"The Document Could Not Be Printed" in Acrobat? Print It as an Image
You hit Print in Acrobat or Reader and get “The document could not be printed” followed by “There were no pages selected to print,” or the pages come out blank.
Why: the PDF often contains a damaged object, an unusual font, or complex graphics that the printer driver chokes on while converting the page. Adobe’s fix is to send the printer a flat image of each page instead, which skips that problematic step.
Fix 1: Print the PDF as an image
This resolves the bulk of “could not be printed” errors.
- With the PDF open, choose Menu (or File) > Print.
- In the Print dialog, click Advanced. (On a Mac, if you don’t see Advanced, click the down arrow to the right of the printer menu first.)
- Tick Print As Image.
- Optionally pick a resolution from the dropdown (300 dpi is a good default; higher is sharper but slower).
- Click OK, then Print.
Printing as an image is slower and the text won’t be selectable on paper, but it almost always gets the page out.
Fix 2: Update the printer driver and Acrobat, then retry
If Fix 1 still fails:
- Update your printer driver from the manufacturer’s site (an outdated driver is a frequent culprit).
- Update the app: Menu (or Help) > Check for Updates, install, and restart the computer.
- Try printing a different, simple PDF to confirm the printer itself works.
Fix 3: Rename the file with plain characters
A PDF whose filename contains symbols like %, $, #, or brackets can fail to print.
- Save or rename the file using only letters and numbers (for example
invoice2025.pdf). - Reopen it and print again.
FAQ
Print As Image works but the text looks fuzzy? Raise the resolution in step 4 to 600 dpi. The trade-off is a larger spool and slower printing.
Only one specific PDF fails? That file likely has damaged content. Re-create or re-download it from the source, or use Print As Image as a permanent workaround for that document.
Sources: Adobe — Quick fix: Print PDF as image, Adobe — Troubleshoot PDF printing