How Often Should I Restart My Printer?
Wondering if you should power cycle your printer regularly? Here's how often to restart it and why it actually helps.
What's Happening
You've heard that restarting your printer can fix issues, but you're not sure if you should be doing it regularly or only when something goes wrong. Maybe you leave your printer on 24/7 and wonder if that's bad for it, or maybe you turn it off after every print job and wonder if that's overkill. The truth is, there's a sweet spot that keeps your printer healthy without wearing it out.
Quick Checks (Do These First)
- How often do you print? Daily users and occasional users need different restart schedules.
- Is your printer having issues? If it's working fine, you don't need to restart it constantly.
- What type of printer? Inkjet and laser printers have different power needs.
- Does it go into sleep mode? Modern printers sleep when not in use, which is fine.
- Are you having connection issues? WiFi printers benefit from weekly restarts.
The General Rule
For Most Home Users:
Once a week is perfect. Pick a day (like Sunday evening) and power cycle your printer. This clears memory, resets connections, and keeps things running smoothly.
For Daily Heavy Users:
Once every 2-3 days. If you're printing dozens of pages daily, more frequent restarts help clear print queues and prevent memory issues.
For Occasional Users (Print a Few Times a Month):
Before each use is fine. If you only print occasionally, turning it on when you need it and off when you're done is perfectly fine. Just make sure to run a nozzle check on inkjets if it's been more than a week.
Step-by-Step: How to Properly Restart Your Printer
The Right Way (Don't Just Unplug It)
- Wait for any active print jobs to finish. Never turn off a printer mid-job.
- Press the power button to turn it off. Let it shut down completely (lights go off, sounds stop).
- Wait 30 seconds. This lets capacitors discharge and memory clear.
- Unplug the power cable from the back of the printer. Not from the wall, from the printer itself if possible.
- Wait another 30 seconds. This ensures a complete power cycle.
- Plug the power cable back in. Make sure it's fully seated.
- Press the power button to turn it back on. Wait for it to fully start up and initialize.
- Wait for the ready light. Don't send print jobs until the printer indicates it's ready.
Why This Works Better Than Just Hitting the Power Button
Unplugging the printer forces a complete power cycle that clears all memory, including settings that might be causing issues. It's like the difference between putting your computer to sleep and actually rebooting it.
Why Regular Restarts Help
1. Clears Memory
Printers have limited RAM. Over time, print jobs, errors, and cached data can fill it up, causing slowdowns, failed prints, or "printer not responding" errors. Restarting clears all that out.
2. Resets Network Connections
WiFi printers can get "stuck" with bad connection settings or IP conflicts. A restart forces them to reconnect fresh, which often fixes mysterious connection issues.
3. Fixes Minor Firmware Glitches
Just like your computer, printer firmware can get into weird states. A restart resets everything to default behavior.
4. Clears Print Queue Errors
Sometimes print jobs get stuck in the queue. A restart on the printer side (combined with clearing the queue on your computer) fixes this.
5. Recalibrates Printheads
Many printers run automatic maintenance routines during startup, including printhead alignment and cleaning cycles.
When NOT to Turn Off Your Printer
Don't Turn It Off If:
- You print multiple times a day. The startup cycle uses ink on inkjets. Leaving it on and letting it sleep is more efficient.
- It's in the middle of a print job. Obvious, but worth saying. This can damage the printhead or mechanics.
- It's updating firmware. Check the display. If it says "updating," DO NOT turn it off or unplug it.
- It's running a cleaning cycle. Let maintenance routines finish.
Sleep Mode is Fine
Modern printers are designed to sleep when not in use. This uses minimal power (like 1-3 watts) and doesn't wear out the printer. You don't need to turn it off just to save power—sleep mode already does that.
Special Cases
Inkjet Printers
Don't turn them off and on constantly. Inkjets run a cleaning cycle almost every time they start up, which uses ink. If you print daily, leave it on and let it sleep. Power cycle once a week.
Exception: If you won't use it for more than a week, it's better to turn it off to prevent ink from drying in the printhead.
Laser Printers
More tolerant of frequent power cycles. Lasers don't have wet ink to dry out, so turning them off between uses is fine. Still, a weekly restart is good for clearing memory.
Network/Business Printers
Restart during off-hours. If your printer is shared by an office, schedule restarts for evenings or weekends when no one is printing. Many business printers have automatic restart scheduling in their settings.
Signs You Need to Restart More Often
- Print jobs get stuck frequently. Memory or queue issues.
- WiFi connection drops regularly. Network reset needed.
- Printer responds slowly to commands. Memory is full.
- Error messages that go away after restarting. Firmware glitch.
- Print quality degrades over time but improves after restart. Needs recalibration.
The Bottom Line
Once a week is the sweet spot for most people. It's enough to keep things running smoothly without wearing out the power button or wasting ink on startup cycles.
Daily users: Every 2-3 days.
Occasional users: Turn it on when you need it, off when you're done.
Inkjet users who print daily: Leave it on, let it sleep, restart weekly.
Think of it like your WiFi router—most people restart it when there's a problem, but a scheduled weekly restart prevents problems in the first place.
When to Call a Pro
If you're restarting your printer daily just to get it to work, or if restarts don't fix ongoing issues, there's a deeper problem. Hardware failures, corrupted firmware, or driver issues won't be fixed by power cycling.
Need Professional Help?
If you're in the Tampa Bay area and need hands-on assistance, Geeks in Sneaks provides friendly, on-site tech support in Clearwater, Clearwater Beach, and Dunedin.
Related Topics
Need Professional Help?
If you're still having trouble, our expert technicians can help.
Learn about our printer support service