Solved: Re: Hp LaserJet 5550 Dark Pictures - HP Support Community

Aviatorix · ‎02-12-2026

I have been trying for several days now to find a way of lifting the gamma when printing photos on my old LaserJet 5550dn that I was recently gifted.

When I got it the colors were way off but I did a calibration and it was much better, but too dark. The shadows are squished. The demo image prints perfectly but photos printed using the universal postscript driver are too dark.

I have tried different ICC profiles and found Adobe RGB the brightest, but still too dark. I also realized that setting ICM to printer managed and setting intent to Graphics seems to make the images a bit lighter. I have tried adjusting the density settings but it can't really compensate enough and seems to mostly do small adjustments. The problem here is that there is no "lightness" or "gamma" setting for the printer. I have also checked and cleaned the two color density sensors, and other sensors.

Halftone needs to be set to "detail" because if it's "smooth" the picture gets even darker.

So, anyone have recommendations on how to get brighter prints? Are there other drivers? Other settings? Is there an ICM profile for the 5550 or can I make one, I just need to "lift" the shadows and brighten the mids and highlights a bit.

I'm going crazy here! 😉 help!

Repairatrooper · ‎02-12-2026

getting excellent color match from a non-production level machine requires some work. The two best ways are to either get a color match program and spider to create a custom ICC profile or use an advanced image program like photoshop to manipulate the image before hand.

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View solution in original post

Repairatrooper · ‎02-12-2026

getting excellent color match from a non-production level machine requires some work. The two best ways are to either get a color match program and spider to create a custom ICC profile or use an advanced image program like photoshop to manipulate the image before hand.

If you find the information provided useful or solves your problems, help other users find the solution easier by marking my post as an accepted solution. Clicking "yes" on "was this reply helpful" also increases the chances that this solution will help others.
I am a volunteer, offering my knowledge to support fellow users, I do not work for HP nor speak for HP.

Aviatorix · ‎02-14-2026

Yeah I have come to that conclusion, ive been trying basically everything i could think of. An own ICC profile would be the way to go. I wouldn't need to have a spot on color match, I would just want it not to crush the shadows. Something happens in the gamut translation. I've tried printing from Illustrator and made sure the Black point compensation is enabled but it doesnt really seem to help. Using device ICC and Graphics intent is the closest i can get, but that is too saturated. So, Yeah , it's a mess. I wish the driver had CMYK +/- and saturation/brightness/gamma settings like my epson.

Maybe someone has a spider and a 5550 and has made an icc for it? 🙂

Repairatrooper · ‎02-14-2026

Check in the embedded web server, some models offer the ability to adjust cmyk individually, just not sure if the 5550 does.

If you find the information provided useful or solves your problems, help other users find the solution easier by marking my post as an accepted solution. Clicking "yes" on "was this reply helpful" also increases the chances that this solution will help others.
I am a volunteer, offering my knowledge to support fellow users, I do not work for HP nor speak for HP.

Hp LaserJet 5550 Dark Pictures

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