HP OfficeJet 3830 will not print in color all of a sudden

[OrcyOrca]

I was printing a few papers for an assignment, but while I was printing, the pages started printing in Black and White. Before this happened a few papers jammed but I don't think it has any correlation. I have tried troubleshooting but could not find a fix.

I took out, cleaned, and reinstalled my ink cartridges. They are full.

I deleted and reinstalled my drivers and this caused the first page I printed to be in color, but then the rest were in black and white again.

If I print a test page it is in color but nothing else is.

Let me know if you know what I can do to fix this issue!

Thank you,

Joseph

[KrazyToad]

@OrcyOrca

Welcome to HP Forums. This is a great place to get support, find answers and tips.

I understand that you are unable to Print in Color and you have already tried cleaning the cartridges

I appreciate all your efforts and expertise in troubleshooting this issue.

Are you able to make Color Photocopies?

Let's start with a Printer Reset

(1) Turn the printer on, if it is not already on.
(2) Wait until the printer is idle and silent before you continue.
(3) With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer.
(4) Unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.
(5) Wait at least 60 seconds.
(6) Plug the power cord back into the wall outlet.
 NOTE: HP recommends connecting the printer power cord directly to the wall outlet.
(7) Reconnect the power cord to the rear of the printer.
(8) Turn on the printer, if it does not automatically turn on.

The printer might go through a warm-up period. The printer lights might flash, and the carriage might move.
Wait until the warm-up period finishes and your printer is idle and silent before you proceed

Also download and run the Print And Scan Doctor from this Link: ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/printers/hppsdr/patches/HPPSdr.exe 

1. Run PSDR v5.0.2 

2. Once the PSDR detects the Printer, it will show up the IP address and Software Status. 

3. Select the correct Printer and click on Next. 

4. PSDR will check if the Printer is on the Network and communication between the PC and the Printer. Once the connection check is done, click on Fix Printing 

5. Once PSDR goes through all checks and automatic fixes, click on Print a test page. 

6. Regardless if PSDR printed the test page or not, click on “NO PRINT” 

7. PSDR will then notify you that there is an update available, click on continue, and PSDR will apply the patch and ask for a reboot. 

8. Post restart the PSDR will run automatically to check for more issue.  If no issue found close PSDR. 

Keep me posted how it goes

Thank you 🙂

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the "Solution Accepted" 
 

[OrcyOrca]

@KrazyToad

Thank you for assisting me with this issue.

I followed the steps but it didn't seem to change anything -- it's still printing in black and white.

After restarting my printer I ran PSDR and followed the steps but it seems to have brought me right back to where I was.

If there is anything else I can do please let me know!

Thank you,

Joseph

[KrazyToad · Accepted solution]

@OrcyOrca

Thanks for keeping me posted

Are you able to make Color Photocopies?

Try cleaning the cartridges

1. Load plain paper into the input tray.

2. On the printer control panel, swipe the display to the left, and then touch Setup.

3. Touch Tools, and then touch Clean Cartridges.

4. The printer performs the automated cleaning process and then prints a Print Quality Diagnostic page.

   • If the print quality is acceptable, you can stop troubleshooting.

   • If the print quality is unacceptable, touch OK for a Second-level Cleaning when prompted to continue the next level of cleaning.

        NOTE: If the ink cartridge nozzles are badly clogged, it might require another cleaning cycle. If so, wait 30 minutes before you perform both levels of cleaning again.

     Since the Test pages print out fine, I suggest you uninstall the Printer driver from Root level and download the Full Feature Software

1.) In Windows, search for and open Programs and features 
2.) Select your HP Printer 
3.) Select Uninstall 
4.) In Windows, search for and open Devices and printers 
5.) In the Devices and Printers windows look for your HP printer. If you see it listed right-click on it and choose ‘Delete’ or ‘Remove Device’ 
6.) Open up the run command with the “Windows key + R” key combo. 
7.) Type printui.exe /s and click Ok. (Note: there is a space in between “printui.exe” and “/s”) 
8.) Click on the “Drivers” tab 
9.) Look for HP Printer driver. If you see it Click on it and click Remove at the bottom 
10.) Select Ok 
11.) Select Apply and Ok on the Print Server Properties windows 
12.) Close Devices and Printers
13.) Restart the computer and download the Full Feature Software from Here and follow the onscreen Instructions

Note: Connect the USB cable only when prompted during installation

Keep me posted

Thanks 🙂

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the "Solution Accepted" 
 

[OrcyOrca]

Thank you!

That seemed to have fixed the issue as far as I can tell! 

Thank you again,

Joseph

[KrazyToad]

@OrcyOrca

I'm glad you were able to get this issue resolved

Do visit our HP Forums and drop us a Message anytime you need help.

Thank you. 🙂

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the "Solution Accepted" 

[Cheli1]

Hi, I'm also having issues with the printer only printing in B&W. Tried to uninstall the drivers, but when I try, I get an error mesage that the specified driver is currently in use. Tried looking in Task Manager under processes and App History, and didn't see it...any thoughts? Thanks.

[atharva_gp]

@Cheli1,

Thank you for reaching out to the HP Support community!

There could be some print job stuck in the queue.

Let's try to clear the print job and then we shall uninstall the printer drivers.

• Turn off the printer using the power button and then unplug the printer power cord from the power outlet.
• In Windows, Open up the run command with the "Windows key + R" key combo.
• Type 'services.msc' in the text field and click ok.

          

• In the Services window, right-click Print Spooler, and then select Stop.

           

• After the service stops, close the Services window.
• In Windows, Open up the run command with the "Windows key + R" key combo.
• Type ''C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS' ' in the text field and click ok.

            

• Delete all files in the PRINTERS folder.
• Shut down your computer.
• Connect the printer power cord to the power outlet, and then turn on the printer and the computer.

Now let's uninstall and re-install the printer drivers

• In Windows, search for 'Control Panel' and open 'Programs' or 'Programs and features' and select 'Uninstall a Program'.
• Select your HP Printer.
• Select Uninstall.
• In Windows, search for 'Control Panel' and look for 'View devices and printers'option under 'Hardware and Sound'.
• In the Devices and Printers window look for your HP printer. If you see it listed right-click on it and choose 'Delete' or 'Remove Device'.
• Open up the run command with the "Windows key + R" key combo.
• Type printui.exe /s and click Ok. (Note: there is a space in between “printui.exe” and “/s”)
• Click on the "Drivers" tab.
• Look for HP Printer driver. If you see it Click on it and click Remove at the bottom.
• Select Ok.
• Select Apply and Ok on the Print Server Properties windows.
• Close Devices and Printers.
• Open up the run command with the "Windows key + R" key combo.
• Type c:/programdata and click Ok. Go to Hewlett Packard folder, remove any printer related folders & files.
• Restart the computer.
• Download the printer driver and install it from this link or manually search for drivers from https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/printers.
• Open the downloaded file, follow onscreen instructions and complete installation
• Try printing from your PC

Let me know if this information helps. 

Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping.

[PatParslow]

HP OfficeJet 3830, same symptoms as above, no error messages.  Have gone through all of @Atharve_gp's advice to Cheli, to no avail.
The printer test page prints with colour, but no attempts with colour documents work from Windows.  The Print Preferences dialogue doesn't even have a mention of colour.  It printed in colour two days ago with no problem, but would not yesterday.  The printer itself is fine and will print colour documents using the ePrint service, so I conclude it must be something to do with the drivers and presumably Windows 10 having mucked them up in some way.  However (to restate), I have removed them entirely, going through the process three times so far (turn off, kill print spooler (one odd thing, since the second reinstall, the print spooler is not listed under services), check nothing in System32\spool\PRINTERS (has always been empty), Uninstall, remove drivers (and package), delete any trace of HP in programdata, switch printer on (connect using wifi, location makes USB tricky), get latest drivers from  https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-officejet-3830-all-in-one-printer-series/7172321 install and check the rpinting... which is greyscale.  And no colour settings on printer preferences. Still (!) 

Help?

[atharva_gp]

@PatParslow,

Thank you for reaching out to the HP Support community!

You are right. If you can print a test page in color, but not from windows then it could be an issue with the windows drivers.

Let's try these Steps:

1. Update Windows
   1. From your WIndows, press the Windows button. Type and search 'Check for Updates'
   2. Install if the updates are available
   3. Reboot the PC and try to print again
   4. If the issue persists, proceed to the next step
2. Create another Local User Account on Windows
   1. Refer to this KB article for help on creating a User account in Windows
   2. Once the user account is created, login to the new user account and try printing

Let me know what happens.

Cheers!