HP Printer 2540 - Not printing color

[adrutter]

Hi there! I have already been through all the HP troubleshooting, virtual assistant, checking printer settings in MS Word, on the device itself, etc. I cannot for the life of me print in color and the printer has a whole new color cartridge. I have printed the quality check, alignment, etc. The printer recognizes the cartridge. It just will not print in color no matter what I seem to do. Help!!!! It is an HP 2540. And I connect it to my computer (an HP laptop) via a cord.

[Kumar0307]

@adrutter, Welcome to the HP Support Community! I’m here to help.

I understand the printer is not printing in color. I appreciate your efforts in trying to resolve this issue by performing the necessary troubleshooting steps.

Have you tried an alternate color ink cartridge? By this, we can conclude if the issue is with the printer or the ink cartridge.

Make sure you have tried the steps mentioned in this document - Black Ink Not Printing and Other Print Quality Issues

Clean the color ink cartridge up to 2 times and print a test page to check the result.

If the issue persists, I'm afraid this is a hardware issue. Please reach out to the HP Technical Support team in your region regarding the service/replacement options.

You may create a case on the website to obtain a case number if required. Kindly watch this video to know how.

Keep me posted for any other assistance.

Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

Have a great day! 

[adrutter · Accepted solution]

After spending $20 to speak to the worst customer service agent I've ever spoken to, spending 45 minutes just getting my printer to connect to the HP Smart App, and another 30 minutes don't everything I already did on my own, we checked the cartridge and came to the conclusion that it was expired. A full cartridge of color ink, expired about 60 days before. A complete waste of my money and time to only be told to throw it out and buy a new one or just buy a new printer! HP is an utter joke.