HP Print Plugin: Driver/Render Issue causing shadowing on PDF print

[Scrittore]

Hello,

I have found an issue which relates to the way that the  HP Print Plugin is spooling/parsing PDFs to certain HP Inkjet Printers. While I initially thought this was a problem with PDFs/Adobe it seems this does not affect other manufacturers, and I wanted to raise as a matter of urgency because I’m confident you are loosing a large number of customers due to this. Below I is an example of the shadowed print.

To reproduce this simply take any HP inkjet printer (such as HP Deskjet F4240 or HP Photosmart C4700 series) and print a PDF document using the standard document settings in the HP Print Plugin).

Thanks

[Nal_NR]

Hi @Scrittore,

Welcome to the HP Support Community. 

I'd like to help!

Kindly perform the steps from this document and see how it goes. 

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance.
Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

[Scrittore]

Thank you for this detailed guide! I've followed it to the letter but unfortunately the issue I described above is still present. Would you like me to attach a copy of the printer's inbuilt quality diagnostic report showing perfect print-out?

To reproduce the issue I'm describing simply take an HP inkjet printer (such as HP Deskjet F4240 or HP Photosmart C4700 series) and print a PDF document using the standard document settings in the HP Print Plugin).

Thanks

[Nal_NR]

Hi @Scrittore,

We are sorry that the issue is not resolved when the above troubleshooting steps were performed.

This might require one on one interaction to fix the issue

I've sent you a private message with further instructions. In order to access your private messages, click the private message icon on the upper right corner of your HP Support Community profile, next to your profile Name or simply click on this link.

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the Accepted Solution button, that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

[Scrittore]

Thanks you for referring me to 1st line Tech Support.

We identified that the issue lies with the printer's driver.

• HP Support for the printer which was manufactured in 2016 has ended
• The driver version is 70.91.311.0 dated 28/08/2012.
• HP has transferred a copy of the driver over to Microsoft (for Windows machines), which installs it automatically into windows machines.
• HP do not have plans to update / replace the driver and consider this a Microsoft/Windows problem.
• The only suggested "solution" is to take the old printer to the nearest recycling centre, and buy a new one.
  • Note that since UK left EU, manufacturers are no longer required to provide recycling facilities direct to consumers, so the burden falls to local councils, funded by local residents. 

This is a sad end for a perfectly working printer.

I thought about trying to finding/download updated drivers from external website but decided against it as these are known to bundle in spyware/malware/ransomware.   

[Raj_05]

Hi @Scrittore,

Welcome to HP Support Community.  

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you. 

If you are experiencing shadowing issues when printing PDFs using the HP Print Plugin, it is likely caused by a driver or rendering issue. Here are some troubleshooting steps you can try to fix the issue.

• Check for updates: Make sure your printer driver and HP Print Plugin are up to date. Go to the HP website and download the latest driver and plugin versions for your printer.
• Try a different PDF viewer: If the issue persists, try opening the PDF in a different viewer such as Adobe Acrobat Reader or Google Chrome's built-in PDF viewer. If the shadowing issue disappears, it may indicate an issue with the viewer you were previously using.
• Adjust printer settings: Check your printer settings to see if there is an option to disable any post-processing or enhancement features that could be causing the shadowing. Also, try adjusting the print quality settings to see if that makes a difference.
• Disable the HP Print Plugin: If none of the above steps work, try disabling the HP Print Plugin and using a different print driver instead. You can do this by going to the Printers and Scanners settings on your computer and selecting a different driver.

I hope this helps. 

Take care and have a good day.

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

Alden4
HP Support