Thinks I have the wrong size paper in printer

[Greyford]

No recent software changes.  Tried to align the print heads and the printer keeps telling me to load the correct size paper.

I have chacked all settings, reset by unplugging power for 30 seconds to no avail.  It seems to be worst when using the printer toolbox then normal print such as Word or other software.  It sometimes tells me the paper is incorrect even with normal printing and ejects the first page, but then goes ahead and prints. 

[Jeet_singh]

Hi @Greyford,

Thank you for showing your interest in HP Support Forums. It is a great place to find the help you need, from other users, HP experts, and other support personnel. For you to have the best experience on the HP forum, you could also visit our HP Forums Guide for the First Time Here? Learn How to Post and More.

I see from the post that you are getting wrong paper size on your HP Photosmart printer. Don't worry as I have a few steps which should help you resolve this issue.

To provide you with an accurate solution, I'll need a few more details:

Did you make any changes on the printer before the issue started?

Are you able to make a copy from the printer?

In the meantime, 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.

Remove all the ink cartridges and then try to perform a hard reset on the printer.

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.

Now insert the ink cartridges and then try to print a test page and check if it works.

If you’re running Windows, I would start by checking the installed printer software by downloading and running the HP Print and Scan Doctor. This tool can diagnose and fix many printing and printer software related issues. Please use this link to help you with that information: http://hp.care/2biN2XE 

Next thing, I would suggest here is to adjust the paper size settings as well as check the paper source and follow the rest of the steps suggested in the support document for - HP Printers - 'Paper Mismatch' Error (Windows)

I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes for further assistance.

If I have helped you resolve the issue, feel free to give me a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon below, 

Followed by clicking on "Accept as solution" from the drop-down menu on the upper right corner,

Thank you for posting in the HP Support Forum.  Have a great day!

Regards,

[Greyford]

This did not fix the problem.  The printer attempts to align the print everytime I turn it on but continues to eject paper and says it is the wrong paper.  Then says Load plain paper.  If I touch OK it starts over again and ejects another page.

Does the printer have a LED and sensor that detects the brightness of the paper or other parameters?

If it does, can I clean the sensor?

I do not believe the large black cartridge is working.  When I removed all of the cartridges the screen under the black cartridge is not very black.  I can not align the print or clean the print head because of paper ejecting. 

I can print a test page with all black print??  Is the black created from the other four cartridges?

I can print a letter from Word with all black ink and it looks great. 

Is there a way to tell if the cartridge is defective or the printhead?

The printer and the screen on the printer show all cartridges are half full.   I believe all were purfhase since Christmas. and all are HP.

[MKazi]

@Greyford

Hi,

as @Jeet_singh is out of the office today, I'm replying to you. I have read your post comprehensively.

You may change the print settings in Windows to print in "black only", this will make the printer to use the ink from the black cartridge. This way you may test if the black cartridge is good or not. 

Try to align the printer manually and check if that helps:

• Press the Setup button () on the printer control panel.

• Press the Down Arrow button () to select Tools, and then press the OK button.

• Press the Down Arrow button () to select Align Printer, and then press the OK button.

There is a paper sensor in the printer that detects the paper. But I guess the paper feeding is alright because the printer is able to make a copy. If the sensor was bad then during copy also the paper would not be fed inside.

I suggest you to perform a reset on the printer. A reset can sometimes cure the printer of such errors. If the printer is connected to a wireless network then the connection will drop post a reset and you will have to connect it again to the wireless network. I have sent you a private message with the reset steps. 

Hope this does the trick. Keep me posted. Cheers! 🙂

[Greyford]

Each time the printer is turned on it tries to perform an alignment.   It prints a page and says alignment error.  This a printer problem and it doesn't matter if the sytem is turned on or not.   It will continue to align the print until the  red X is touched, thus canceling the alignment. 

It doesn't have anything to do with the type of paper. 

The printer needs aligning since printed photographs are not as clear as before.

Black print appears to be okay, but it doesn't show minor errors as a photo would.

I have tried everything suggested and can not get any different results.

Help!