HP Smart can print test pages, but computer prints then nothing happens (no errors)

[allenhuffman]

HP Smart (macOS) is able to print a test page to my M182nw just fine, but when I print from the computer, it acts like it works, no error is returned, the print queue clears out, and nothing prints.

I have reset the printer and gone through the steps of reconnecting it to our network. I have removed and re-added the printer on the Mac. I have power cycled/restarted both.

Long background:

Print was working fine, but was low on toner. Printed a page the other day right, then stopped printing. Low Toner error was shown, so I bought a black toner yesterday. Still won't print. It would say "Check printer for error" or something. I gave in, and replaced all three of the color toners too. Same problem.

Removed printer, reset defaults, added again, and that error is gone, but it won't print. In all cases, HP Smart finds the printer and is able to send it a print page -- two different ones have been seen (the one it prints for setup with just a drawing of a printer, and one other).

Any thoughts?

[BeemerBiker]

There will be some changes in the future for your m182nw but for now you must use genuine HP toners.

I am guessing the toners are not genuine

This video shows how to determine if your LaserJet toner is genuine

Check the printing application on your Mac and makes sure the Mac is sending the print to the printer and not writing it to a file.   Possibly the default printer was changed to be a PDF File instead of a real printer.

Can HP Smart send a PDF file directly to the printer?   If so, the printing application has a problem.

[allenhuffman]

100% genuine, purchased today from Office Depot up the road.

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Check the printing application on your Mac and makes sure the Mac is sending the print to the printer and not writing it to a file.   Possibly the default printer was changed to be a PDF File instead of a real printer.

Print spooler opens, shows the printer "green"/ready, shows it sending, then it completes. As far as I can "see", it looks like everything is working fine. No errors reported, but printed did not print.

On the printer, I can run test pages without issue. On the computer, I can run HP Smart and have it print test pages with no problem.

And I literally printed something two days ago without issue, then toner got too low to print (I assumed). Maybe something else actually got messed up and I could have gotten a few more dozen pages out of my old toner 😉

[allenhuffman]

And "printing application" is the Mac.

No go printing from Pages (word processor).

No go printing from the Previews app (open a PDF and try to print).

But it says it's printing, and shows it spooling, then nothing happens. Very odd. No errors I can find in the printer web interface, either.

[BeemerBiker]

Unfortunately, my "in house" Mac experts grew up and moved out.  My only experience with MacOS was a Hackintosh.

It is unlikely, but is possible, that the toners are not genuine.  The counterfeit ones are usually on eBay and cannot be easily identify except using that smartphone app.

The toners are warranted and you should be able to contact an agent for help.

Download a test pdf file and

1 - have HP Smart browse to the file and send it to the printer

2 - copy the file to a USB flash and insert into the printer and see if it prints

I do not have a phone number for any HP agent.  I suspect if the printer prints (which it seems to do) then it is OK.

Turn Mac off completely and back on. I have found that the newer the OS is from Apple, the more it is like a Windows PC.  Do the same for the printer.  if the printer has a wall wort then unplug from the printer,  not just from the wall.

[allenhuffman]

Interesting. While the printer can print test pages (Network Status, etc.) just fine, and the test page prints from HP Smart, if I upload  PDF via HP Smart and print it ... nothing happens. BUT:

The screen on my printer lights up, as if it is doing something, then a minute later it goes back to sleep.

Since printing a PDF failed, I am now assuming when I had HP Print send the test page, perhaps that page was built into the printer (white page with a line drawing of a printer on it).

Well, at least I can print sheet music and notebook paper from the printer itself... Weird issue.

[allenhuffman]

No luck on shutting down the printer and unplugging it from the outlet for awhile.

Mac is restarted every day so it was just powered up and booted for this test.

Web Services Test: I went into the printer's web interface, and went to "HP Web Services". I enabled the web service, and it said an information sheet would print. It took a bit (30-45 seconds) then it printed the "Congratulations!" sheet.

I just e-mailed my PDF to the printer's e-mail address, but five minutes later, nothing had printed.

AirPrint Test: From an iPad, I went to print a page. The printer appears in the list, then I select it from the "Options" page and after a second or two, it disappears and goes back to saying "No Printer selected." It did this two times before finally "sticking." 

AirPrint worked: So there's that.

Addendum: Maybe the e-mail did halfway work? I saw my e-mail signature print, but not the PDF that was attached to the e-mail.

[allenhuffman]

Okay, I give up 😉  I went to HP Smart "Printables" and found graph paper. When I chose one, it opened up in a web browser (Safari) at this URL:

https://printables.hp.com/v3/assets/blt822c60c126c92e3a/blt58677aab17474de9/5f7c64f7f98ad40e91dc629d...

I printed from that web page, and it printed just fine.

What is the pattern?

[allenhuffman · Accepted solution]

IT'S MY DOCUMENT! For some reason, this one page will not print. But now that I am trying other pages, they print.

I need a drink.

[BeemerBiker]

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@allenhuffman wrote:

Addendum: Maybe the e-mail did halfway work? I saw my e-mail signature print, but not the PDF that was attached to the e-mail.

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The ISP is filtering the PDF as PDFs can contain malicious macros.  I have the same problem with AT&T and have to zip up myu docx and pdf and then rename the .zip to .hex or .bin to fool AT&T into letting the attachment get past their fillter.

Sorry I could not help you.