Cancel a print job on Windows or Mac

The fastest way to stop a print job is through your printer's queue — the list of documents waiting to print. On Windows, open Settings, go to Devices, then Printers & Scanners, click your printer, and select "Open queue". Right-click the job you want to stop and choose "Cancel". On Mac, go to System Settings, Printers & Scanners, select your printer, and click "Open Print Queue", then the minus button next to the job.

If the queue window doesn't appear or you can't find your printer listed, try the direct route: search for "Devices and Printers" on Windows or "Printers & Scanners" on Mac, find your printer in the list, and double-click it to open the queue. The job should appear there within seconds of sending it.

If you sent the job but haven't opened the queue yet, you can also cancel it before it reaches the printer by unplugging the printer's USB cable or turning off the printer entirely. This works because most printers hold jobs in memory only while powered on. Once you restart the printer, the job is gone.

Key Takeaways

  • Open your printer's queue through Settings (Windows) or System Settings (Mac) and right-click the job to cancel it.
  • If the queue is empty or the job already started printing, turn off the printer immediately to stop it mid-job.
  • Network printers may take 10 to 30 seconds to respond to a cancel command, so wait before restarting.
  • If a job is stuck and won't cancel, restart your computer and the printer, then clear the queue manually.

Cancel a job on a network printer

Network printers (those connected to WiFi or Ethernet rather than directly to your computer) have their own control panel. Walk to the printer, look for a "Menu", "Settings", or "Jobs" button on the touchscreen or physical buttons, and navigate to "Pending Jobs" or "Job Queue". Select the job you want to remove and choose "Delete" or "Cancel".

If you can't find the queue on the printer itself, try accessing it through a web browser. Open your browser and type the printer's IP address into the address bar — you can find this by printing a test page (usually a "Network Configuration" or "Settings" page) or checking your router's connected devices list. Once you're in the printer's web interface, look for a "Jobs" or "Queue" tab and delete the job from there.

Network printers sometimes hold jobs even after you cancel them on your computer. If a job keeps reappearing, restart the printer by turning it off for 30 seconds, then back on. This clears the printer's memory.

Stop a job that's already printing

If the paper is already coming out, the fastest way to stop it is to turn off the printer immediately. Press the power button or unplug it. The printer will stop mid-page, and you can remove the partially printed paper once it cools down.

After you turn the printer back on, check the queue to make sure no other jobs are waiting. Sometimes a stuck job will restart automatically when you power the printer back up. If it does, cancel it again through the queue before the printer starts printing.

If the job completed before you could stop it, you'll need to delete the printed pages manually. There's no way to "unprint" a page that's already on paper.

Clear a stuck print job

Occasionally a job gets stuck in the queue and won't cancel — the cancel button does nothing, or the job reappears after you delete it. This usually happens when your computer loses connection to the printer mid-job or when the printer runs out of paper while printing.

Start by restarting both your computer and the printer. Turn off the printer, wait 30 seconds, and turn it back on. Then restart your computer. Once both are back online, open the queue again and try to cancel the job. Most stuck jobs clear after a restart.

If the job is still there, you may need to clear the printer's memory manually. On many printers, holding down the power button for 10 seconds performs a hard reset. Check your printer's manual for the exact method — search online for "[Your Printer Model] hard reset" if you don't have the manual. Warning: a hard reset erases all settings, so you'll need to reconfigure the printer afterward (WiFi password, paper size, default settings).

Why a print job won't cancel

A job that won't cancel usually means your computer and printer lost connection while the job was sending. The printer received part of the job and is waiting for the rest, so it ignores your cancel command. Restarting both devices forces them to reconnect and clears the incomplete job from the printer's memory.

Another common cause is a printer driver that's out of date or corrupted. If you've tried restarting and the job still won't cancel, try updating your printer driver. On Windows, go to Device Manager, find your printer, right-click it, and choose "Update driver". On Mac, go to System Settings, Printers & Scanners, select your printer, and check for updates in the printer's settings menu.

If you're using a network printer and the job won't cancel from the queue, the printer's internal software may have crashed. In this case, a hard reset is usually the only solution.

Prevent jobs from getting stuck

Most stuck jobs happen because the printer runs out of paper or loses power mid-job. Before printing a large document, check that your printer has enough paper and that it's turned on and connected. If you're printing over WiFi, make sure the connection is stable — move closer to the router if you're far away.

If you're printing from a laptop on battery power, plug it in before sending the job. A laptop that goes to sleep while printing can interrupt the job and leave it stuck in the queue.

For large files (over 50 MB), print a test page first to make sure the connection is solid. If the test page prints without problems, the large file should too.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I cancel a print job after it's already printed?

No. Once the page is printed, it's physically on paper and can't be recalled. You'll need to manually remove and discard the pages. To prevent this, always check the preview before clicking print, and cancel the job in the queue before it reaches the printer.

What if the printer queue doesn't show up when I open it?

The queue may be loading — wait 10 seconds and refresh. If it still doesn't appear, try restarting the printer and your computer. If you're on a network printer, access the queue through the printer's touchscreen or web interface instead of your computer's settings.

Will canceling a print job damage my printer?

No. Canceling a job is safe and won't harm the printer. Turning off the printer mid-job is also safe — modern printers are designed to handle power loss without damage.

How long does it take for a canceled job to disappear from the queue?

Usually a few seconds. If the job is still in the queue after 30 seconds, the printer may not have received the cancel command. Try canceling it again or restart the printer.

Can I cancel someone else's print job on a shared network printer?

Yes, if you have access to the printer's queue. On a shared printer, anyone who can reach the queue can see and delete any job. If you want to prevent this, check your printer's manual for how to password-protect the queue or job deletion.