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- HP Community
- Printers
- LaserJet Printing
- LaserJet printer has Yellow Toner lines on paper

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09-11-2017 02:31 PM
First time to change cartridges in new LaserJet MFP. I changed Black, Cyan, Magenta & Yellow. Printed a page to make sure all was working and there are yellow lines on the right-hand side of the page approximately 4" apart from each other. The lines are approximately 3/4" long.
The Yellow Cartridge is #CF402X. I assume the cartridge is defective. Is there any other possiblity as to why these lines are suddenly showing after brand new cartridge installed?
Please advise.
09-12-2017 03:12 PM
Hi @kr-16,
Thanks for engaging in HP support Forums! This is a wonderful location to converse with the community, get assistance and find tips!
I understand you are getting lines while printing on your HP LaserJet printer. Don't worry as I have a few suggestions which should help you resolve this issue.
Let's start off by performing a Hard reset on the printer and make sure that the printer is connected directly to the wall outlet and not to the surge protector.
With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer and also unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.
Remove USB cable, if present.
Wait for 2-3 minutes, press and hold the power button on your printer for about 30 seconds to remove any additional charge.
Now plug back the power cable straight to a wall outlet without any surge protector or an extension cord and then plug back the power cord to the printer.
Turn on the printer and wait till warm-up period finishes and the printer is idle.
If your printer connected wirelessly, make sure to temporary connect the device with USB and then follow the link to install the latest firmware update for your printer, using this link: http://ftp.hp.com/pub/softlib/software13/FW_CPE_Consumer/Moon_2Q/M225_M226_Series_FW_Update-20160418...
Are you able to make a copy from the printer? Let’s first try and make a “photocopy” to determine whether the issue is with the printer or not. Place a document on the scanner glass and choose “Copy” option. If the printer is making a good copy, then the printer hardware is fine.
Next, ensure that the toner collection unit isn’t full
Finally, print a cleaning page from the control panel of the Printer, normally you would select the following from the menu:
- Device Maintenance
- Calibration / Cleaning
- Cleaning page
Please make sure you follow all the steps suggested in the support document for - HP LaserJet Pro MFP M225, M226 Printers - Fixing Poor Print Quality
I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes for further assistance.
Let me know if those steps worked for you.
If they did, that’s awesome!
Give us some reinforcement by clicking the solution and kudos buttons,
That’ll help us and others see that we’ve got the answers!
Good Luck.
Jeet_Singh
I am an HP Employee
07-27-2019 03:32 PM
We are suddenly having the same issue with our M442 LaserJet Pro printer.
The toner cartridges were about half full when the issue began.
We have done the troubleshooting recommended here including the cleaning page.
Any other suggestions?
07-27-2019 05:58 PM
Most likely a bad cartridge. Post a sample along with the measurement of the space between defects and I can confirm.
I am a volunteer, offering my knowledge to support fellow users, I do not work for HP nor speak for HP.
07-27-2019 06:05 PM
The line was directly down the middle of the page.
After removing all toner cartridges and looking inside, I saw a yellow line down the 'drum' or whatever the smooth part is located below the toner tray.
Basically a bit of the yellow toner flaked off and managed to get stuck in the printer. After a good cleaning and a lot of compressed air, the line is gone.