Kyocera Printer Printing Weird Symbols? Fix Gibberish Output

Is your Kyocera printer printing weird symbols, random characters, strange letters, or unreadable gibberish instead of the document you sent? This usually means the printer is receiving data it cannot correctly interpret.

A Kyocera printer printing weird symbols can be caused by an incorrect printer driver, corrupted print jobs, incompatible print languages, application problems, or incorrect printer configuration.

In many cases, the printer itself is working normally. The problem is how the computer or application is sending the print data.

1. Cancel the Current Print Job

If the printer is continuously producing pages filled with random characters, stop the print job first.

Cancel the document from the computer’s printer queue.

If necessary, stop the printer from continuing to process the job.

Do not allow a corrupted document to keep generating pages because it can waste paper and toner.

Once the queue is clear, restart the printer before sending another document.

2. Clear the Print Queue

A corrupted print job may remain in the queue and continue producing gibberish.

Open the Kyocera printer queue and cancel all pending documents.

After the queue is empty, restart the printer and try printing a simple one-page document.

If the new document prints normally, the original print job was likely corrupted.

For more queue troubleshooting, see Kyocera Printer Print Queue Stuck? Clear Jobs & Fix Spooler.

3. Restart the Kyocera Printer

Restart the printer after clearing the queue.

Turn the printer off normally, wait briefly, and turn it back on.

Allow the printer to finish its startup process before sending another job.

A restart can clear temporary print-processing problems and ensure the printer is no longer processing data from the previous failed job.

4. Check the Kyocera Printer Driver

An incorrect or incompatible driver is one of the first things to investigate when a Kyocera printer suddenly produces random symbols.

Make sure the installed driver matches your exact Kyocera model and operating system.

Driver problems can occur after:

• Installing Windows updates
• Changing computers
• Reinstalling the printer
• Replacing a computer
• Adding the printer through automatic discovery
• Using a generic printer driver

If necessary, remove the existing printer and install the appropriate Kyocera driver again.

See Kyocera Printer Driver Unavailable? Fix Driver Problems Fast for related driver troubleshooting.

5. Test a Simple Document

Do not immediately test with a complex PDF, spreadsheet, or graphics-heavy document.

Create a simple text document containing a few lines and print it.

If the simple document prints correctly

The original document or application may be causing the problem.

If the simple document also produces symbols

Focus on the printer driver, print language, printer configuration, or communication method.

This simple test can quickly narrow down the cause.

6. Test From Another Application

Try printing the same information from a different application.

For example, if the problem occurs when printing a PDF, try printing a basic text document.

If Word produces normal output but a PDF produces gibberish, the issue may be related to the PDF application or document.

If every application produces random symbols, investigate the driver and printer configuration.

7. Check the Printer Language or Emulation Settings

Printers use specific languages or emulation modes to interpret print data.

If the printer and driver are not using compatible settings, the output may contain random characters or symbols.

Depending on the Kyocera model, available print languages or emulations may vary.

Check the printer configuration and installed driver to make sure they are appropriate for your model.

Avoid changing advanced language settings randomly. If the printer previously worked correctly, restoring the correct driver and configuration is usually a better starting point.

8. Check the Printer Connection

A communication problem can corrupt data before it reaches the printer.

If the printer is connected through USB, check the cable and try another USB connection if appropriate.

For network printers, check that the printer and computer are communicating over the intended network.

If the printer recently changed networks or IP addresses, verify the printer port as well.

For wireless setup issues, see Kyocera Printer WiFi Setup Guide (Windows, Mac & Mobile).

9. Reinstall the Kyocera Printer

If random symbols continue after clearing the queue and checking the driver, reinstalling the printer can provide a clean configuration.

Remove the existing Kyocera printer from the computer.

Restart the computer.

Then add the printer again using the appropriate Kyocera driver and connection method.

After installation, print a simple test page before testing the original document.

Kyocera Printer Printing Symbols After Driver Installation

If gibberish output started immediately after installing a new driver, the driver should be your first suspect.

Check whether the driver matches the exact Kyocera printer model.

A generic or incorrect driver may send print data that the printer does not interpret correctly.

Remove the problematic installation and use the appropriate Kyocera driver.

Kyocera Prints Random Characters From PDF Files

If random characters occur only with PDFs, test several different PDFs.

If one PDF produces gibberish while another prints normally, the issue may be specific to that document or its rendering.

Try opening the PDF in another supported PDF application and print again.

Also check the print preview.

If the preview looks normal but the printer produces symbols, investigate the driver and print-processing configuration.

Kyocera Printer Prints Symbols Instead of Text

If normal text is consistently replaced by random characters, check the driver and printer language configuration.

First clear the queue and test a simple text document.

If the issue affects every application, reinstall the correct Kyocera driver.

If it happens only with one application, investigate that application’s printer settings and document processing.

Quick Kyocera Gibberish Printing Checklist

Before making advanced changes, check:

• Cancel the current print job.
• Clear the printer queue.
• Restart the Kyocera printer.
• Print a simple text document.
• Test another application.
• Verify the exact Kyocera printer model.
• Check the installed printer driver.
• Avoid generic or incorrect drivers.
• Check the printer connection.
• Verify the printer port for network printing.
• Check print language or emulation settings if applicable.
• Reinstall the printer if necessary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my Kyocera printer printing random symbols?

The printer may be receiving incorrectly formatted data because of an incompatible driver, corrupted print job, application problem, or printer language configuration.

Can a wrong Kyocera driver cause gibberish printing?

Yes. An incorrect driver can send print data in a format the printer does not correctly interpret, resulting in random characters or symbols.

Why does my Kyocera printer print symbols after a Windows update?

A Windows update may affect the existing printer driver or printer configuration. Reinstalling a compatible Kyocera driver can help restore normal communication.

Why does my Kyocera printer print gibberish from only one application?

If other applications print normally, the problem may be specific to the affected application or document. Check its print settings and try printing the same content from another program.

Why does clearing the print queue help?

A corrupted print job can continue sending invalid or incomplete data to the printer. Clearing the queue removes the problematic job so you can test with fresh data.

Should I change the printer’s language settings?

Do not change advanced print-language settings without knowing what your Kyocera model and driver require. Start by verifying the correct driver and printer configuration.

Related Kyocera Printer Guides

• Kyocera Printer Not Printing? 15 Proven Fixes That Actually Work (2026)
• Kyocera Printer Driver Unavailable? Fix Driver Problems Fast
• Kyocera Printer Print Queue Stuck? Clear Jobs & Fix Spooler
• Kyocera Printer WiFi Setup Guide (Windows, Mac & Mobile)
• Kyocera Printer Connected But Not Printing? Fix It Fast
• Kyocera Printer In Error State? Quick Fix Guide

Final Thoughts

A Kyocera printer printing weird symbols or gibberish is often a communication or driver problem rather than a sign that the printer itself has failed.

Start by cancelling and clearing the print queue, then restart the printer and test a simple document. If the problem continues, verify the correct Kyocera driver, connection, printer port, and relevant print-language configuration.

Testing another application is also useful. If only one application produces strange characters, focus on that application or document instead of changing the printer’s hardware settings.