HP Deskjet F4480 (not wireless) supported by OS 13.6

[AL0071]

Symptoms: "ghosting" (slight out of alignment) when using color cartridge, but clear print and grayscale images when color cartridge is removed.  Alignment page printout seems clear.

Have tried:

updating driver: the latest driver on the HP website is OS 10.9 (not sure if this means that this printer doesn't work with OS 13.6 or if there are "work  arounds".  I notice that if the printer was wireless  "airprint" can be used as a "work around" since I think it bypasses the printer driver somehow.   Not sure about "HP smart app"  Unfortunately my printer is not wireless.  

I have also tried the following:

- reinstalled current driver under system preferences as a second printer (did not correct the problem)

- Tried printing from MacBook air running OS 13.6 instead of my older MacBook Pro (same problem)

 -reinstalled the cartridge several times ran alignment tool and head cleaning multiple times 

-replaced color cartridge with a new one

Could someone tell me if running this printer from OS 13.6 is possible or do I need to replace the printer because I upgraded my mac operating system. 

Any insights appreciated.

[TEJ1602]

@AL0071, Welcome to HP Support Community!

HP Deskjet F4480 driver for macOS 10.13 is not available from the HP website or Apple Software Update. However, Gutenprint (formerly called Gimp-Print) provides open-source basic print drivers for many printers that would otherwise not be supported in Mac OS X. To see if your printer is supported, go to Gutenprint drivers for more information.

NOTE: Gutenprint drivers are not supported by HP or Apple.

I hope that answers your concern adequately. Let me know!

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

[AL0071]

Thanks for your response!

Unfortunately my printer is not listed as one of the "supported printers" by Gutenprint.

I think the problem with the printer is that the color ink cartridge doesn't align with the black ink cartridge when the ink is placed in the printer. Apparently the "align" function in the printer utility doesn't work with the upgraded operating system. OS 10.13.6.

Are there any other ideas for a printer driver that might work, a stand alone utility to align the print heads, or even a strategy to manually align the printheads either electronically or mechanically? Is it your understanding that both HP and Apple have essentially abandoned this printer and that the expectation is that people would discard this printer due to this incompatibility. If true I can stop looking for a quick fix and either live with the sub-optimal printing or upgrade my printer.

The problem is that the HP web site kept offering dead end leads to possible solutions that made me think there might be a quick fix just one click away (video "what if HP doesn't have software or drivers for your operating system" and links to 123.hp.com, HP Smart app, HP print doctor, apple air print, etc )

The one thing I didn't try was "HP print and Scan doctor". Could this be used to allign the print heads?

Again, any insights would be appreciated.

[TEJ1602 · Accepted solution]

@AL0071

HP Print Scan Doctor is used on Windows Platform and will not work on Mac OS.

We're sorry we do not have any further recommendations as we have reached the end of the line.

Thanks for understanding!

[AL0071]

Thanks for the followup.  I can stop looking for a driver to download to solve this problem.  I would pass on that the HP website could have been more helpful.  On a page that showed a photo of my HP Deskjet F4480 printer where I could download the latest OSX drivers (10.9) they could have just said that the incompatibility with the latest OSX operating systems was known with no known fixes by HP, Apple or third parties.  They could still direct the user to the HP community in case anyone has an innovative solution.  Instead they seemed to direct the user on dead-end goose chases, and when I tried to phone HP to clarify it seemed that I would have to pay $20.00 to speak to someone.  Seemed a bit different than other companies I work with. 

Anyway I do appreciate your straight answer.  Since I am not very knowledgeable in such things, and I was unwilling to give up until I could get some sort of definitive answer from someone with a deeper knowledge base.  I will give you a thumbs up and indicate that this problem has been solved.  Thanks again!