Unreliable printing to Color LaserJet Pro M281fdw from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on MacBook Air

[Saratoga88]

This printer has never worked reliably with printing from a MacBook Air. I've reinstalled and reset a number of times with no improvement. My colleague has given up on using this paperweight. The only way I've been able to get reliable, but limited, printing is to use the old PCL4/5 driver which works, but won't print in color and everything is grainy.

Steps to recreate

1. Create a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint (these are not crazy big files, under 10MB, not graphics heavy)

2. Print the whole file or a page/slide

3. Click "Ok" on the final print dialogue

4. The printer icon appears on the dock

5. The printer engages - clicks as if it is on and getting ready to print

6. Wait a few seconds, the printer icon leaves the dock, nothing prints, the printer winds down

If I power down the printer, wait for a bit, and then power the printer back on, sometimes I can print a single file right after then. It then exhibits the behavior outlined above.

So what's the deal HP? Is this printer just a piece of garbage when trying to work with an Air or MacBook Pro laptop? 

Seriously, my crappy little Brother ink jet kicks ass compared to this color laser. Needless to say my colleague (who is also the boss) has lost faith in my credibility and in HP products. 

Just tell me if I should sell this to a Windows user and get something different or if there is a true "fix" so both of us can print reliably in the office.

Oh, printing PDFs works 90% of the time - but don't even think about offering that as a viable option. That is a total bogus, BS option. And all of my software and iOS are current and up to date.

[Kumar0307]

@Saratoga88, Welcome to the HP Support Community!

I understand you are not able to print in color and the print quality is not satisfactory. 

Try making a standalone copy in color from the flatbed glass and check if that works. By this, we can conclude if this is a hardware or a driver issue.

Update the printer firmware

Click here to download and install the latest printer firmware from your Mac.

Click here to know different methods of updating printer firmware.

Check the ink levels and replace any low/empty ink toner

Clean the electric contacts on the toner cartridge as shown in this document - step 4.

Check the print settings on the application you are using to print.

Ensure the 'Black and White' box is not checked as shown here - Print Settings Guide

Hope this helps! Keep me posted. 

Please click “Accept as 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!

Have a great day! 

[Saratoga88]

Kumar

Thank you for your reply.

The issue isn't that I can't print in color - the issue is that I can't print on a reliable basis from a MacBook Air to this color laserjet.

The inability to print in color is a secondary issue that occurs when I use the secondary print driver.

I need to understand how I can reliably print using the default AirPrint method from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Peter

[Kumar0307]

@Saratoga88

Thank you for the clarification. Let us first check the connectivity between the devices.

Perform a ping test to check the connectivity

1. Obtain the IP address of the printer by clicking on the Wireless icon on the printer
2. Open a new Terminal window (it's located in Applications > Utilities, or you can just start typing it in Spotlight).
3. Enter “ping” followed by the IP address of the printer. 
4. Press Return. Press ctrl C after 10 pings
5. There should be 0% packet loss, share the results in your next post.

Install the printer using AirPrint driver and try printing as shown in step 2 of this document - Printing with Apple AirPrint (Mac)

Make sure the printer firmware and macOS are up to date. 

Let me know how it goes.

[Saratoga88]

>>Perform a ping test to check the connectivity

No issue. No packets dropped.

>>Install the printer using AirPrint driver and try printing as shown in step 2 of this document - Printing with Apple AirPrint (Mac)

Already did that and reverified that it's using AirPrint. 

>>Make sure the printer firmware and macOS are up to date. 

No updates available

Just to be crystal clear, let me restate the issue one last time. The problem is that the printer does not print consistently or reliably. THAT'S the problem. After I power it down and power it back up, I can usually print a Word document, and if I'm lucky, one PowerPoint with 10 slides. Beyond that, it starts to talk to the printer (I hear it engage the motor), I see the print queue appear on my desktop, and then it stops. No failure, No warning message - it just doesn't do anything. The print job seemingly vanishes.

The other common scenario is that the printer initially engages, the print queue is populated, and it just stays in the "waiting for job to complete" step for ever. I usually kill the job.

[Kumar0307]

@Saratoga88

Do you have an Anti-virus/firewall installed on the Mac? If yes, disable the same for time being and try to print.

To check, select the Go menu on the top of the screen and go to the Applications folder.

Also, check with your Internet service provider if your router is able to forward 'Bonjour packets'.

Bonjour locates devices such as printers, other computers, and the services that those devices offer on a local network using multicast Domain Name System (mDNS) service records. The software comes built-in with Apple's macOS and iOS operating systems.

You may use a USB cable to check if it prints fine for a longer period. 

If the issue persists, I think this issue needs some additional technical assistance that can be better provided through one-on-one interaction or a remote session with our HP Support team.

Please reach out to the HP Technical Support team in your region for further assistance. 

You may create a case on the website to obtain a case number if required. Kindly watch this video to know how.

Keep me posted for any other assistance.

[Saratoga88]

Antivirus getting in the way? Oh my goodness, you've got to be kidding me.

I know that I've highlighted that I encounter these issues when I try to print from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

In contrast, I do not have an issue printing a PDF. I have begrudgingly used the "Save as PDF" option simply to be able to print. My colleague who sits about 12' away from me and the printer has the same challenges.

We are just two people sitting in a small office trying to print wirelessly to what SHOULD BE a capable and reliable HP printer.

Assuming we actually get this resolved - which I'm not optimistic will occur - I will never purchase another HP printer again. Hello Brother - here I come!

[Kumar0307]

@Saratoga88

"If the issue persists, I think this issue needs some additional technical assistance that can be better provided through one-on-one interaction or a remote session with our HP Support team.

Please reach out to the HP Technical Support team in your region for further assistance. 

You may create a case on the website to obtain a case number if required. Kindly watch this video to know how."

Keep me posted for any other assistance.