Faded color

[timeforwarp]

Hello, my printer doesn't print properly any color that needs cyan like below. Left is an original image, and right is the printed image out of my printer.

Print Quality Diagnostic Page shows below. They should be all green, but always only the top part is green and the rest of the blocks is getting faded.

Here's what I did to fix this problem.

- Cartridge replaced

- Printer was reinstalled.

- The firmware is up-to-date (Firmware ver. MCP2CN2109AR).

- Printhead cleaned up to step 3 

- I tried on another computer (Windows 10) and the result was the same.

I would appreciate any help I can get to fix this. Thank you.

[Righ]

I have the same issue, it seems.  My printer won't print extended solid blue blocks of colour correctly, or photos with large amounts of blue.  The graphic below is a scan of text printed where parts of the page are printed almost perfectly, but other parts are ruined. Overall 60% of the page is okay, but the page as a whole is ruined because the quality is inconsistent. 

Print quality varies across the page

The printer passes all the basic print quality tests - all solid colours and black are correct, alignment is correct, and there are no dark lines or white gaps on Test Pattern 3.  

The only indication on the HP quality tests that there is a problem is that on Test Pattern 3 (which it passes) the 2nd and 3rd blocks are a streaky yellow when they should be solid green. 

Here's what I did to fix this problem:

- Cartridge replaced (Blue and Magenta, multiple times) All other cartridges quite new and full.

- The firmware is up-to-date (Firmware ver. MCP2CN2109AR).

- Printhead cleaned up to step 3 multiple times. 

-Alignment done (on the view that the streaky yellow patches might somehow mean it had failed the Test Pattern 3 test) 

Specifications:

- HP Officejet Pro 6960

- Mac OS Big Sur 11.6

-Ethernet (wired)

[Righ]

Following on from my post, I have also checked for blocked ink vents in the cartridge, which is a solution suggested here https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Printing-Errors-or-Lights-Stuck-Print-Jobs/Blue-ink-prints-in-streaks/... for what appears to be the same blue ink problem. 

However, the problem seems to be independent of the cartridge, since multiple cartridge changes don't improve print quality. I presume the blue ink failure is something to do with the electrodes in the connection to the cartridge, or the ink pad that the cartridge connects to.  Whatever it is, it has to be intermittent, so that the fault allows full performance during a test page print, but recurs part way through a full page print. Certainly a strange one, where the printer passes the HP quality tests, yet can't print consistently on one page at that quality. 

Why only blue ink? 

[Betty0610]

@Righ

Welcome to the HP Support Community.

I recommend you to contact the HP Support Team regarding this as this could be a hardware issue.

Link: www.hp.com/contacthp/

Note:  Select the country accordingly to get the contact details for support.

Let me know if this helps.

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

Thanks!

Have a great day!

[Righ]

Betty0610,

Thanks for the pointer.  In the absence of HP Support Community suggestions in over six weeks now, I was heading that way anyway, but if you have no ideas, that's clearly the only route.

I'll report back on how I get on. 

Righ