Printing empty pages

Question

I have windows 11 pro on on HP laptop with an HP 9130e printer connected via LAN. My problem is that I get an empty page on the first print job after the laptop has sat idle for a while. I typically see this in the morning when printing something from a browser (DuckDuckGo). I occasionally see it later in the day if I have not printed from windows for several hours.

This only happens on windows. I can print from other devices (ios & Android) on my LAN with no problems. Therefore I doubt that the problem is in the printer itself.

So, it seems to me that something in the windows printing system is corrupting the first print job after being idle for a while. Is it the spooler? I am NOT using the Windows protected print mode.

Answer 1

Hello Klem Kadiddlehopper,

What you are seeing with the HP 9130e on Windows 11 Pro is a known behavior where the first print job after the spooler has been idle sends an empty page. This is not a printer hardware fault, since iOS and Android clients print fine, but rather how the Windows print subsystem reinitializes the connection. The spooler service (spoolsv.exe) can drop its session state after inactivity, and the first job re‑establishes the TCP/IP channel but loses the initial data stream.

To correct this, make sure the HP driver is the full feature package from HP and not the generic Windows IPP Class driver. In Printer Properties, under Advanced, disable “Enable advanced printing features” to prevent spooling anomalies. Also check that the Print Spooler service is not set to “Delayed Start” in services.msc. If the issue persists, configure the printer port to use a Standard TCP/IP Port with RAW on port 9100 instead of WSD, since WSD connections are prone to idle resets. This ensures the spooler maintains a stable session and prevents the blank first page after idle.

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Thank you,

HL.

Answer 2

The most likely Windows-side causes are the print spooler and the printer driver, especially since the issue appears only after the PC has been idle and only on Windows.

A practical troubleshooting path is:

1. Restart the Print Spooler after the issue occurs
   • Press Windows key + R
   • Type services.msc and press Enter
   • Find Print Spooler
   • Right-click it and select Restart
   If the next print works normally after this, that points to the spooler or queued job state.
2. Clear any stuck or corrupted queued jobs
   • Go to Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners
   • Select the HP printer
   • Select Open print queue
   • Cancel all jobs
   If jobs do not clear:
   • Open services.msc
   • Stop Print Spooler
   • In File Explorer, go to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS
   • Delete all files in that folder
   • Start Print Spooler again
   Note: deleting files in the spool folder removes pending print jobs.
3. Update or reinstall the printer driver Outdated or incompatible drivers can cause printing problems.
   • Open Device Manager
   • Expand Printers or Print queues
   • Right-click the printer and select Update driver
   • If needed, select Uninstall device, restart the PC, and let Windows reinstall the driver
   Microsoft guidance also notes that conflicting, old, or duplicate printer drivers can cause spooler crashes, so remove unnecessary duplicate printer entries or old drivers if present.
4. Print a Windows test page after the system has been idle This helps separate an app/browser issue from a Windows printing issue.
   • Go to Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners
   • Select the printer
   • Select Printer properties
   • On the General tab, select Print Test Page
   • If the test page is also blank on the first attempt after idle, focus on the Windows spooler/driver path.
   • If the test page is fine, but browser printing is not, the issue is more likely app-specific.
5. Check whether the problem is app-specific Since the symptom is often seen from the browser, test from another app such as Notepad or Paint after the laptop has been idle for several hours.
   • If only the browser shows the blank first page, the issue is likely not the printer hardware.
   • If multiple Windows apps show it, that further supports a Windows printing service or driver issue.
6. Run the Windows 11 printer troubleshooter In Windows 11, the printer troubleshooter in the Get Help app can automatically run diagnostics and attempt to fix common printer problems.

Given the described pattern, the best first actions are:

• restart the Print Spooler
• clear the spool folder if needed
• reinstall or update the HP printer driver
• test with a Windows test page and with another app after idle time

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References:

• Fix print job stuck in queue errors in Windows
• Fix print spooler service not running errors in Windows
• Fix printing problems in Word, Excel, or other apps
• Fix printer connection and printing problems in Windows