OfficeJet 3830 Color option missing from printer preferences

[go22blue]

My OfficeJet 3830 wireless printer has been working fine, even earlier today.  Now all of a sudden I cannot print anything in color.  Going into my printer preferences there is no longer a color option where you can typically pick black/white or color.  This option has vanished from the preferences.  I've tried removing and reinstalling multiple times but it still is not printing in color.  When I print the test page and alignment pages they print in color just fine, but nothing else.  Any thoughts?

[Bill_Boquet]

I stuggled the whole weekend on this issue with my father-in-law OfficeJet 3830. On this model, the disappearing print color option happens when the printer is installed in (wireless) network mode.

In this case, if you are familiar with Windows registry, simply create a new registry key (printer type and code in brackets may be different for you) and the print color option reappears instantly :

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Printers\HP OfficeJet 3830 series [07991E]\PrinterDriverData
"ColorPrinting"=dword:00000001

Credits to AlphonseZeratul for this solution.

This workaround is also valid on other HP printers with the exact same issue. Don't ask why this key disappeared with recent HP printer software install packages, it's a mystery.

If this solution does not work, another option is to completely uninstall the HP software, connect the printer with a USB cable and install the printer in USB mode. For people who want to dig further, compare the registry keys in PrinterDriverData versus the ones installed under network mode and spot the missing ones with value equal to one. For example, on other HP printer models, the keys Duplex and DuplexUnit with value 1 should also be added to the network mode install.

For reference, the 3 most relevant threads found on the subject, namely a problem in (wireless) network mode and no issue in USB mode (the first one in french, with step-by-step instructions for newbies) :

https://forums.commentcamarche.net/forum/affich-36384519-hp-3833-n-imprime-pas-les-couleurs

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Printer-Setup-Software-Drivers/Missing-color-option-for-printing-via-W...

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Printer-Setup-Software-Drivers/No-color-option-in-the-network-printer-...

[tahoegale]

My 3830 printer unexpectedly stopped printing in color and I don't know how to correct this.  Can you help?

[BillFerns]

Bill Boquet --

Thanks! Your registry solution worked perfectly. Not being a regular Regedit user, I had to fumble around a bit, but I have attached a picture of my registry when the solution worked.

[Art91]

First, thanks for the input. I will keep it inmaind for future problems.

Okay. Last night I disconnected the printer (wireless) from the computer and reinstalled it (wireless). That cleaned up the problem for two computers. That was so easy I never gave it thought. LOL

[MarkmacADI]

Adding the key to the Registry was a brilliant idea - fixed my problem immediately! Many thanks 🙂