My printer is stuck on monochrome printing and will not let me change it.

[PP688]

The print quality diagnostic page prints perfectly. I have rebooted, uninstalled and reinstalled hardware and drivers. Printer properties does not give me an option to change from monochrome to color. I did find the option when trying to print a saved pdf document. I changed to color by using the up arrow and hitting enter to select but the document still printed in black and white. I have cleaned and aligned the printer cartridges and still no help. Anybody have any suggestions other than buying a new printer?

[DavidSMP]

@PP688,

Good Day.  Thank you for posting your query in the HP community.  I read the post regarding issues with printing in color. I will be delighted to assist you here.

Superb description and spectacular troubleshooting and commendable diagnosis of the issue before posting. Kudos to you for that. 🙂

For better clarity and to assist you better I would require more information regarding this:

• Did this occur after a software or Windows update?
• Do you get any error messages?
• Did you check the printer settings?

For now, try these steps:

• Please perform a hard reset on the printer from this link: https://hp.care/2JrEVgC by following instructions from the section “Step 1: Reset the printer"

Then perform a root level uninstallation and reinstallation of the printer drivers by following these steps:

• In Windows, search for and open Programs and Features.
• Select your HP printer.
• Select Uninstall.
• In Windows, search for and open Devices and Printers.
• 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.
• Click on Drivers tab.
• Look for HP Printer driver. If you see it click on it and click Remove at the bottom.
• Select OK.
• Remove all instances of the same.
• Select Apply and OK on the Print Server Properties windows.

• Close Devices and Printers. 
• Restart the PC again. 

• Then create a new user account as an administrator  from this link: https://hp.care/2rZfJBC

Log into the new user account after restarting your computer.

• Then download the latest full feature driver from https://hp.care/2Kx16z0  and install it on the computer after selecting the correct operating system.
• Connect the printer to your computer only when the setup prompts for the printer.

If this does not do the trick, please download the Windows Built-in drivers by following instructions from this link: https://hp.care/2o3acvH

• Perform steps 2 and 3 to remove the printer and re-add it. This should do the trick for you. There is an associated YouTube video on how to do it.
• Please check this link: https://hp.care/2FKAR6l (HP Printers - Print Driver Settings Guide (Windows) as it gives information on all your printer settings.  Check these settings:
• Color and black & white settings.

This should do the trick for you.

Perform all these steps patiently as it is critical to resolving the issue. Good luck to you. I will keep a watch for your response.  

Let me know how it goes and you have a great day!

To simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue to get it resolved without hassles.

Take care and have a blessed week ahead. 🙂

[nick271]

Hi- I have a similar problem where the printer (an HP ENVY 4527 All-in-One Printer) does not print in colour from my laptop (which is running windows 10 64bit). From my iphone app it does print colour, so it is infuriating. I have tried the steps you outline multiple times (reset, a root level uninstall, new account and reinstall from the Hp website) but it is still only printing black and white.

I also note

- in Excel in page setup > sheet > black and white print box is unchecked (i cant find any other setting to switch b&w to colour) 

- in the Photos app, when i go to Print in the More Settings menu under Output Options, the Colour setting is in monochrome. When i try to save this as colour i get the message 'Colour mode was changed from Colour because of a conflict with another printer setting', but I cannot see what is creating this conflict.  

Please advise if there are further checks i need to do

Thanks

[KrazyToad]

@nick271

I have gone through your Post and would like to help

Have you performed all the troubleshooting steps mentioned by David SMPS, including creating a new User Account?

If you have already performed all those steps please try using the HP Smart App and let me know how it goes

Link: https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c04675142

Keep me posted how it goes

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the "Solution Accepted" on this Post and it will also help other community members with similar issue.