How to Cancel a Print Job on Windows, Mac, Phone or the Printer (Even When It's Stuck)

Published September 28, 2026. Written by William Elward, founder of Castle Ink.

Quick answer

The fastest way to cancel a print job is the Cancel or X button on the printer's control panel. On Windows, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, select your printer, click Open print queue, right-click the job and choose Cancel. On a Mac, click the printer icon in the Dock and click the X next to the job. If a job says "Deleting" and never goes away, restart the Print Spooler service.

Cancel from the printer (fastest)

Press the Cancel button, usually marked with an X or a circle with a line through it. On touchscreen printers, tap the job in progress or open the Job Status / Print Queue screen and tap Cancel. The page currently feeding may still come out; that's normal.

Tip: canceling at the printer only stops the current job. Other jobs waiting on your computer may start next, so clear the queue on the computer too.

Cancel a print job in Windows 11

1. Open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.
2. Click your printer, then Open print queue.
3. Right-click the job and choose Cancel. To clear everything, click the ⋯ menu and choose Cancel all.

Shortcut: while a job is printing, a printer icon often appears in the taskbar's hidden-icons area. Double-click it to open the queue.

Cancel a print job in Windows 10

1. Open Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners.
2. Click the printer, then Open queue.
3. Right-click the job and choose Cancel, or use Printer > Cancel All Documents.

Cancel a print job on a Mac

1. Click the printer icon in the Dock (it appears while printing). If it isn't there, go to System Settings > Printers & Scanners, select the printer and click Printer Queue.
2. Select the job and click the X (Delete) button.

Cancel from an iPhone, iPad or Android

• iPhone/iPad: swipe up to open the App Switcher, tap Print Center, then tap Cancel Printing. Print Center only appears while a job is active.
• Android: pull down the notification shade, tap the printing notification, and tap Cancel.
• HP Smart, Canon PRINT, Epson Smart Panel: some apps show a job status screen with a cancel option.

Print job won't cancel? How to clear a stuck queue

If a job sits at "Deleting" or "Error" and blocks everything behind it, the Windows Print Spooler is stuck.

1. Turn the printer off and unplug it for 30 seconds.
2. Press Windows + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
3. Find Print Spooler, right-click it and choose Stop.
4. Open File Explorer and go to C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS. Delete the files inside (not the folder itself). Click Continue if Windows asks for permission.
5. Back in Services, right-click Print Spooler and choose Start.
6. Turn the printer back on.

Full walkthrough, including Mac: How to restart the print spooler.

On a Mac: if a job won't delete, go to System Settings > Printers & Scanners, right-click (Control-click) the printer list and choose Reset printing system. This removes all printers, so you'll need to add yours back. See How to add a printer to a Mac.

Common questions

Why does my printer keep printing after I cancel?

The printer stores part of the job in its own memory. Cancel on both the computer and the printer, or turn the printer off for 30 seconds to clear its memory.

Why is my printer printing gibberish pages I didn't ask for?

That's usually a corrupted job or wrong driver. Cancel all jobs and see Printer printing gibberish.

How do I stop a job that's printing too many copies?

Press Cancel on the printer, then clear the queue on your computer before the next copy starts. Pulling the paper tray out also pauses most printers while you cancel.

My job is stuck and the printer says it's paused or offline.

See Why is my printer paused? and Why does my printer keep going offline?

Does canceling a print job waste ink?

Only what was already printed, plus a small amount if the printer runs a cleaning cycle on restart. Frequent power-cycling mid-job can trigger extra cleanings on some inkjets. Keeping spare cartridges on hand helps; find yours at Find ink by printer.

Related guides

• How to restart the print spooler
• Print spooled documents first
• Printer not responding
• How to uninstall a printer driver
• Printer troubleshooting center

About the author: William Elward is the founder of Castle Ink and has written about printers, ink cartridges, and printing technology for more than 20 years.