HP Envy 5530 ink sponge has dried up and is affecting my instant ink subscription

[RETRO-SPECTRO]

Our printer is no longer printing color but still communicating that ink levels are at least 50%. For this reason, HP has not sent us new ink despite the deteriorating quality of ink over the past few months. Both the website + printer think the ink levels are fine but when we actually try to print anything in color, it comes out washed & faded.

- There's no formal place to request new ink

- I've tried calling the HP support line and they hung up on me after I provided the serial number

- The virtual chat cannot help with this issue

- Troubleshooting/alignment/cleaning has not worked

- I've continued to be charged for a service that has not been provided

HP has not sent me colored ink since 2018 (5+ years) & black ink since 2020 (3+ years). I believe the ink sponge has dried up and is affecting the printer's onboard computer.

[Nal_NR]

Hi @RETRO-SPECTRO,

Welcome to the HP Support Community. 

I'd like to help!

Are you getting any errors?

Follow the steps to fix streaked or faded prints. prints with incorrect colors, or other print quality problems.

Perform the following tasks in the order given. Use the printer after each task to see if the issue is resolved.

Low ink levels can cause print quality issues. If any cartridges are very low or empty, replace them with new Instant Ink cartridges.

Load plain white paper and run the cleaning tool.

Printers with a touchscreen or menus: On the printer, open the Settings or Setup menu, touch Tools or Printer Maintenance, and then touch Clean Printhead or Clean Cartridges.

Printers without a touchscreen or menus: Go to 123.hp.com or your app store to install the HP Smart app. Click the picture of your printer on the home screen to open Printer management options that include the cleaning tool.

If the page that prints has defects, the printhead might be badly clogged. Run up to two more cleaning cycles.

NOTE:The cleaning page does not count against your pages printed for the month.

If you see blurry edges or jagged lines in your prints, try aligning the printhead.

Printers with a touchscreen or menus: On the printer, open the Settings or Setup menu, touch Tools or Printer 

Maintenance, and then touch Align Printer.

Printers without a touchscreen or menus: Go to 123.hp.com or your app store to install the HP Smart app. Click the picture of your printer on the home screen to open the Printer management options. Select the option to align the printer.

If you did not replace your cartridges before, replace them now with new Instant Ink cartridges.

If you do not have new Instant Ink cartridges on hand, or if replacing cartridges did not help,

I would need to know a few details regarding your Instant Ink account to help you get the ink cartridges sorted.

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

Please check your Private message icon on the upper right corner of your HP Forums profile,

Next, to your profile Name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it.

I hope this helps resolve this issue completely,

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