How to Add a Printer and Clear Stuck Print Jobs on macOS

Nothing tests patience like clicking Print and watching nothing happen — the job sits in the queue “pending” forever, and every document after it is trapped behind the blockage. On macOS, stuck print jobs and printers that refuse to be added share a small set of causes, and there is even a full printing-system reset for when nothing else works. This guide shows how to add printers the right way, clear jammed queues job by job, and escalate to the deeper fixes only if you need them.

Quick Answer

Add a printer in System Settings, then Printers & Scanners, with “Add Printer, Scanner or Fax.” To clear stuck jobs, click the printer in that list, open its print queue, and delete the stuck job with the X button (or select all jobs and delete them). If the printer is paused, click Resume. If the whole queue is jammed beyond repair, right-click the printer list and choose “Reset printing system,” then add the printer again.

How to Add a Printer (Recap)

If your printer is not set up yet, the short version is:

1. Connect the printer to the same Wi-Fi as the Mac (use the printer’s own Wi-Fi setup wizard), or plug in its USB cable.
2. Open System Settings, then Printers & Scanners.
3. Click Add Printer, Scanner or Fax.
4. Select the printer, choose AirPrint or its model software under “Use,” and click Add.

For a first-time wireless setup with no printer on the network yet, follow our full guide on connecting a wireless printer to a Mac before tackling queue problems.

Open the Print Queue and See What Is Stuck

The queue window is mission control for printing problems:

1. In Printers & Scanners, click your printer.
2. Click Printer Queue (on older systems, “Open Print Queue”).
3. The window lists every waiting job, its status, and who sent it. A job stuck at the top — “On Hold,” “Paused,” an error, or endlessly “Printing” — blocks everything beneath it.
4. When a job is actively printing, a printer icon also appears in the Dock; clicking it opens the same window.

Clear Stuck Jobs, One by One

1. In the queue window, click the stuck job to select it.
2. Click the X button beside it (or press Delete) to remove it.
3. Repeat for any other failed or ancient jobs — old jobs from weeks ago sometimes reappear after restarts and jam the line.
4. If the printer shows as Paused, click the Resume button (a green play-style icon) in the queue window’s toolbar. One stray click on “Pause Printer” months ago can silently hold everything.
5. Close the queue and send a fresh test print of a one-page document.

If a job refuses to delete, turn the printer off, delete the job while the printer is unreachable (the queue can always drop jobs then), wait ten seconds, and turn the printer back on.

Fix “Printer Is Offline” and Ghost Errors

Sometimes the queue is clear but macOS insists the printer is offline or busy:

• Check the printer itself: paper loaded, no error lights, ink or toner present, Wi-Fi light solid. A printer complaining about paper will never accept jobs, whatever the Mac says.
• Restart the printer fully (power off, 20 seconds, on) so it rejoins the network with a fresh address.
• Remove and re-add the printer: in Printers & Scanners, select the printer, click “Remove Printer,” then add it again. This rebuilds its configuration and fixes many “offline” ghosts — it takes one minute.
• Check you are not printing to a duplicate: Macs sometimes accumulate “Printer (1),” “Printer (2)” entries. Print to the one that responds, and delete the dead duplicates.

Apple’s printing support page lists the official steps for printers that show as offline or unavailable.

Last Resort: Reset the Printing System

When queues jam repeatedly or printers vanish from settings, reset macOS’s printing system to factory condition:

1. Open Printers & Scanners.
2. Right-click (or Control-click) anywhere in the printer list and choose Reset printing system.
3. Confirm and enter your admin password if asked.
4. The list empties completely — this also deletes all printers, scanners, and pending jobs.
5. Add your printer again with “Add Printer, Scanner or Fax” and print a test page.

The reset does not harm documents or the Mac; it simply throws away every printing configuration and queue, which is exactly what a hopelessly tangled setup needs.

Cancel Jobs Sent by Other People and Other Devices

On a shared home printer, the stuck job is often not yours. A family member’s phone or an old laptop may have sent a huge photo or a corrupted document that the printer cannot process. Jobs in the queue belong to the Mac that sent them, so a job sent from someone else’s device cannot always be deleted from your Mac. In that case, the practical fix is to turn the printer off for twenty seconds — its internal memory clears — and then ask everyone to check their own queue before printing again. If your Mac shares its printer with the household (Printer Sharing in the printer’s settings), you are the host: pausing or deleting from your queue affects everyone, so warn the house before you reset anything.

When the Printer Itself Needs Attention

Software fixes assume the printer hardware is happy. If the queue is clear, the printer is added correctly, and it still will not print, read the printer’s own screen. Modern printers report the real problem there — an empty cartridge, a paper jam deep inside, a cover not fully closed, or a demand to finish a Wi-Fi setup you started months ago. Clear that condition first; no amount of queue surgery on the Mac can print onto a printer that is physically refusing. Also try printing a test or cleaning page directly from the printer’s own menus: if that fails too, the fault is entirely inside the printer, and its manual or maker’s support is the right next stop.

Common Mistakes and Helpful Tips

• Printing the same document five times. When a job seems stuck, impatient re-clicks queue duplicates that all pour out later. Delete the extras in the queue instead.
• Ignoring the paused state. One accidental pause holds jobs forever with no obvious warning. Always glance at the queue’s Resume button first.
• Resetting the printing system as a first step. It works, but it deletes every printer — try deleting the stuck job and re-adding the one printer first.
• Forgetting the physical check. Out of paper, a paper jam, or an empty cartridge causes more “Mac printing problems” than any software fault.
• Sending huge files to a struggling printer. A 200 MB PDF can look “stuck” for minutes while the printer processes it. Give big jobs time before deleting them.

Conclusion

On macOS, printing trouble almost always lives in the queue: one stuck job, a paused printer, or a ghost offline state. Open the queue from Printers & Scanners, delete the offending job, resume the printer, and most problems end there. Re-adding the printer or resetting the whole printing system handles the stubborn remainder — after which printing goes back to being invisible, exactly as it should be.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my print job say “On Hold”?

macOS holds jobs when the printer cannot be reached or needs attention (paper, ink, a jam). Fix the physical issue or the connection, then click the job’s resume arrow in the queue — or delete it and print again.

Does resetting the printing system delete my documents?

No. It only removes printers, their settings, and jobs waiting in queues. Your saved documents and files are completely untouched.

I deleted the stuck job but the printer still will not print. What’s next?

Remove the printer in Printers & Scanners and add it again. If that fails too, reset the printing system and re-add. Persistent failure after a reset points to the printer or the network rather than the Mac.

Can other people on my network see my print queue?

Only if you enable printer sharing (Printers & Scanners, select the printer, share it). By default your queue is private to your Mac and your user account.

How do I stop a print job that has already started printing?

Open the queue quickly and delete the job, or press the printer’s own Cancel/Stop button. Pages already in the printer’s memory may still emerge — the physical button is the fastest brake.