When I try to print a document, the printer stars printing one line of gebberish and the goes to the

[Hemanjim]

I am trying to print a word document from my Dell laptop to my HP Smart Tank 7301 Printer.  I have used this printer for over a year.  This morning I tried to print a document to it and it only prints a line or two of characters that don't make any sense and the moves to the next page and does the same thing.

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @Hemanjim 

Welcome to the HP Support Community! We're here to help you get back up and running.

That must’ve been a surprise—especially after a year of smooth printing. Let’s walk through a few steps to clear out the gibberish and get your Smart Tank 7301 back to printing properly.

🧹 Step 1: Clear the print queue
Sometimes a corrupted job gets stuck and causes chaos:

• Press Windows + R, type control printers, and hit Enter.
• Right-click your printer and choose See what’s printing.
• Cancel all pending jobs.

🔄 Step 2: Restart everything

• Turn off your printer and unplug it from the wall.
• Restart your computer.
• Plug the printer back in and turn it on.

🧰 Step 3: Reinstall the printer driver
Corrupted drivers are a common culprit:

• Go to Control Panel > Devices and Printers.
• Right-click your printer and select Remove device.
• Visit the HP Smart Tank 7301 support page and download the latest driver for Windows 11.
• Reinstall the printer using the downloaded driver—not the HP Smart app.

🌐 Step 4: Add printer via TCP/IP (if using Wi-Fi)
This bypasses auto-detection issues:

• Find your printer’s IP address from its control panel.
• Go to Control Panel > Devices and Printers > Add a printer.
• Choose The printer I want isn’t listed > Add a printer using a TCP/IP address.
• Enter the IP and follow the prompts.

🧪 Step 5: Try printing from a different app
Just to rule out software conflicts:

• Open Notepad, type a few words, and try printing.
• If it works, the issue may be with Word or its print settings.

Let me know how far you get with these steps or if the gibberish persists—I’ll help you dig deeper until your printer speaks fluent document again! 😄

If my response helped, please mark it as an Accepted Solution! ✅ It helps others and spreads support. 💙 Also, tapping "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" makes a big difference! Thanks! 😊

Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye