Cartridge Protection is off on my HP Color LaserJet and it prints color on black and white pages

[GingerSnap_Mary]

I have a like new HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M283fdw. When I bought the printer I also bought 2 each of every color toner cartridge. I was not aware when I bought them that they were not HP cartridges. At some point all the colors got replaced. I finally ran out of black and I bought an HP cartridge at Staples. Ever since that every time I print a black and white page random bands of color print on the page that is supposed to be black and white and not even when I want to print a photograph the color is all messed up and it looks like crap. Currently I have four none HP cartridges that are at the following levels:

Black 100%
Cyan 20%

Magenta 40%

Yellow 50%

Other people seem to get the cheaper cartridges to work. What am I missing or doing incorrectly?




 

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @GingerSnap_Mary 

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Thanks for posting your query! We're here to help you get back up and running.

It sounds like your HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M283fdw is struggling with mixed cartridge compatibility, which can cause unexpected color issues. Since Cartridge Protection is off, your printer should theoretically accept non-HP cartridges, but there are a few things to check:

Troubleshooting Steps

Run a Print Quality Diagnostic Page

• On the printer’s control panel, go to Setup > Reports > Print Quality Report.
• This will show if any toner cartridges are misfiring or causing streaks.

Check Color Calibration

• Go to Setup > System Setup > Print Quality > Color Calibration and run a calibration.
• This helps align the toner distribution.

Perform a Cold Reset

• Turn off the printer, unplug it for 5 minutes, then restart.
• This clears temporary settings that might be causing color misalignment.

Try a Different Print Mode

• In Printer Preferences, set the print mode to Grayscale (Black Ink Only) instead of Black & White.
• Some users have reported that this forces the printer to use only the black toner.

Check for Firmware Updates

• Go to HP’s support site and install the latest firmware update for your printer.
• Some updates improve third-party cartridge compatibility.

 

If the issue persists, you might need to replace the non-HP cartridges with a full set of HP ones to see if the problem resolves. Let me know if any of these steps help!

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Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye