Unwanted lines in photo printing

[tomdriver]

My printer is Deskjet 6940.  When printing photos I get striations (thin, dim straight lines) in areas of solid color, especially in black areas.  Has anyone esperienced this?  What is the remedy?

[Bob_Headrick]

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tomdriver wrote:

My printer is Deskjet 6940.  When printing photos I get striations (thin, dim straight lines) in areas of solid color, especially in black areas.  Has anyone esperienced this?  What is the remedy?

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What media type are you printing to?  Make sure you have selected the proper paper type, printing to photo paper with plain paper settings can cause the results you see.  If the paper settings are correct then try running a cartridge cleaning cycle from the toolbox, it may be that you have some nozzles clogged.  If there are regular repeating lines then you may have an  issue with the electrical connection of the color cartridge (or either cartrdige if using plain paper).  Try removing the cartrdige and cleaning the contacts as shown here.  (This is for a different model but the same procedure applies.  Start with Step 3.)

Regards,
Bob Headrick, Microsoft MVP Printing/Imaging

[tomdriver]

Thank you.  For some reason, I cannot access the toolbox for my HP Deskjet 6940 printer.  When I navigate to, and click on, the button marked "Service this device," I get an error message saying "Unable to perform this operation."  I tried reinstalling the printer using the original installation disk, but this did not help.  I would like to run the cleaning tool but cannot.  So now I have TWO problems:  the unwanted lines in photo printing and the inaccessibility of the printer's tool box.  Any thoughts about the latter? 

Tom

[Bob_Headrick]

What operating system are you using?  I would check the HP site for downloads of more recent drivers.  Also you can perform diagnostic and  cleaning functions as follows from the front panel: 

For a diagnostic page turn the printer on, then press and hold the power button in while pressing the X button once, then release the power button.  The resulting color grids should be complete.  If there are regular repeating missing areas then clean the cartrdige contacts as shown here.  If there are random missing area then perform a cleaning cycle as follows:  turn on the printer, then press and hold the power button, then press the X button twice, then release the power button.  For a more agressive cleaning press the X button twice then press the continue button once (more cleaning) or twice (most cleaning) before releasing the power button.  

Regards,
Bob Headrick, Microsoft MVP Printing/Imaging

[Gazza911]

I have similar problem. Printed same photo to same printer from 2 different machines. Machine 1 is windows 8 and second machine is windows 7.
Problem only occurs when printing from windows 8. Feint lines look like a grid pattern on the paper, there also seems to be a feint border around the picture, again only on windows 8. Note I am using the print app from the windows App Store as the supplied printer software is not compatible with W8.
Printer is HP3520 (brand new)
HELP......

[capemaybeachgir]

Perfect!  Thank you for your help.  All I needed to do was select the proper photo paper and best quality and it worked perfectly.

[rosebaby]

i have these unwanted lines since the first print off my printer, i did all the suggestions, fiddled with cartridges,, changed cartridges, tried several diff types of paper, unplug and plugged back in....and i still cant get rid of them!! now  what?

[goinbananas]

Anyone out there who no longer is getting unwanted gridlines in print photos? If so, please let us know what you did to get them removed.  We still are getting unwanted grid lines when printing photos from computer to HP OfficeJet Pro 8620.  Have set printer paper to photo paper, used good-quality photo paper, cleaned and aligned printhead, removed tricolor cartridge after unplugging power cord and then reinserted it, per instructions of gentleman connected with HP when I wrote to HP for advice.  Still have gridlines.  Never had this problem before, no matter the computer or printer.  All this has occurred under OS Windows 8.1. Previously we had Windows 7 and VISTA. Have just downloaded OS Windws 10 tonight.  Haven't checked it yet to see if the new OS will make a difference to the better, b/c I ran out of photo paper.

[PWLove43]

I have OS Windows 10, using Kirkland professional glossy inkjet photo paper in an HP Officejet Pro 8600 premium printer and I still get the lines. I have not played with all of the available printer paper settings but I will and report back.

[Petebank]

I am having the exact same issue.  I have tried three printers and three computers multiple software and paper types.  I am attaching a sample.  You can see the lines pretty clearly if you look on my daughter's purple pants. 

You might also notice that the lines in both consistently cut across the page horizontally even though one picture is vertical and one is horizontal. 

This is driving me insane and is utterly rediculous for us to have to deal with in 2018.