Printer printing test page every time I turn it on.

[Bob_Headrick]

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CJNCJN wrote:

Ahhhhh, now I think you have something.  As a matter of fact yes.  I have a switch on the wall that cuts off power to my computer, the printer and a table lamp.  I can't reach the outlet and I don't want the computer adapter on the power cord to draw power when not in use.  Same for the printer.  However, if this is the case, it reenforces my decision not to buy another HP printer.  My old printer did not have this problem, so if I am forced to draw more power to avoid this waste of ink and paper, I will replace the printer with a different brand as soon as I am employed.  I am away on an interview now but will give the idea of leaving the switch on a try when I get back home.

Thanks I'll let you know if that worked.

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The issues with turning the printer off from an external switch are not limited to HP inkjet printers, although the alignment page printing if the power is removed may not be widespread.  (My Officejet 7410, Officejet 8600 and Photosmart 2610 printers do not print an alignment page if power is interrupted....)

Any recent HP inkjet printer will be Energy Star rated - I leave mine on all the time and they go into a very low power state when not printing.  With a standby of 2W the printer can be on standby for three weeks for $0.10.  

If you turn off the printer (whether HP or other manufacturer) from an external switch you risk leaving the printhead uncapped, resulting in the printhead drying out.  This is certainly not recommended.

[djdave29]

Never heard so much nonsense in my life.

Print this alignment page to save ink, print that alignment page to save ink, it's all complete and utter BS. Why, all of a sudden, are 100's of people having these issues? Funny that. It never happened before. An amazing and convenient coincidence. 

Make it easy on yourselves - buy a Canon.

Never buying any HP product again. 

[djdave29]

Also, I don't know why this thread is marked up as "solved".

Nothing's been solved - some of the suggestions made to various users have not worked. 

None of the suggestions made on this thread worked for me. I replaced a black ink cartridge and the printer would not function properly until I also changed the colour ink cartridge, even though there was still some colour ink left in there. 

Basically the printer kept printing an alignment test page until I changed BOTH cartridges, even though it wasn't necessary to change the colour one. 

Amazing how this has NEVER happened before in 7 YEARS, yet, all of a sudden, this "fault" develops. 

Goodbye HP - Never again. 

[Bob_Headrick]

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@djdave29 wrote:

Also, I don't know why this thread is marked up as "solved".

Nothing's been solved - some of the suggestions made to various users have not worked. [snip]

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The original poster in this thread (five years and 100 posts ago) asked a question, and a solution was given that solved their issue.  

Since then many folks with different printer models and different issues have posted in this thread, some have had their issue resolved and others have not.  The thread was marked solved by the person that asked the original question in 2009, they are the ones that get to decide if their issue was solved.

[WCMencken]

Banks have a term called breakage that is a fraction of a penny as the result of a calculation. But if you assigned it an "account" it would grow to a tidy sum. That is what HP has done here with 1/500 of a ream and the ink for the alignment page ink. Bank workers have been arrested and convicted for taking a bank's breakage for themselves.

[davidw71]

[Edited for Breaking Rules of Participation]