Black ink "blob" at bottom of printer-inside...

[Marla_1967]

My printer has been working well for *years* & all of a sudden this afternoon it started printing off smudgy...black lines throughout and ink smudges....I cleaned the printer heads, did all checks and tests and still-same issue.

I also replaced my ink just in case...

I then opened the cover and noticed when the two ink cartridges glided to the left, I spotted a big blob of black ink at the bottom....why and how was that there? 

This has never happened in the many years I've owned this printer. I've removed most of it and am going to try to print now-but how on earth did a black blog of ink end up at the bottom of the printer (inside)? 

Update: I just printed a page and whilst the problem improved-it is still smudgy. I can also see further "wetness" as if the black ink is leaking out somehow...to the bottom....but I have replaced the ink (twice) and still...the same issue (smudging) occurs. What could be causing wet ink to settle at the bottom of the inside of the printer?

Moreover, when I print a 20 page document...as each additional page prints-the problem gets worse...as if when each new page prints...it leads to more leakage. Why is this happening? 

[sandytechy20]

@Marla_1967

Welcome to the HP support community.

I understand that the ink is leaking in the printer, I am glad to assist you.

This seems to be a hardware issue and requires one on one interaction to fix it.

I am sending you a private message. Please check the mailbox icon at the top-right corner of this screen.

I hope this helps resolve this issue completely.

 If this helps, please mark the public post as an accepted solution so that it benefits several others.

Cheers.

[Marla_1967]

Thanks Sandy! I spoke to tech support last week and it seems that I need a new printer as there is no fix for this problem.