You select Print and wait a minute or more before anything happens, or pages trickle out far slower than they should. Slow wireless printing has two separate parts: how long the job takes to reach the printer, and how fast the printer works once it has the data. Weak signal, heavy files, top quality settings, quiet mode or an inefficient port can each add delay. This guide helps you find which part is slow and fix it.
What you might be seeing
- A long pause before the printer starts, even for one page
- Long gaps between pages
- Photos and PDFs print far slower than plain text
- Copies made at the printer come out much faster
Common causes
- Weak or busy Wi-Fi
- A poor signal or a congested network slows large transfers.
- Large or complex files
- Image-heavy PDFs and high-resolution photos create very large print jobs.
- Quality and quiet settings
- Best quality, photo modes and quiet mode deliberately slow the printer.
- Port and discovery delays
- Ports that rely on discovery can add a wait before each job.
- Spooling settings
- Waiting for the whole job to spool delays the first page.
How to fix it, step by step
Work through these in order and test a print after each one. Most people are done within the first few steps.
Find out where the delay is
Make a copy with the printer's own copy function, or print its configuration report. If that's quick, the printer mechanism is fine and the delay is in getting the job there. Then print a one-page text document and time how long the printer takes to start. A long wait before printing points to the network, port or file; slow pages once it starts point to quality or printer settings.
Improve the wireless signal
Check signal strength on the printer's network report or Wi-Fi status screen. If it's weak, move the printer closer to the router or a mesh node, and away from thick walls and appliances. Large jobs on a marginal signal slow sharply as data is resent. If the printer has an Ethernet port near the router, a cable takes wireless speed out of the picture entirely.
Lower the print quality for everyday jobs
Open Printing preferences and choose Standard or Draft instead of Best or High, with plain paper as the paper type for documents. Photo paper settings and maximum resolution make each page much slower by design. Save a separate preset for photos so you only use the slow, high-quality mode when it matters.
Turn off quiet mode
Many printers have a quiet or silent mode that cuts noise by slowing the print mechanism, and it's easy to leave on. Find it in the printer's settings menu, on its built-in web page or in the manufacturer's app, and turn it off, or limit it to night hours if a schedule is offered. The difference is usually obvious within a single page.
Make large files lighter
Big PDFs with scanned pages or many images can take minutes to process. Print only the pages you need, and in your PDF viewer's advanced print options, leave any print-as-image setting off unless a file prints incorrectly without it, since it greatly increases job size. If one particular file is always slow, the file rather than the network is the issue.
Use a TCP/IP port instead of WSD
In Windows, open Printer properties and check the Ports tab. If the selected port starts with WSD, Windows may spend extra time locating the printer before each job. Select Add Port, choose Standard TCP/IP Port and enter the printer's IP address, then make that port the checked one. Reserve the address in the router first so the new port keeps working.
Adjust spooling in Windows
In Printer properties, open the Advanced tab. Make sure Spool print documents so program finishes printing faster is selected, then choose Start printing immediately so the printer begins while the rest of the job is still being prepared. If your driver doesn't show these options, it handles spooling itself and you can skip this step.
How to keep it from happening again
- Keep a fast, standard-quality preset for everyday documents
- Place the printer where its Wi-Fi signal is strong
- Use a TCP/IP port with a reserved IP address
- Check quiet mode after firmware updates or resets
Common questions
Why does the first page take so long?
Before the first page, the printer may need to wake from sleep, warm up and, on inkjets, run a brief maintenance cycle, while the computer prepares the job. A short delay after sleep is normal. If the wait stretches to several minutes, look at signal strength, file size and the port type.
Is printing over Wi-Fi always slower than USB?
Not noticeably for normal documents. A healthy Wi-Fi connection moves a typical print job far faster than the printer can put ink or toner on paper. Wi-Fi becomes the bottleneck only with weak signal, heavy traffic or very large files. If USB is dramatically faster for the same file, the wireless link needs attention.
Why is printing slow from my Mac but fine from Windows?
The two may be using different quality settings or drivers. In the Mac print dialog, check the quality option, which may sit in a section named Media & Quality or a printer features menu depending on the driver. Adding the printer with AirPrint under Use often gives a faster, simpler path than an older driver.
This guide is general information written for common home and office printers. Menus and button names vary between models, so check your printer’s manual where a step differs. Printer Problems Solved is independent and not affiliated with any printer manufacturer. See our disclaimer.