'Hold for Authentication' Error in Mac Print Queue

“Help! When printing from macOS computers, sometimes we see the job stuck in the print queue with the message “Hold for Authentication.” What does this mean?”

 

What does “Hold for Authentication” mean?

Sometimes, when printing from a Mac, the job appears to pause in the print queue window with the message “Hold for Authentication.” 

The message can appear if the Mobility print queue has authentication enabled and the user has previously saved their credentials for printing in the Keychain (which is the case with teacher MacBooks). With credentials stored in the Keychain, the prompt for authentication may occasionally pop up, and the print queue window shows “Hold for authentication.”  

The workaround is to hit the print job’s refresh icon to input one’s credentials a second time, as, for some reason, the second authentication attempt sends the job through.