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- HP Community
- Printers
- Printer Setup, Software & Drivers
- Cannot print colour from word or pdf

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12-03-2019 08:05 PM
I cannot print documents from word or Acrobat in colour. Always come out in greyscale.
Test print directly from printer prints colour.
Print quality diagnostics Page via HP OfficeJet 4650 app prints colour
Nozzle alignment prints colour.
Can print colour out of the Windows Photos app but not from Word, Acrobat, File Explorer.
Have reinstalled HP drivers as per support pages. No idea what else to try.
12-04-2019 03:20 PM
I have wasted another 2 hours and most of my monthly print allowance but have a couple additional details.
At one point using HP Smart trying to switch the color mode from Monochrome to Color got the error "Color was changed because of a conflict with another printer setting"
deleted all drivers and HP apps again. Including using printui.exe /s to remove the driver.
Reinstalled the HP Smart app and used it to add the printer.
Used the Print Documents feature within HP Smart to print a pdf document in colour successfully. After selecting the document, and the printer, scrolled down to "More settings" where I was able switch Color mode to Color and it printed correctly. (note the box under the printer selection that says "let the app change my printing preferences" is selected)
Went to Word, opened document and printed - there is no option within Word to allow me select colour, greyscale or monochrome. Document printed in black and white.
Return to HP Smart to try the document that worked prior and I cannot get it to switch from monochrome to color - it switches, I say OK, but if I go back into the More Settings, it has switched back to Monochrome.
12-06-2019 12:09 PM
Welcome to HP support community.
Update the printer firmware
Here are the steps:- Click here
Reinstall and install printer full feature driver after updating firmware
Perform root level uninstallation to remove all the printer related software's.
- In Windows, search for and open Programs and Features.
- Select your HP printer.
- Select Uninstall.
- In Windows, search for and open Devices and Printers.
- In the Devices and Printers window look for your HP Printer. If you see it listed, right-click on it and choose "Delete" or "Remove Device.”
- Open up the run command with the "Windows Key + R" key combo.
- Type printui.exe /s and click OK.
- Click on Drivers tab.
- Look for HP Printer driver. If you see it click on it and click Remove at the bottom.
- Select OK.
- Remove all instances of the same.
- Select Apply and OK on the Print Server Properties windows.
- Close Devices and Printers.
- Restart the PC again.
Download and install printer full feature driver
Click here to download the driver.
I hope that helps.To thank me for my efforts to help you, please mark my post as an accepted solution so that it benefits several others.
Cheers.
Sandytechy20
I am an HP Employee
12-06-2019 03:54 PM
Firmware is up to date.
These are basically the same instructions that I had previously followed and attempted.
Went to Apps and Features and uninstalled HP Smart
Went to Printers and removed HP device
Went to printui.exe /s and removed "Driver and Driver package"
restarted computer.
Installed the 'full feature driver' as linked to in above reply.
the Full Feature driver, unlike HP Smart app, does not give the ability to print documents from it (previously this was the ONLY way I could get something to print from the computer).
Word document prints monochrome.
Photo printed from Windows explorer is monochrome.
Accessed the Printer via Settings => Devices => Printers & Scanners then single click on HP OfficeJet 4650 then clicked Manage.
Within there Printer Properties under General Tab says Features Color: Yes (this is not a setting I can control). None of the options I can access when I click Preferences allow for turning on or off colour (Printing Preferences has 3 tabs : Layout, Paper/Quality and Printing Shortcut. On Printing Shortcut I can change Paper Type, Print Quality, Pages per sheet, Borderless and Print on Both Sides Manually)
Still in Properties, there is a Colour Management Tab. This allows me to access Color Management which seems to pertain to display devices. Within the devices I can select the printer, but there are no settings to adjust.
I have additionally installed HP Smart. From that app I can print a pdf document or a photo. From either of these options, if I scroll down before clicking Print, I can access "More Settings". Scroll down in there and under Output Options, I can select Color Mode. It is defaulting to Monochrome. If I change it to "Color" then click OK ... then go back into More Settings the Color Mode has returned to Monochrome.
I can print nothing in colour.
12-06-2019 04:21 PM
Subsequently I removed the drivers again.
Used HP Smart to install whatever driver it needed.
Through HP Smart I was able to print a photo in colour.
Through File Explorer => Print that same file is previewed in monochrome and there is no way to change that. The file prints in monochrome.
Access a colour document in Word - again, no options within Printing to control color / greyscale / monochrome output but for some reason it is printing in colour.
12-07-2019 08:18 AM
Good to know it is printing in color now.
Feel free to contact us in the future if you need any assistance.
To thank me for my efforts to help you, please mark my post as an accepted solution so that it benefits several others.
Cheers.
Sandytechy20
I am an HP Employee