Printer working but not printing.

[Pijity]

I recently bought my hp deskjet 4220e. After a few initial setting up problems it worked well, but next time it seemed to work but only produced blank sheets of paper. I pressed the printer information button and it printed the sheet about my printer, no problem. So I tried to print a recipe from the web and it produced blank sheets again. What am I doing wrong? I'd be pleased for any help anyone can give me.

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @Pijity 

Welcome to the HP Support Community! We're here to help you get back up and running.

It sounds like you're doing most things right — and your HP DeskJet 4220e is at least capable of printing, since the printer info page prints just fine. That's actually a great clue.

Here’s what could be going wrong — and how to fix it:

What's Likely Happening:

Your printer hardware is fine (confirmed by the info/test page).

The issue seems to be with how your computer or browser sends the print job — likely software-related or due to driver misconfiguration.

Common causes:

Wrong or incomplete printer driver

Web browser printing bug

Grayscale or blank ink mode selected

Print job sent to virtual printer (like "Fax" or “Save as PDF”) instead of the real device

Step-by-Step Fix

1. Check What Printer You’re Actually Sending To

When printing the recipe:

In the print dialog, double-check the selected printer is “HP DeskJet 4220e” (not “Fax”, “HP Fax”, or “Microsoft Print to PDF”)

2. Try Downloading the Recipe and Printing the File

Sometimes, printing directly from a website (especially recipe pages with heavy formatting or ads) causes issues.

Instead of printing from the browser:

Click “Print” → then “Save as PDF”

Open the PDF

Print the PDF from Adobe Acrobat Reader or another PDF viewer

This helps eliminate weird web formatting errors.

3. Uninstall and Reinstall the Printer with the Right Driver

Sometimes Windows installs a basic driver or defaults to AirPrint or WSL, which can cause blank prints.

To fix:

Uninstall the printer:

Go to Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners

Click your HP printer → Remove

Then reinstall it using the HP Smart app:

Download from HP Smart App

Follow the prompts to reconnect your printer

Let HP Smart install the correct full driver and firmware

4. Check Ink Settings

In the print dialog (before printing), click More Settings or Preferences

Make sure Grayscale / Black Ink Only is NOT selected (unless you only have black ink)

Set Print Quality to "Normal" or "Best" — not “Draft”

5. Print a Test Page from Windows

Press Windows + R, type control printers, and hit Enter

Right-click your printer → Printer Properties

Under General tab → click Print Test Page

If this prints correctly, it confirms the issue is with how your browser or app is sending jobs.

6. Try a Different Web Browser

If you were using Chrome, try Firefox or Edge — and vice versa.
Sometimes extensions or ad-blockers mess with print formatting on websites.

Still Not Working?

Let me know:

• What device you're printing from (Windows PC? Mac? Chromebook? Mobile?)
• Which browser or app you're using
• If PDFs print correctly, but webpages don’t

This will help narrow it down. You're very close to resolving it — it's not a hardware issue.

If my response helped, please mark it as an Accepted Solution! ✅ It helps others and spreads support. 💙 Also, tapping "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" makes a big difference! Thanks! 😊

Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye