Why Is My Printer So Slow? How to Speed It Up

FreeTechSupport Team Updated Jun 1, 2026 2 min read

Most printers can output several pages per minute under normal conditions. If yours is taking 30 seconds or more per page, something has changed. Here's how to track down the cause.

Check the Print Quality Setting

This is the single most common cause of sudden slowness. High-quality or photo-quality mode processes far more data per page and can take many times longer than Standard or Draft mode.

When printing, click Printer Properties or Preferences and look for a Print Quality or Quality & Media setting. If it's set to Best, High, or Photo, switch it to Normal or Standard for everyday documents. You'll notice an immediate speed improvement.

Switch From Color to Black & White

Even if you're printing a document with no color in it, if the printer is set to color mode it processes all four ink channels. Switching to Grayscale or Black & White in the printer preferences cuts the processing time significantly.

Check Your Wi-Fi Connection (Wireless Printers)

Wireless printers communicate with your router for every job. A weak or congested Wi-Fi signal means data is transferred slowly, which shows up as slow printing. Move the printer closer to the router, or try a wired USB connection to test if speed improves. If it does, a Wi-Fi extender near the printer may help.

Clear Old Jobs From the Print Queue

A backlog of old print jobs — especially stuck or error jobs — forces every new job to wait. Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, click your printer, and select Open print queue. Cancel all pending jobs, then try printing again.

Disable Bi-Directional Support (USB Printers)

Occasionally, bi-directional communication between the PC and printer causes slowdowns. Right-click the printer in Printers & scanners, choose Printer properties, go to the Ports tab, and uncheck Enable bidirectional support. Test whether this speeds things up — if not, re-enable it.

Update or Reinstall the Driver

Outdated or corrupted print drivers can throttle printing speed. Download the latest driver from the manufacturer's website and do a clean reinstall.

If the printer is just inherently slow on large files like PDFs, that's normal — complex files take longer to render. Try printing a simple text document to compare. Ask us if you're still experiencing unusual delays.

Frequently asked questions

This is often the printer processing the next page's data while the first page is printing. It happens most with complex PDFs, high-resolution images, or older printers with limited onboard memory. Try printing in Draft mode, or if using a PDF, try flattening it first (print to PDF, then print the new file).

Generally yes — laser printers typically print 20–40 pages per minute for text documents, compared to 10–15 for a mid-range inkjet. However, modern inkjets in Draft or Standard mode can be surprisingly fast. If speed is a priority, checking the printer's rated PPM (pages per minute) specification before purchasing is worthwhile.

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