Cannot get Deskjet 4100e to print colour

[WarrenJF]

Installed a new Deskjet 4100e on my Macbook Air running the latest iOS, Sonoma 14.5.  Prints black fine and will print colour when I run a quality diagnostic report from HP+ but will not print in colour for docs sent from the Mac to the printer.  Cannot find a way via the printer or HP+ or the Mac to change the presets to colour.  Have viewed several online help sources re: working with print quality settings but my Mac doesn't seem to have the necessary options and dropdown menus.  Thoughts?

[WarrenJF]

And just as a followup, I have tried 2 different and new colour cartridges and a printhead clean just in case that was the issue but got same results.

[zoey7886]

@WarrenJF, Welcome to the HP Support Community!  

Thanks for reaching out about your query regarding your Deskjet 4100e! 

We're thrilled to have the opportunity to assist you and provide a solution.  

I appreciate all the troubleshooting you’ve already done—let’s see if we can get that colour printing working properly.

Since your printer does print colour on the quality diagnostic report, that tells us the cartridges and printhead are fine, so this is likely a settings issue. Here are a few things to check on your Mac:

Confirm Colour Settings in Print Preferences:

When you hit Print, click Show Details (if available).

Look for a Presets dropdown—if it says “Black & White” or “Grayscale,” switch it to Color.

If you don’t see a colour option, try selecting Quality & Media or Paper Type/Quality from the dropdown menu and check for a colour option there.

Remove and Re-add the Printer:

Go to System Settings > Printers & Scanners

Select your HP Deskjet 4100e and click Remove Printer

Restart your Mac, then add the printer again by clicking the + button in the same Printers & Scanners menu.

When adding it back, make sure to select AirPrint or the HP driver instead of "Secure AirPrint," if given the choice.

Reset Printing System (if needed):

If the issue persists, resetting the printing system can help:

Go to System Settings > Printers & Scanners

Right-click (or Control + Click) anywhere in the printers list and choose Reset Printing System

Re-add your printer and test again.

Give these a shot and let me know if it helps or if we need to dig deeper. 😊  

Take care, and have an amazing day!  

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Regards,