Officejet printing double images/shadows ONLY FROM CERTAIN PROGRAMS

[buzzpulse]

Lots of folks seem to have issues with this, and most responses suggest it is a hardware problem (alignment, dirt, empty cartridges, etc.), but that's not the case here, as priniting from Word, for example, works fine, so does printing the diagnostic and alignment pages from the printer directly.

But making photocopies, printing a webpage, or printing an Adobe document, results in the printing of a shadow.

Any ideas how to fix this?  Thanks!

[MKazi · Accepted solution]

@buzzpulse

Thanks for reaching out to us on HP Support Forums. 

I understand that you have an HP Officejet J4550 All-in-One Printer and while making a photocopy, printing a webpage or printing an Adobe document, results in the printing of a shadow.

I'll be glad to assist you with this case.

Ideally, while making a photocopy if the issue occurs then it is most inclined towards the hardware side. I recommend you to perform the following steps to isolate the issue and arrive at a fix: 

• Disconnect the power cable from the printer while the printer is still ON.
• Disconnect any other cables if connected the printer.
• Press and hold the printer’s power button for 15 seconds.
• The printer should be directly connected to the wall outlet and not to a surge protector.
• Reconnect the power cable to print and the printer should power ON by itself. If the printer doesn’t power ON then please manually power it ON.

Now, please attempt to make a photocopy and check the output. If the issue persists then I suggest you to reset the printer. A private message has been sent with the reset instructions. 

This reset will restore the printer to its original factory settings.

I genuinely hope the issue gets resolved without hassles and the unit works great. Let me know. 

Cheers! 🙂