HP Photosmart C4480 - Blurry text when printing *.pdf

[MrRece]

quick question! do your solution only work when printing in blakc and white? I need to print color sometimes..

[JO85]

i don't know;) test it out and let me know, but i don't think it will work. According to what i found this should only work when printing in grey scale (or black and white, as you put it). Don't forget to give Rich1 some kudo's!

[JO85]

Obviously, if you want to print in colour; change the settings under properties back to something to the effect of 'print in colour'.

[MrRece]

Thanks! i have tried to print colored but no cigar. Does anyone else have a idea? should i open my own thread?

[Rich1]

Hi JO85,

I am glad you were able to solve the Print Quality problem you were having ( at least for black and white printing ).   I appreciate the update.  It may be helpful to other members.

Thanks,

Rich1

[Rich1]

Hi MrRece,

I will do some research on the color side of the issue and get back to you and JO85 on this thread.  Let us know if you discover any more helpful information on this issue.

Thanks,

Rich1

[Rich1]

What happens if you use an alternate PDF reader such as Foxit ?

[JO85]

Thats a good idea. I'll get back to you on that!

Anywho, a bit strange that Acrobat can override printer settings with their software, and that that override is selected as a default option.. I don't think it's the source of the problem, but it's irritating non the less..

[JO85]

Surprisingly, using Foxit yields the same blurry results. This would mean that:

Premis: there is an underlying software incompatability that creates problems between the colour management of a PDF document and the colour management of the HP printer.

Causes:
1. That what causes this problem is a program feature employed both by Foxit and Acrobat, or;
2. That not the program but the PDF itself causes a software incompatability between itself and the printer/printer software, or;
3. There is an unknown underlying problem.

The strange thing is, the printer uses colors when printing a black text (resulting in rapid loss of ink and the blurry result - it's a soft black, edged with primary colours). Could be that the printer doesn't use any black ink at all and just simulates black by combining all the primary colours.. Thought about testing this by removing the black ink cartrigde and trying a print, but as soon as I remove a cartrigde the printer becomes non-operational. Any way to override this?

*tearing out hair*

😉

[Rich1]

Try taking out the color cartridge, closing the access door and sending a print job from the computer.  What happens?

Then try it with the color cartridge only installed.  What happens?

I am suspecting that the black cartridge is not printing.