HP office Jet Pro 8139e

[helm2lee]

Printer takes 90 seconds or longer to print (seems like it's doing a cleaning cycle prior to every print).  Have spent days loading, reloading different configs, resetting, un-plugging, NOTHING WORKS and the ink levels seem to drop extraordinarily fast for the very few actual pages printed.

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

Hi @helm2lee,

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Thanks for reaching out!

We're thrilled to have the opportunity to assist you and provide a solution.

I understand your HP OfficeJet Pro 8139e takes a long time to start printing and appears to run a cleaning cycle before every print, with ink levels dropping faster than expected. Let’s go through a few steps to check what could be causing this.

Restart the printer properly
Turn the printer on, unplug the power cord from the rear, and unplug it from the wall.
Wait 60 seconds, then plug it directly back into the wall and turn the printer on.

Check automatic maintenance settings
Open the HP Smart app and go to Printer Settings or Advanced Settings.
Disable frequent or aggressive maintenance options if available.

Reduce printer sleep and wake cycles
Set the printer to stay awake longer or reduce sleep frequency.
Frequent sleep cycles can trigger ink priming each time the printer wakes.

Print multiple pages in one job
Send several pages in a single print job instead of single-page jobs.
This helps avoid repeated initialization and cleaning cycles.

Check ink cartridge seating and authenticity
Remove and reinstall all ink cartridges firmly.
Non-genuine or poorly seated cartridges can cause repeated ink system checks and cleaning.

Update or reinstall printer firmware
Use HP Smart to check for firmware updates and install them if available.
Firmware updates often optimize maintenance behavior and ink usage.

Print a diagnostic or quality report
Print a printer status or quality report from the printer control panel.
This helps confirm whether excessive cleaning is being triggered internally.

Avoid manual cleaning unless necessary
Do not run repeated manual printhead cleanings unless print quality is poor.
Manual cleanings consume significant ink and can worsen rapid ink depletion.

Observe behavior after idle time
Note whether the delay happens only after the printer has been idle for hours.
This helps confirm whether the delay is related to idle-time maintenance rather than a fault.

I hope this helps.

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Best regards,