Word cannot print because there doesn’t seem to be a printer installed

Microsoft Word is a popular word processing software developed by Microsoft. It comes with a lot of features that help you create a professional document. After creating a document, you can print it directly by giving the print command to Word. But for some users, the print feature in Word is not working as expected. According to them, whenever they give the print command to Microsoft Word, they receive the “We couldn’t print because there doesn’t seem to be a printer installed” error message. If you are also experiencing such a problem in Word, the solutions provided in this article will help you fix the issue.

Cannot print from Microsoft Word

When you encounter the “We couldn’t print” error in Word for the first time, restart your computer and check if the problem is fixed. Sometimes, problems get fixed simply by restarting the computer. One possible cause of the printer-related problems is the connection issues between your computer and the printer. Check if you can print from another software. If yes, the problem is associated with Microsoft Word. If you cannot print from software check your printer connections. Remove your printer and add it again to fix the problem.

Try the following fixes to get the issue resolved.

1. Update Microsoft Office
2. Print using another Office program
3. Run Microsoft Word as an administrator
4. Change your default printer
5. Check for problematic add-in
6. Troubleshoot in a Clean Boot state
7. Repair Office
8. Uninstall and reinstall Office

Let’s see all these fixes in detail.

Word couldn’t print because there doesn’t seem to be a printer installed

1] Update Microsoft Office

Problems may occur if you are using an outdated version of an app. Before trying anything else, we suggest you update Microsoft Office manually and see if it helps. You can update Office by launching any Office program, like Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc. To do so, open any Office program and go to “File > Account.” You will see the option to update Office there.

2] Print using another Office program

You can also try this simple fix. Close Microsoft Word and open another Office program, say Microsoft Excel. Create a new spreadsheet or open an existing one. Now, print the spreadsheet from Excel and see if you get the same error as Word. If not, close Microsoft Excel and open Microsoft Word. Now, give the print command to Word. See if the error occurs this time.

3] Run Microsoft Word as an administrator

Another fix to try is to run Microsoft Word as an administrator. The following steps will help you run Microsoft Word as an Administrator:

1. Click on Windows Search and type Word.
2. Right-click on Microsoft Word and select Run as Administrator.

If this does not fix your problem, try the next solution.

4] Change your default printer

The printer-related problems in Microsoft Office applications can be fixed by changing the default printer. The error “We couldn’t print because there doesn’t seem to be a printer installed” might be occurring because Word is not able to access your default printer. In such cases, change your default printer and see if this fixes the issue. Try to make virtual printers, like Microsoft XPS Document Writer as your default printer.

5] Check for problematic add-in

One possible cause of the problem is a problematic add-in. To check this, disable add-ins installed in Word one by one and print the document after disabling each add-in. This process will take some time but you will be able to identify the problematic add-in (if any).

The following steps will guide you on how to disable an add-in in Word:

1. Launch Microsoft Word.
2. Open a document or create a new blank document.
3. Go to “File > Options.”
4. Select Add-Ins from the left side.
5. Select COM Add-ins in the Manage drop-down and click on the GO button.
6. Deselect the add-in that you want to disable and click OK.

6] Troubleshoot in a Clean Boot state

One possible cause of the problem is a conflicting third-party background application. To check if this is the case with you, troubleshoot your computer in a Clean Boot state. In a Clean Boot state, Windows is launched only with essential services and apps. All other apps and services remain disabled.

After starting your computer in a Clean Boot state, launch Microsoft Word and print your document. See if it displays the error message. If not, a background app is causing the problem. To identify that application, enable some of the disabled applications and start your computer in a normal state. Now launch Word and print your document. See if you receive the error message. If yes, one of the applications that you have just enabled is the culprit.

Now, disable the startup apps one by one and print from Word after you disable each app. This will help you identify the problematic app. Once you find it, consider uninstalling it.

7] Repair Office

If some of the Office files are corrupted, you will get different errors in different Office programs. Such types of issues can be fixed by repairing Office. Run a Quick Repair and see if it helps. If Quick Repair does not fix the problem, run an Online Repair.

8] Uninstall and reinstall Office

If none of the above solutions fixed your problem, uninstall and reinstall Office.

Read: Cannot print a file; It opens as ‘Save as’ instead on Windows computer.

Why does it say my printer is not installed?

The error “Printer is not installed” occurs when there are connection issues between your computer and the printer or the printer is not installed correctly. To resolve this issue, remove your printer from your computer and add it again. This process will reinstall the printer on your system. If this does not work, you can try some other fixes like running the Printer Troubleshooter, updating the printer drivers, troubleshooting your computer in a Clean Boot state, etc.

How do I reset my printer on Windows 11/10?

Resetting printers to the factory default settings is the easiest way to resolve printer-related issues. Printers of different brands have a different process to reset them. Hence, to reset your printer to factory default settings, refer to its user manual.

Hope this helps.

Read next: Fix Excel printing problems in Windows 11/10.