printer HP

Dear pio hal, 

Thank you for your question and for sharing the details into Microsoft Q&A Forum. 

I understand this situation is disruptive when pages take minutes to print and the output shows random symbols or distorted fonts. Below are some steps that may help you to restore readable output and normal printing speed. Before the steps, please have a quick look at the Independent Advisor’s answer and AI's answer in the thread, it appears accurate and actionable. 

1. Verify printing from different apps 

• Open Notepad > type a few words > File > Print. 
• Result to note: whether the output is readable or still shows random characters. 

2. Use a Standard TCP/IP Port (avoid WSD) 

• Identify the printer’s IP address (from the printer panel or network list). 
• In Windows: 
  • Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners > select your HP printer > Printer properties. 
  • Ports tab > Add Port… > Standard TCP/IP Port > New Port… > enter the printer IP address. 
  • Back in Ports, select the new Standard TCP/IP Port for this printer. 
  • (Optional) Configure Port… > uncheck “Enable SNMP Status” if status errors appear. 
• Click Apply and OK. 
• Print a single‑page Notepad file and note the print time. 

3. Confirm driver type 

• Printer properties > Advanced tab > Driver: 
  • Do not use “Generic/Text Only”. 
  • Use the HP model‑specific driver or HP Universal Print Driver (UPD) – PCL6. 
  • If your model supports PostScript, you may also install HP UPD – PS for comparison with PDF/graphics. 
• Click Apply and test with Notepad > Word > PDF. 

4. Set print processor and data type 

• Printer properties > Advanced > Print Processor… 
• Select WinPrint and RAW. 
• In Advanced, uncheck “Enable advanced printing features.” 
• Apply and test again with Notepad > Word > PDF. 

5. Clean spooler cache and reinstall the driver (if the issue remains) 

Please cancel any pending print jobs before proceeding. 

• Remove the printer: 
  Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners > select the HP printer > Remove. 
• Stop spooler and clear queue (run Command Prompt as Administrator): 

net stop spooler 

del /Q "C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*" 

net start spooler 

• Remove old driver package: Control Panel > Devices and Printers > Print server properties > Drivers tab > select HP entries > Remove. 
• Install the latest official HP driver. 
• Add the printer using Standard TCP/IP Port (Step 2) and re‑apply WinPrint/RAW and disable advanced printing features (Step 4). 
• Test with Notepad > Word > PDF (Print as Image). 

6. Optional: update printer firmware 

If available for your model, update the printer firmware via the printer’s web page (using its IP) or the official HP utility; then restart the printer and retest. 

I hope these steps help you restore readable output and normal print speed on your HP printer, avoiding disruption to your work. Wishing you a smooth Windows printing experience, pages produced on time and fonts rendering correctly across Word and PDF. 

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The best option is to completely uninstall that printer and any associated software, restart (not shut down) your PC, then go to the support page for your printer on the HP website to download and manually install the drivers, firmware and associated software they provide for your printer model.