LaserJet prints greys too dark

[John_Getzke]

> Pressing G on a keyboard doesn’t send a command to the printer

The User Guide is referring to the "Go" button on the control panel of the printer, not your keyboard.

>don’t know where Go is located on the printer

See page 14 for a diagram of where the GO button is located:

http://www.manualslib.com/manual/72212/Hp-1150-1300-1300n.html?page=14#manual

>Maybe the manual will tell me where I can find the hp toolbox

There wont be an HP Toolbox for Win10 on your printer model.  You would have to install the software on an older OS to support that functionality.

>Product Number (directly from machine) Q1334A

This is the information that we wanted.  Now we can search HPs support site more accurately.

>Very little info about printer drivers (the host-based printer driver which optimizes performance only applies to hp LaserJet 1150 printers)

Print driver info for Win7 and your model can be found here:

http://h20565.www2.hp.com/hpsc/swd/public/readIndex?sp4ts.oid=238321&swLangOid=8&swEnvOid=4063

(spoiler alert, there isnt much information posted, and no calibration software for your OS)

> Pressing the Contact HP Link returns me to a page allowing me to link to this forum.

Yup, the manuals are quickly outdated when it comes to current contact information.  Its normally best to start with contacting HP directly via phone or chat.  The forum works well for some people too but it is not a direct way to get into contact with HP. 

Unless another expert comes along with more experience in calibrating this printer model you may be at the end of your luck.  You can try looking through the manual again incased we missed something but I'm not finding anything.

[JR_JR]

Well, you’ve understanding, helpfulness and responsiveness has far exceeded my expectations. It even had me thinking (and hoping!) that you were actually an HP Rep (and that our back-and-forth was some sort of support eligibility test)!

Every time we exchanged information the HP Support Forum Team sent me a new (Engaged, Responsive, Expressive) merit badge. They all should’ve gone to you.

The one dilemma left is actually being able to contact HP Tech Support.

As you can imagine (due to the age of the printer) I no longer have a warranty on the unit.

How do I:

                - contact HP directly via Phone (I tried the 1-866-356-4547 route but the phone tells me to go to hp.com/support or tells me to hang on if I want to “participate in the HP Upgrade Program or Support Services”… but never connects to a human being. After about 30 minutes I hung up.)

                - chat with HP  

The questions I now need to find out from HP are:

                - is it even possible to recalibrate or adjust gray scale on the LaserJet 1300?

                - Will this printer even work under Windows10? (I guess I won’t find out until I’ve upgraded to Win10.)

(Once when helping a friend with his printer I did find a way of actually getting through to HP Tech support. They were great and I got the problem solved. But this was a while ago.)

So, thanks, and lots of kudo’s to you but I can’t mark this post as “solved”.

[John_Getzke]

> that you were actually an HP Rep 

Nope, regular shmoe here.

>  no longer have a warranty on the unit.

Indeed you wouldnt.  HP may not even answer any questions without providing them with proper warranty support first.  However, a major OS upgrade like Windows 10 tends to grab a few extra resources.  Its always worth it to check in with HP and see if they have some official answer we dont know about.

> contact HP directly via Phone

http://support.hp.com/us-en/contact-hp/

They dont appear to have a phone number posted anymore. Not sure what they want you to call, perhaps they dont for out of warranty devices like this. 

> chat with HP  

http://www.hp.com/go/ispe/product?origin=acc&cc=us&lang=en&co=hpi&sp4ts.oid=238320

Not sure if that link will transfer over the forum very well so here are the steps:

1. Start at the generic HP Customer Care contact page mentioned above

2. Enter your Product number into the search bar and  click Find my product

3. Click the Get help from HP Tab

4. Click Chat with HP

5. Enter the Serial Number of your Printer and click Submit

6. Select I want to continue to tech support and click Submit

7. Click the Chat now with support tech link

8. Accept Terms

9. Enter contact info

10. Finish the rest of the wizard

> The questions I now need to find out from HP are

Good questions to ask indeed.  Based on the research we have done here so far I would assume the answer will be "no" to both of them.  If so then you will have your answer and have spent the remaining troubleshooting steps.  Only direction to go from here is to purchase a new printer model, HP or otherwise to continue support on the new OS and also with your applications.

Sometimes problems cant be solved.  Atleast you can feel confident you did everything you could and can comfortably move on from here.

[SHThompson · Accepted solution]

There is no calibration utility for this printer. I was certified on them when they were new. If Grey's print too dark and you are using OEM toner cartridges then I would replace the engine board. If you are using aftermarket cartridges they print darker than new HP cartridges so I would just switch to OEM.