Troubleshooting: Print Tool Error - We weren't able to reach a printer

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Last Updated: October 2023

 

Intended Audience: School staff that print exams (eg IAs) via the Print Tool application 

 

Context: When printing IAs with your school's printer and the Print Tool application, you may receive the following error message. Use the troubleshooting steps below to verify your printer is properly setup and compatible. 

 

Error Message:

We weren't able to reach a printer at [your school printer's IP address] 

werent able to reach a printer.png

 

Ponder bar thin.png

 

Troubleshooting steps if the print tool reports that the printer is unreachable:

1. Restart your printer and print tool

Close your print tool and re-open it. Power off your printer and turn it back on. 

 

2. Verify that you are on your school network:

When using the print tool, you must be on your school's wifi network (or using VPN to access it if you are home). 

 

3. Verify the IP address:

On your printer (the screen/buttons may differ based on printer model) go to Device Information and verify that the printer's IP address matches what you entered into the Print Tool:

LPOHMA Device Info.jpg

 

4. Verify that you can connect to the printer’s admin site:

While still on your school's wifi network, in a new browser window (eg Google Chrome) enter the following to access your printer's admin site:

http://[the ip address of your printer]

For example: http://10.57.121.215

 

If it did not work, you may see the following error page or a 400 error page. Please contact your IT team or printer's service provider for support as your printer may not be reachable:

printer website error.png

 

If it did work, you will then see a login page:

printer login page.png

Use the credentials:

User Name: administrator

Password: 7654321

If these credentials do not work, please contact your printer's service provider for support. 

 

Once logged in, you will see the homepage of the printer admin site:

 

printer admin site.png

Review the alerts for any major system issues. 

 


5. Verify that IPP is enabled and configured:

While still in the printer admin site, access the IP Print Settings:

Go to Preferences > Network Settings > IPP Print Settings

If you do not have access to the settings page, please contact your IT Support team for help. 

Next:

Ensure that "Use IPP" is selected

Ensure that "Allow When Using TLS" is not selected

Ensure that "Use Authentication" is not selected:

printer IPP settings.png 

Then close and re-run the print tool. 

If error still occurring, continue to the next steps. 


6. Verify that Spool is turned off:

While still in your printer's admin site, navigate to Spool Function settings:

LPHS spool.png

Next, turn off the Spool function. 

 

Please contact your IT team if you need further support. 

 

 

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