If you have difficulties printing, sometimes it's best to just start over from scratch with your printer setup. The following script makes that easy, as it deletes all the various drivers and settings files from your machines. The script must be run as root of course, eg:
sudo scriptname.sh
Read the rest of the hint for the script...
#!/bin/sh
# Set the Username from the $USER Variable
export USERNAME=$USER
# Delete the preferences from the main library folder.
rm -f /Library/Preferences/com.apple.Print.*
# Delete the preferences from the users library folder.
rm -f /Users/$USERNAME/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Print.*
# Don't forget the ByHost directory
rm -f /Users/$USERNAME/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.Print.*
# Delete the printers directory, this will delete all your printers drivers.
rm -Rf /Library/Printers
# Delete the users Printers folder, this will delete the desktop printer icons.
rm -Rf /Users/$USERNAME/Library/Printers
# Delete the HP Directory in the Applications Folder
rm -Rf /Applications/Hewlett-Packard
# Delete the HP Directory in the Applications/Utilities Folder
rm -Rf /Applications/Utilities/hp
# Delete the hp printer selector
rm -Rf /Applications/Utilities/hp printer selector
# Remove the temporary Printers directory
rm -Rf /tmp/printers
# Remove the printcap file
rm -Rf /etc/printcap
# Remove the users printcap file
rm -Rf ~$USERNAME/.printcap
# Remove the printers.conf file
rm -Rf /etc/cups/printers.conf
# Remove the classes.conf file
rm -Rf /etc/cups/classes.conf
# Delete the /var/spool/cups directory, this will delete all your queues
rm –Rf /var/spool/cups
# Make the /var/spool/cups directory
mkdir –p /var/spool/cups/tmp
# change the ownership of the cups directory, don't forget to make it recursive
chown –R daemon:admin /var/spool/cups
# Change the file access permissions to 700, if you are bored, change to 722, or 744
chmod 700 /var/spool/cups
diskutil repairPermissions /
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robg adds: After running this, of course, you'll need to reinstall your printers, so make sure you have the drivers handy before you try this fix. I haven't tested this script, since my printers are working fine. If you happen to try it, plesae post a comment regarding its success or failure...]