Black vertical lines on page when printing in color

[Berkeley4Eva]

When I print using colored ink, there are black vertical lines printing on the left side of the paper. It does not seem to happen when I am printing on black and white ink. All my cartridges are from HP and I made sure to align them after installation. What could be the problem? This printer is only four months old.

[rb011]

Hi @Berkeley4Eva,

Thanks for reaching out to the HP Support Forums for a solution to your printing issue.

I understand that you are using an HP Deskjet 2540 All-in-One Printer with a Windows 10 computer and printouts have vertical lines when printing in color. I would like to help with that.

I would start by performing a Power Reset on the printer.

Usually vertical line occur during the copy or scanning process and is usually fixed by cleaning the scanner glass. Horizontal lines are caused by a clogged cartridge nozzle or built up debris around the cartridge nozzle.

From the picture you have provided it looks as if the vertical lines are fairly uniform. It might help to clean the printer rollers and ink smears.

If you are experiencing vertical lines when printing documentation suggests checking the paper. Many papers have printing and non-printing sides, like photo paper and other special media. Usually, the smoother side is the "print side," and sometimes the non-print side has a logo of the paper manufacturer on it. Paper should be loaded into this printer with the print side up. Here is a support document that show how to load paper in case you have any questions about that - Loading Paper, Photo Paper, and Envelopes for HP Deskjet 2540 All-in-One Printer Series.

I do not think that this issue would be caused by the software, but it probably would not hurt to download and run the HP Print and Scan Doctor to make sure that the installed software is alright.

Please let me know if this resolves the issue, or if you require further assistance.

In fact, if this helps you to reach a solution, please click the "Accept as Solution", and the "thumbs up" buttons down below in this message. 🙂

Thanks!