Printing one color too light on HP Color Laser Jet Pro M454dn printer

[SurJohnson]

I am trying to print a form of green #aecebe but it comes out much lighter than it appears in photoshop when I print it on regular paper. All other colors including normal green comes out fine. I've used that color on an Avery label for a DVD  but it also prints out the same lighter color. I've used it as the background in a Mixbook (similar to shutterfly) and Mixbook prints it out correctly. I really want my disk label to match.  I use the HP toner cartridges. Any ideas for how to solve this?

[Sneha_01]

Hi @SurJohnson,

Welcome to HP Support Community.

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you.

When a specific color prints lighter than expected on your HP Color LaserJet Pro M454dn printer, there could be several factors affecting the output. Here's a systematic approach to diagnose and resolve the issue:

Steps to Resolve Color Printing Issue:

Color Calibration:

• Ensure your printer is calibrated correctly. Color calibration aligns the colors in your printer and can correct issues with specific colors.
• On your printer’s control panel, navigate to the setup menu.
• Select Printer Maintenance > Calibration/Cleaning > Calibrate Now.

Update Printer Firmware:

• Sometimes firmware updates can resolve color accuracy issues. Ensure your printer firmware is up to date.
• Visit the HP Support website and download the latest firmware for your printer model.

Check Toner Cartridges:

• Ensure that the toner cartridges are genuine HP products and are not low or empty. Low toner levels can affect color accuracy.
• If possible, try replacing the cyan or magenta toner cartridge, as these can affect green shades.

Color Profile Settings:

• Ensure that your printer driver is using the correct color profile.
• In Photoshop, go to Print Settings and ensure you are using the correct printer profile (usually found under Color Management).
• Set the color handling to Photoshop Manages Colors and choose the appropriate printer profile for your HP printer.

Paper Settings:

• Ensure that the printer settings match the type of paper you are using. Different paper types can absorb toner differently, affecting color output.
• In the printer driver, select the correct paper type (e.g., Plain Paper, Avery Labels).

Print Quality Settings:

• Adjust the print quality settings in the printer driver. Higher quality settings can improve color accuracy.
• In the printer driver, go to Printing Preferences > Paper/Quality > Print Quality and select Best or Max DPI.

Color Management in Photoshop:

• Ensure that the color mode of your document in Photoshop is set to RGB, as printers often convert RGB to CMYK.
• In Photoshop, go to Edit > Color Settings and ensure that the color settings are set to Adobe RGB (1998) or sRGB IEC61966-2.1.

Printer Driver Update:

• Ensure that you have the latest printer driver installed for your HP Color LaserJet Pro M454dn.
• Download the latest driver from the HP Support website.

Print Test Pages:

• Print a color test page to see if the issue persists with other shades of green or similar colors.
• Compare the printed colors to see if the issue is isolated to a specific color or range.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

Please mark this post as “Accepted Solution” if the issue is resolved and if you feel this reply was helpful click “Yes”.

Rachel571

HP Support

[SurJohnson]

It turns out that unless what you are printing is a photo which correctly prints the colors,  you can only print cyan, magenta, yellow and of course white. From what I understand this is the case with all laser printers. Since the avery label was not a photo, that was my problem.

[Sneha_01]

Hi @SurJohnson 

I'm sending out a private message to assist you with the next course of action. In order to access your private messages, click the private message icon on the upper right corner of your HP Support Community profile, next to your profile Name.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance.

Please mark this post as “Accepted Solution” if the issue is resolved and if you feel this reply was helpful click “Yes”.

Rachel571 

HP Support

[Repairatrooper]

@SurJohnsonIt is not correct that you can only print the primary colors if not printing a picture. Any color laser printer has as color gamut it can utilize for anything. The issue of not matching is more often connected to the way the driver is biased for color. Out of box exact color match on all surfaces is impossible unless you have purchased a color match system that creates custom driver profiles for every type of media that you may use. Colors will look different depending on how reflective the surface is, the smoothness of the surface and other issue. Also, small point, laser printers do not print white, they simply leave spots that are supposed to be while with no toner. The exception would be some specialized printers used for dye sub like applications. Only consumer/small business laser printer I have touched that has white toner would be an Okidata model.

[SurJohnson]

I'm aware that you can buy color match software, but unless I need it for a lot of print jobs it is not worth it.