support, find answers and tips to your technical queries.

I believe it's an issue with the print drivers installed on your Mac PC. Let's try these steps:

1.) Download and install HP Printer Drivers v5.1 for OS X from here.

2.) Click the Apple menu, then click System Preferences.

3.) Depending on your operating system version, click Print & Fax, Print & Scan, or Printers & Scanners.

4.) Check if the name of your printer displays in the Printers list. If your printer is listed then click the minus sign  to delete the printer. 

5.) Click the plus sign , click Add Printer or Scanner, click the name of your printer.

6.) Click the Use or Print Using menu, then select the name of your printer.

7.) Click Add to add the printer to the list.

8.) Try to print.

Let me know how it goes!

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the Accepted Solution and Kudos buttons, that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!
Have a great day!

[DLaBash]

Thank you, but I did all those things step by step and still have the same problem.

[senan6806]

@DLaBash

You are welcome! It's unfortunate that those steps didn't resolve the issue. 

Which application are you using to print?

Have you tried printing from other application? 

Have you tried updating Mac?

Let me know!

[DLaBash]

No updates are available for my Mac, it is the latest OS.  Mac OS High Sierra:  10.13.6 (17G65)

Interesting though, that this is the last part of the error message:  %APLProducer: (Version 10.13.6 (Build 17G65

Also it does the same thing when printing from MS Word for Mac, Safari, and Previewer.

Able to print fine from my MacBookPro in the same house, same wifi, same printer.

Other than the things you are suggesting, I am not able to see a way to check the printer's configuration and modify it in any way, or compare it with that of my MacBookPro.

Interested in any and all ideas, please keep them coming...

[DavidSMP]

@DLaBash,

Thanks for the super quick response and it is good to hear from you again. As @senan6806 is out for the day, I am responding to your reply. I will do some extensive research and get back to you in this regard as soon as possible.

Thanks and have a great day ahead.

[DavidSMP]

@DLaBash,

I am back and need more clarity regarding this:

Does it happen while printing one particular file or document?

Did you try printing from multiple apps?

Did you try printing multiple files to isolate the issue further?

If it is one specific file then you could copy and paste the contents of the file to anew document and print from the new document and it should work. Otherwise you could restore the document from a backup that you may have and try to print.

This should do the trick for you.

Good luck and keep me posted about the developments. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue and give the post a Kudos for my efforts to help. Thank you and have a great week ahead. 🙂

[DLaBash]

Okay, allow me to recap.  

We got a new iMac, about a month old.  It has the latest operating system MacOS High Sierra Version 10.13.6

Per the first person's recommendation, we downloaded and installed the 5.1 drivers for Mac, and I deleted the prior printer and added a new one.

Issue happens when trying to print from any file, MS Word for Mac (docx), Safari (html), or Previewer (pdf).  My daughter even tried Google docs, but I believe that still tried to print like a pdf from Previewer.

Very annoying to experiment, because every thing I try I need to run over to the printer and hit "cancel", because it just keeps spitting out pages with the error code on it.

[DLaBash]

Okay, so Apple Support helped me fix this.  It required me starting my iMac in Safe Mode and setting up the printer that way.  At first it did not work, but when I re-started in Normal Mode and added the printer once again, everything magically worked fine.  All user accounts, all types of documents so far.

Apple gave me a direct contact if the problem comes back.  You can close this post, but not sure how you want to record what fixed the issue.

Thanks!

[DavidSMP]

@DLaBash,

I reviewed the post. Thanks for the reply. I am glad that the issue is resolved. As @senan6806 is out for the day, I am responding on his behalf.

Thanks and have a blessed week ahead.