system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why does a printer take so long to stop after cancelling a print job?
gpt
The computer sends stuff to the printer.

The printer has a bit of internal memory, it can store a few pages in its own memory, but once that's full then the computer stops sending, and stores the rest of your document locally until the printer has printed a page or two and freed up some of its internal memory.

When you cancel printing, you're telling the computer to stop sending stuff to the printer. It does that straight away. But the printer has a few pages stored in its internal memory, and these can't be un-sent - so they carry on printing even after pressing cancel.