Officejet 250 smudge in same spots of page every time

[gigacar]

Hi, 

I have done all the troubleshooting from this page including cleaning the cartridge 3 times

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c05106925

The problem is the ink always smears in almost the same spot every time. See attached image of 3 print quality reports after 3 print cartridge cleans.

See also the horizontal bleeding when printing a test page from the web in both BW and Color

Someone let me know if there is a bar or roller I should be cleaning inside the machine it would be appreciated.

[Bob_Headrick]

The symptoms you describe indicate a buildup of fibers either on the nozzle plate of the cartridge or on the carriage that holds the cartridges.  You mention you have done the steps in https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c05106925, I would suggest making sure you have done step 12 on both the color and black cartridge.  Also, remove both cartridges and set them aside with the nozzles facing upward.  Use a damp Q-tip to gently clean the underside of the holder for the cartridges.  It is likely that some pet hair or paper fibers have stuck to the ink in this area, and is causing streaks as it drags through the freshly printed ink on the page.

[gigacar]

Yes I completed that. I even did it 2 or 3 times.

The smudging is consistently in the top left portion of the printable area as well as down to about the middle of the page. At the end of the page there is no more smudging. 

As I explained these are brand new genuine HP cartridges.

I also cleaned the resting pad (plastic white tabs) where they sit.

That all said nothing fixed the problem. 

Any other suggestions?

[Bob_Headrick]

My bet is there is a buildup of fibers on the underside of the carriage.  The streaks happen at the end of a swath as the carriage changes direction.  I made up a test file and attached it as a PDF file here.  Try printing this.  I would expect the streaking will now be near the middle as the carriage changes direction.  

Please print this test page in Normal or Draft modes and report the results.  A close picture of the results would help.

If, as I suspect, there are wisps near the center of the page now I would suggest cleaning the underside of the carriage, there is almost certainly a buildup of fibers or pet hair on the underside of the carriage.  If you have already followed the suggestion to clean the underside with a damp q-tip I would suggest a more aggressive cleaning.  Get a strong paper towel and fold in half a couple of times so it is about 4 layers thick.  Dampen the paper towel,  Open the printer as you would to change the cartridge, then remove both cartridge.  Unplug the power cord without turning off the printer.  Move the carriage to one side, then place the paper towel in the print path.  Next gently move the carriage back and forth over the paper towel. Discard the paper towel, replace the cartridges and plug the printer back in.  Next try printing a test page.  Did this resolve the issue?