How to Fix Garbled Text or Gibberish Printing

Why this happens

A printer driver translates your document into a language the printer's own processor understands (a page description language, commonly PostScript or PCL on many printers). If the wrong driver is installed — for instance, a generic driver, a driver meant for a different but similarly-named model, or a corrupted driver file — that translation comes out wrong, and the printer interprets the resulting instructions as literal text, which is what produces the garbled output. This is a communication mismatch, not damage to the printer.

Step 1: Confirm you're using the correct, model-specific driver

Check exactly which driver is currently installed against your printer's precise model number — not just the general product line. A driver meant for a closely related but different model (common within large printer families) can cause exactly this kind of garbled output. Reinstall using the driver matched to your exact model number from the manufacturer's official site.

Step 2: Fully remove the old driver before reinstalling

A partial or corrupted driver installation is a common cause, and simply installing a new driver on top of a broken one doesn't always resolve it. Remove the printer and its driver completely (see our driver uninstall guide for the full process) before installing fresh.

Step 3: Check for a generic "Text Only" or raw printer port setting

On Windows specifically, if a printer is configured to use a generic text-only driver or a wrong port type (like a mismatched or generic port), documents can print as raw, untranslated data — which looks exactly like garbled text. Check the printer's port settings under Printer Properties and confirm it's using the correct port type for your specific connection method.

Step 4: Try printing from a different application

If garbled output only happens from one specific application and prints correctly from others (like a plain text editor), the issue may be specific to that app's print handling rather than the driver itself — worth checking to narrow down where the actual problem lives before doing a full driver reinstall.

Step 5: Update or reinstall on the printer's firmware side too

In rarer cases, particularly after a printer has been used with several different computers or driver versions over time, an outdated printer firmware version can also contribute to this kind of translation mismatch. If a clean driver reinstall doesn't resolve it, checking for a firmware update is a reasonable next step.