Sometimes, while trying to print, you may find that your printer’s queue is paused on your Mac, preventing documents from printing. A paused print queue can occur due to connectivity issues, printer errors, or even accidental settings. Here’s a quick guide to unpause the print queue and get your documents printing again.

 

 

Steps to Unpause the Print Queue on macOS

 

1. Open System Settings or System Preferences

• For macOS Ventura and newer: Go to Apple Menu > System Settings.

• For older macOS versions: Go to Apple Menu > System Preferences.

Then, select Printers & Scanners from the list of options.

 

2. Select Your Printer

• In the Printers & Scanners window, you’ll see a list of available printers. Select the one that is paused.

• If the printer is paused, you might see an indicator like “Paused” next to its name.

 

3. Open the Print Queue

• Once you’ve selected the printer, click Open Print Queue (or double-click the printer’s name) to open the queue window.

• This window will display any documents waiting to be printed, along with any status updates.

 

4. Unpause the Printer

• Look for a Resume or Unpause button at the top of the Print Queue window.

• Click Resume or Unpause to resume printing.

 

 

5. Confirm the Printer is Working

• After unpausing, the printer should automatically start processing the queued documents.

• If there are issues with a specific print job, you can delete it by selecting it and clicking the X icon to prevent further pauses.

 

Why the Print Queue Pauses

 

The queue may pause for various reasons:

• The printer is offline or has lost its Wi-Fi connection.

• The printer is out of paper, low on ink/toner, or has a paper jam.

• A specific print job might contain errors, causing the entire queue to pause.