The printer icon is grayed out for MS Word type documents.

[Mark6744]

The printer icon is grayed out for MS Word type documents. So any document with a ".doc" extension will not print. Converting the document to ".txt" will print. Used to work fine. Could this be a problem with the device driver?

[Raj1788]

Hi @Mark6744,

Welcome to HP Forums, 
This is a great place to get support, find answers and tips, 
Thank you for posting your query, I'll be more than glad to help you out 🙂

I understand that the printer is not printing from MS word.
Don't worry I'll be glad to help, however, to provide an accurate resolution, I need a few more details: 

Are you facing this issue after an update?

I suggest you do a Hard Reset

(1) Turn the printer on, if it is not already on.
(2) Wait until the printer is idle and silent before you continue.
(3) With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer.
(4) Unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.
(5) Wait at least 60 seconds.
(6) Plug the power cord back into the wall outlet.
NOTE: HP recommends connecting the printer power cord directly to the wall outlet.
(7) Reconnect the power cord to the rear of the printer.
(8) Turn on the printer, if it does not automatically turn on.
The printer might go through a warm-up period. The printer lights might flash, and the carriage might move.
Wait until the warm-up period finishes and your printer is idle and silent before you proceed.

Then click here and update the latest firmware if available.

Do get back to me as I have a few more tricks up my sleeve. Said that, if I have helped you resolve the issue.
Feel free to give me a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon followed by clicking on 'Accepted as Solution

Have a great day Ahead!

[Mark6744]

Hi Raj1788,

Thanks for your reply.  I tried your suugestions and it did not resolve my problem.  It's very possible that this issue started following an update - I have auto updates turned on and printing documents is not something I do everyday, so it's very poosible that this is how and when it started.  Any other ideas?  

[DavidSMP · Accepted solution]

@Mark6744,

I read the post. Thanks for responding. It is great to have you back. You’ve done great by displaying great attitude, excellent commitment and commendable technical skills to try and resolve the issue. Kudos to you for that. 🙂  As @ Raj1788 is out for the day I am taking over from here.

Let me get some clarity here. 

• I presume the icon is greyed out on the computer is that correct?
• Or is the icon grayed out on the printer?

For now, try these steps:

Make 2 copies of any document like a newspaper clipping directly from the printer without any communication from the computer to check the printer’s hardware functionality.

If it copies correctly then, uninstall and reinstall the printer drivers at the root level by following these steps:

•  Please uninstall the printer software and drivers:
• Uninstall the printer from "programs and features" which can be accessed by doing a right-click on the Windows button  or in Control panel (Please have the printer Off and disconnected during uninstallation.)
• Check in device manager, if the printer is listed there, please delete it. (Right click on the Windows button to access device manager)
• Go to devices and printers, select any printer listed there and you will get some options on the top.
• Click on print server properties.
• You will get a popup, click on the drivers tab and delete all the HP printer drivers listed there if any.
• Delete all the instances of your printer listed in devices and printers.
• Restart the PC.
• Once the PC is on the desktop, press Win + R, it would bring a Run dialog box,
• Type %temp% in the run box and click Ok or hit the Enter button.
• It would bring up the temporary files folder. Delete the files in the folder (You might not be able to delete all the files).
• If possible, delete the printer from the registries using Regedit or using any other 3rd party application.
• Ignore the Regedit option if it cannot be done.
• Restart the PC again.

Then download the latest full feature driver from http://hp.care/2BmN5m8 and install it on the computer after selecting the correct operating system.

Connect the printer to your computer only when the setup prompts for the printer.

This should fix the issue.

• If this does not do the trick, please download the Windows Built-in drivers by following instructions from this link: http://hp.care/2o3acvH
• This will resolve the issue for you.

Other steps to try:

• Try to print from other apps and check if it prints correctly.
• If you have a copy of MS office, uninstall and reinstall MSoffice and check again.

If this does not fix it, I will send you a private message to perform a semi-full reset on the printer as a private message which resets everything on the printer to factory conditions like the way you first got it out of the box.

Please perform these steps only if the icon is grayed out on the printer. Please check for a private message from me in your forum private message box.

Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes. To simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue to get it resolved without hassles.

Take care and have a blessed week ahead. 🙂

Cheers!

[Mark6744]

Hi DavidSMP,

Thanks for the assistance - uninstalling the printer software and drivers and then re-installing them resolved the problem.  And yes, the problem was that the print icon was greyed out in an open document file as seen on the computer.

Thanks again,

Mark6744

[A4Apollo]

Hi! @Mark6744, I am the Mr.Robot. It looks like you were interacting with @DavidSMP, but he is out of the office today, so I'll take over from here.

I appriciate your efforts for writing back to us.

As mentioned after uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers your issue got resolved.

I'm glad to know that your issue got resolved.

If you have any queries in future related to any HP products, you can always reach out to us.

We will try our best to help you out.

Take care,

Have a great day! 🙂