Cartridges to create RED are not working

[E-c-W]

The screen that shows the Estimated level of the three ink cartridges seems to be playing up.  I usually find that I need to put in all of the three colours - Cyan, Magenta & Yellow - and usually when they are getting low all three seem to need replacing.  This time it was only Magenta.  However, whenever I tried to print a PDF with a large area of the colour BLUE across the top of the document, I am ending up with a very smudged colour of blue and streaks of pink. 

I have done a test page and it looks perfect.

Please note that now I have decided to put a fresh cartridge for both cyan and yellow.  However, that hasn't made any difference.

Any suggestions please?

[Nal_NR]

Hi @E-c-W,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.

I understand that you are facing issues with printing in color. I'd like to help!

To be able to answer you effectively, we need some information.
 

Are you using HP genuine ink cartridges?

May I have the exact model name of the product? Refer to this document for steps to find the product details. Do not share any of your personal information such as serial, phone number, email ID, etc.

[E-c-W]

Hi Elohi_NR,   Yes I'm using HP genuine ink cartridges and always have done.  The exact model is: HP OfficeJet Pro 6970.  What I have noticed is when a document happens to have a large block of colour (in this case Red), when I try to print it (as I have mentioned earlier) it comes out partly blue and a smudgy splattered pink. 

If the document has a small logo say that is red, then the printing comes out perfectly as RED.

Hope the additional information will enable you to help me.

[Nal_NR]

Hi @E-c-W,

Thanks for confirming the details, appreciate it. 

Let's try these steps -

Step 1 Reset the printer -

1) Take out the cartridges.

2) Unplug the power cord from the printer & wall.

3) Wait for 30 seconds. 

4) Plug the power cord back into the printer and wall, ensure the printer is plugged into the wall & not to a surge protector.

5) Insert the cartridges back into the printer.

Step 2 Use genuine HP ink cartridges. 

Step 3 Check the print settings -

1) In the software application, you are trying to print from, click File, and then click Print.
The Print window opens.
2) Open the Properties dialog box.
Depending on the software application, the button might be Properties, Options, Printer Setup, Printer, or Preferences.
3) Depending on your print job, you might consider modifying the following settings:
· Paper Type: If you are printing on photo paper, select the type of photo paper you are attempting to print on.
· Print Quality: If you are dissatisfied with the quality of your printouts, increase the print quality. To print more quickly, decrease the print quality. These options typically include Best, Normal, and Draft modes.
· Paper Size: If you are printing on a different size of paper than you normally print on, select the correct paper size.
· Black and White: If you want to print in black and white only, select the grayscale option.
4) After selecting the print settings, click OK to apply the settings, and then click Print.

Step 4 Update the printer's firmware -

1) From the home screen on the printer control panel, touch the ePrint icon ().
2) Wait for the printer to connect to the ePrint server. The ePrint status displays.
3) Touch Settings on the bottom left corner of the screen.
4) Touch the Printer Update, and then touch Check for Update Now.

Step 5 Check the estimated ink levels -

On the printer control panel, touch the Ink Level icon. Identify any ink cartridges that are low or empty, and replace it. 

If the issue still persists, print a Print Quality Diagnostics report -

1) On the printer control panel, touch the Right Arrow to display additional options.
2) Touch Setup, touch the Arrow, and then touch Reports.
3) Touch Print Quality Report. The Print Quality Diagnostics Report prints.Down

Evaluate the report, if a defect is found try cleaning the printhead -

1) On the printer control panel, touch the Right Arrow to display additional options.
2) Touch Setup, and then touch Tools.
3) Touch Clean Printhead. There are three cleaning stages. A test page (different from the Print Quality Diagnostics page) prints between each cleaning stage. Do not use this test page for analysis. Touch No when prompted to continue the next level of cleaning.

You may also refer to this document for further assistance. 

Hope this helps! Keep me posted.

Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Yes" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping

[Nal_NR]

Hi @E-c-W,

As we did not hear from you, I'll be closing this case for now. Hope I was able to fix the issue. If you need further assistance, feel free to reach out to us. 

[E-c-W · Accepted solution]

Thank you Elohi_NR  for your detailed attempt to assist me.  Unfortunately, I spent many hours over two days, trying to follow your step-by-step  instructions.  My physical printer does not have the same design or same options that you had suggested I use and so I had to improvise to try to get to each step. I even printed your email and had the same problem after making as many of the suggested steps you had offered.  The main area was a mixture of blue and pink streaks.

I even tried using your 'link' to "this document" which was indeed another HP info outlet.  Whilst I thought I saw a notification somewhere that suggested HP had discovered a fault in the process of creating colours and advised whoever had this fault to download the firmware to fix it.  It never reached the stage of downloading.

So I still have the problem - I don't know where to go from here but at the moment, I would appreciate if you could leave this case open, in the hope that other contributors can continue to attempt to help solve the problem. 

Again, many thanks for your time to help solve the problem.  I will still stay positive that amongst us all, the issue will be resolved!

[Nal_NR]

Hi @E-c-W,
 

Thanks for writing back and appreciate your patience. 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!