ENVY Inspire 7955e won't print in draft mode macOS 15

[E9Luke]

My 7955e printer has decided it won't print in draft mode after many months of working flawlessly. I routinely print, say, credit card statements in draft mode. One such is six pages;  printing double-sided is like watching grass grow. 

What I've done—

• Checked settings—nothing amiss there, as far as I can tell.
• Restarted the printer—no change.
• Removed and reinstalled the printer—no joy.

Suggestions?

[Irfan_06]

Hi @E9Luke,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.

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

I understand you're experiencing an issue with printing in draft mode on your printer.

I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, I'm here to help you today.

Please follow the steps below to fix the issue.

A) Perform a power drain.

1) Take out the cartridges

2) Unplug the power cord from the printer & wall.

3) Press and hold the power button down for 15 seconds and release the power button, wait for about 30 seconds.

4) Plug the power cord back into the printer and wall, ensure the printer is plugged into the wall & not into a surge protector.

5) Insert the cartridges back into the printer.

Remove the cartridges > Unplug the power cord > Wait for 30 seconds > Plug the power cord back in > Insert the cartridges

B) Kindly refer to the steps on this link to update the printer firmware and let me know if that resolves the issue.

C) If the issue still persists, uninstall the printer software by following the steps from this link and restart the devices.

D) Install the printer software by clicking on the link again and let me know if that resolves the issue.

Note: Enable Bluetooth for an HP Smart app setup: Enable Bluetooth on your computer or mobile device so that HP Smart can detect the printer during the setup.

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

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day

Irwin6

HP Support

[E9Luke]

Thank you, Irwin6, for your helpful reply. I followed A) and B), and I did find a firmware update and installed it. I'm sad to report that the problem persists. That takes us to C), and I'm a bit unsure how to proceed.

Step C) suggests that that I'll find instructions for uninstalling my printer software by clicking on the link you provided. I downloaded Easy Start, but I got only so far as a screen that says, "We were not able to automatically locate any software options for this product. Please go to the HP Website and search for product solutions there."

To be clear: I installed this printer by using my Mac's printer installer utility. I deleted the printer a couple of days ago, as I described above. Then I told my Printers & Scanners utility to find and install the printer. I've never installed all that software that typically comes when installing a printer in a Microsoft Windows environment. Until recently, I rarely had an issue with my printer, other than the occasional paper jam or spent cartridge. 

I should mention one other bit of information: I run Parallels VM and Windows 11 on this Mac, and I also print from the Windows side, where I have the same problem with DRAFT mode. 

What do you suggest I do next?

[E9Luke]

Just one more question that does not directly relate to this thread. I've noticed over the years that HP has a real fixation on NOT plugging in the printer to a power strip or surge protector. My home office space (in a home built in 1971) has few electrical outlets. For some of us, it can be difficult to plug in a printer in a convenient location without something more than the power cord that comes with the printer. I did a little rearranging and now have my printer plugged in directly to a wall outlet. Even so, I have to ask why it's so important to HP. I'm sure there's a good reason behind it—I'm just curious what that reason is. Thanks!

[Irfan_06]

Hi @E9Luke,

Have you tried to install the HP smart app on your device following the below link?

Install the printer software by clicking on the link again and let me know if that resolves the issue.

Note: Enable Bluetooth for an HP Smart app setup: Enable Bluetooth on your computer or mobile device so that HP Smart can detect the printer during the setup.

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

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day

Irwin6

HP Support

[E9Luke]

I got your PM, and I apologize for not replying sooner. I'm involved in a community theater production, and my time has not been my own lately. 

To your question: No, the issue persists, but inconsistently. Just now, I successfully printed one document in draft mode. I then tried with an item that I print almost every day: a crossword puzzle that I capture from our local newspaper. I've been printing these puzzles in the exact same way for years, and always in draft mode. It seems that a couple of weeks ago my printer simply stopped printing these crossword puzzles in draft. But it's not just the puzzles—I've also printed my bank and credit card statements in draft, but that won't work either. 

I have once again uninstalled and reinstalled this printer by using only my MacBook utility. Installation takes only a minute or so and does not pull any of HP's full-feature software. That's the way I've operated for years. 

More information—

•  I do have the HP Smart app on my MacBook, but I don't see anything in that app to facilitate the downloading of software for the printer.
• HP Smart reports this printer as  "3 of 3 printers" with new HP cartridges installed and "Security Monitored." The other printers are (1) an identical printer that I exchanged under warranty for my current printer (no reason for it to appear), and (2) a 7800 AIO that I've given to my granddaughter, who lives nearby.
• I've run HP Start, which redirected me to 123.hp.com, where I am told to either "install HP Smart" (which I already have) or to "Switch to a mobile device for initial printer setup." Huh? Why can't I simply go to HP.com and download the full-feature software?? Why do I need to go to my HP Smart app, which—as I said earlier—does not offer any clearly defined way to get the software. I see the button to "Setup or add printer," but I've already got the printer. It clearly shows the HP Envy Inspire 7900 series installed with new cartridges and security monitoring in place.
• Your instructions tell me to enable Bluetooth. The setting on my printer touchscreen shows Bluetooth enabled. However, when I check the Bluetooth setting on my "device" (my MacBook) I see just two devices: My Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. The printer does not appear in the list, even after about 30 minutes of searching for nearby devices. Does that tell us anything? (BTW, the MacBook and printer sit about three feet from each other.)

Yes, I find this situation very frustrating, and I appreciate your patient efforts to help. I'll look forward to hearing from you. 

[Irfan_06]

Hi @E9Luke,

I am sorry to hear that the above steps did not help much but i do appreciate your efforts in performing the troubleshooting steps.

As you have exhausted all the possible troubleshooting steps to fix it. We appreciate your understanding and patience.

I've sent you a private message with the instructions to get in touch with the HP phone support to assist you further. In order to access your private messages, Click the Private message icon on the upper right corner of your HP Community profile Next to your profile Name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it or simply click on this link

Take care and have a great day ahead!

Irwin6

HP Support

[E9Luke]

Hello again, Irwin6. I come again, this time to share good news ... and an apology. 

I've fixed the problem, and I'm embarrassed at the solution. A few moments ago, I noticed the "Current Paper Settings" on the printer's touch screen. Paper type: "Specialty paper/Matte." The light (in my brain) came on right away. At some point recently, I'd used something other than plain paper, and I'd changed that setting accordingly. I changed it back to plain paper, and now everything is working like it should. 

I wanted to share this experience with you and with other users who might have encountered this same situation. It seems that this printer will not print in draft mode when the paper type is set to specialty paper. 

So ... problem solved without troubling the help desk. Thank you for your attention to my issue, and please forgive me for taking up your valuable time.