My printer printing a "shadow" behind all the letters

[angmarg]

I have an HP Photosmart C4795 and its been printing a "shadow" behind all the letters. Its not something sloppy, it looks like its supposed to be there. Only thing is I don't know how it started or why its happening. 

[Dragon-Fur]

Ideas to Try / Consider:

If you are running the printer's Full Feature Software, go into the Solution Center in the Toolbox and look for a way to clean the cartridges and / or print heads.  Do it twice.  It uses a bit of ink, but it will get any extra residue drifting around on the nozzles.

Your printer's Webpage:

HP Photosmart C4795 All-in-One Printer

Look on the Menu (on the Printer) for the Alignment test.  This may also be listed in the same area in the software section where you find the "clean cartridges" option.

General Instructions (may vary):

Align the print cartridges

The printer automatically aligns the print cartridges after a new print
cartridge is installed.

You can also align the print cartridges at other times to ensure optimal
print quality.

To align print cartridges:

1. Load Letter or A4 plain, white paper in the In tray.
2. Open the printer Toolbox.
3. Click Align the Print Cartridges.
4. Click Align, and then follow the onscreen instructions.

==============================================================================

[angmarg]

thanks for the tip. Only thing is, when I print an alignment page, the writing at the bottom of the page doesn't have the shadow behind it. Just when I print stuff offline.

[Dragon-Fur]

Hmm.. Interesting.  Most of the time, this is an alignment issue and can be solved at the printer side.

• There is, on at least one model printer, something called a "Line-Feed Calibration" that might be out of whack.  This might be found on the printer control panel > Setup Menu > Tools.

• Another possibility:  The cartrdges are still dirty.  Remove the cartridge(s) and carefully clean around the edges (not on the very middle where the little copper bit is located).  Use a foam que-tip.  The regular que-tips can leave bits of linty bits on the surfaces.  You can buy the foam que-tips in an office supply store or an Electronics store.  These also come as part of a printer cleaning kit.

Cleaning the printer and the cartridges

• Finally, all things being equal, you might replace the cartridges.  If they are full (or nearly so) and IF it turns out that the cartridges were indeed the cultprits, you can call HP and plead your case.  HP ink and the cartridges in which the ink comes are covered by warranty. 

  Contact HP

=====================================================================================

"Offline" means that that you are printing from an application, then - perhaps Word or another text writer capable of sending a document to the printer.

Another possibility is that you have inadverantly set your fonts differently than expected.

In particular, the text in Word 2010 can be set with "Text Effects".  I am not sure what this would do the the product output to the printer, but it might be an unexpected outcome if the printer could not handle the exact context.

There are only a limited number of things it can be -- if the aligment tests and the diagnostics test from the printer show clean, and you change out the cartridges to no avail... then it may well be something from the application or the manner in which you are manipulating the document at the time of printing.  Because most printing software is extremely limited in the way it can change visual text effects, I'd guess it is something that is being preprocessed inside the application and then printed.

=====================================================================================

I hope this helps - or at the least, narrows down the possible trouble spots.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

          Find a Post that helps?  See something that makes you smile?

        Click the Kudos Star!  It is a nice “Thank You” for the Author.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

[jajspoe]

I have an HP Officejet and it is doing the exact same thing. I've tried resetting the printer, removing and reinstalling, etc. with no luck. Did you ever find a solution?

[timmey243]

I have the same problem, but only when i try to print pdf files. word works fine. I tried different printer settings and different computers and could not find a solution.

[Dragon-Fur]

@timmey243

This is a really old thread.

No one will see your "tag on" message here -- I only saw it because it flagged in an old archive.

Please consider starting your own thread on the subject -- provide your printer model, your Operating System and version, and (of course) the problem and anything you have tried to fix it. 

Describe the problem and explain what you have tried:

Be specific -- saying something like, "I tried everything - I tried different things" is vague and will either be ignored or worse - waste everyone's time when an Expert offers something you have already considerd / done.

Brilliant Post - How to Ask Your Question

Thank you for participating in the HP Community Forum.

We are a community of HP enthusiasts dedicated to supporting HP technology.