Horizontal lines on print

[printheadsdontw]

Purchased a Smart Tank 7005. When printing in normal mode I get horizontal lines on images. I am using the same paper quality I had done on my previous Smart Tank printer which I have just replaced as that failed on me and was out of warranty. 

I am so close to returning the product. I shouldn't need to print in best mode (which is very slow). The horizontal lines caused when I am printing in colour & black and white. I am wondering if the printheads are faulty. 

I have followed multiple steps from your auto responses. It is really frustrating that the product cannot do it's job and is not fit for purpose.  

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @printheadsdontw 

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

I understand the concern. Since the printer is new and you've already worked through multiple troubleshooting steps, seeing horizontal lines in both color and black-and-white prints while using Normal quality is certainly not the experience we want you to have with your HP Smart Tank 7005.

Let's focus on the below steps:

1. Print a Print Quality Diagnostic page from the printer control panel and check whether the horizontal lines appear on that page as well.
2. If they do, run all three levels of Printhead Cleaning:
   • Open HP App > Printer Settings > Print Quality Tools.
   • Run Level 1 cleaning and test.
   • If needed, run Level 2 and then Level 3 cleaning.
3. After cleaning, perform Printhead Alignment from the same Print Quality Tools menu.
4. Verify that the paper type selected in the print preferences matches the paper being used. For photo or coated paper, selecting the correct media type can significantly improve print output even when using Normal quality.
5. Ensure the printer firmware is fully up to date through the HP App.
6. If the Print Quality Diagnostic page continues to show horizontal banding after the cleaning and alignment procedures, it may indicate an issue with the printhead system itself.

A helpful detail would be whether the horizontal lines are visible on the printer's Print Quality Diagnostic page or only when printing from Windows. That will help determine whether the cause is related to the printheads or the print settings.

Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye