Colours not printing

[Cagey13]

All of a sudden my printer not longer correctly prints the colours blue or green.  I only use HP cartridges, and have changed all colour cartridges to new ones.  I have cleaned the printer heads, turned off the printer and still no correct printing.

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @Cagey13 

Welcome to the HP Support Community! We're here to help you get back up and running.

I understand the issue. Since you have already installed new genuine HP cartridges, performed printhead cleaning, and power-cycled the printer, the symptom where blue and green colors are printing incorrectly usually points to incomplete cyan ink delivery, printhead nozzle blockage, or print quality alignment issues.

For your HP OfficeJet Pro 8020 All-in-One Printer, please try the following:

Print a Print Quality Diagnostic Report

• On the printer control panel, go to Setup > Reports > Print Quality Report.
• Review the color blocks, especially Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow.
• If the Cyan block shows gaps, streaks, or missing sections, continue with the next steps.

Perform Deep Printhead Cleaning

• Open the HP App.
• Select your printer > Printer Settings > Tools > Clean Printheads.
• Run the cleaning process up to 3 times if the diagnostic report continues to show missing cyan patterns.
• Print a new diagnostic report after each cleaning cycle.

Align the Printhead

• From the HP App or printer control panel, run Printhead Alignment.
• After alignment completes, print a test page with blue and green content.

Check Cartridge Vent Areas

• Open the cartridge access door.
• Remove the Cyan cartridge and inspect the vent area on top of the cartridge.
• Ensure any protective tape has been completely removed and that the vent is not obstructed.
• Reinstall the cartridge firmly.

Update the Printer Firmware

• Open the HP App.
• Check for available printer firmware updates and install any updates found.
• Restart the printer after the update completes.

If Colors Are Still Incorrect

• Compare the Print Quality Diagnostic Report results.
• If Cyan remains missing or significantly faded after multiple cleaning cycles and alignment, the printhead may not be delivering cyan ink correctly even with new cartridges.

Please let us know:

• Does the Print Quality Diagnostic Report show missing sections in the Cyan color block?
• Are blues printing as purple and greens printing as yellow, or are the colors completely absent?

This information will help us identify the next troubleshooting step for your printer.

Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye

[Cagey13]

Hi Hawks_Eye

Thanks for your attempts to help.  I went through all your steps and the Cyan is still not printing at all.  The diagnostic reports remain unchanged after all 3 cleans.  The printer alignment was not able to be successfully completed during the scan phase but when I tried the second time it said that it was defaulting to factory.  

When I removed the cartridge to check, blue ink is released when dabbed with my finger.

[Hawks_Eye]

Thank you for providing the update and for taking the time to complete all of the troubleshooting steps already shared.

I understand that the Cyan color is still not printing, the Print Quality Diagnostic Report remains unchanged after multiple cleaning cycles, and the printhead alignment was unable to complete successfully. Since you've also confirmed that ink is present in the cartridge, this suggests the printer is not delivering cyan ink correctly through the printhead system.

If after following these steps you still face issues, consider reaching out to our HP service center for further assistance.

Please use the HP Service Center Locator below to find the nearest available service location:

HP Service Center Locator

Before visiting, we recommend calling the service center to confirm their availability and service options.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation throughout the troubleshooting process.

Regards,
Hawks_Eye