CP3505 print quality problems

[kandikan]

I'm using my CP3505 from a Windows 10 desktop and it's not printing colour correctly. I have all new full cartridges and no errors on the display panel.

The black in documents prints, but the colour varies between printing OK, and coming out so pale as to be almost non-existent. I've tried the Demo Page from the printer's menu and found the same thing - sometimes it prints in full colour, sometimes it prints in grey tones only.

To diagnose the issue I used the HP Print Quality Troubleshoting Procedure from the HP website and every page failed. There were no blocks of colour printed for CYM (apart from the faintest of shadows, or the odd bit of random shading) and Black was a smudgy grey mess BUT the Diagnotistics Page was perfect: all four colours printed correctly, singly and in combination, as if there was no problem at all.

Any suggestions for what's failing here?

[Imagenet_Tech]

Hello, is it possible to provide a screen shot of the image quality issue?

[davidzuts]

I would reload the driver you add the printer again using any color laserjet driver in the listing to see if it makes a difference.

[kandikan]

These are two Demo pages - sometimes I get colour (L), sometimes I don't (R).

These are three of the eight pages from the same Print Quality Troubleshooter output: (i) first page (poor quality grey), (ii) Magenta Test Page (with missing colour), (iii) final page (Diagnostics Page without missing colour). The Cyan and Yellow Test pages had missing colour like the Magenta Test page. The Black Test Page was poor quality like the first page.

If I print from an application (Microsoft, Adobe, etc.) I don't get any problem with Black (it's not poor quality like the Troubleshooter) but the colour is very pale or missing.

I don't know what would cause this kind of inconsistency?

[kandikan]

Yes I've tried different drivers without success, and I can't even get the printer's internal diagnostics to print properly and reliably.

[Imagenet_Tech]

Hello have a quick question, if you look at the event log are there any halftone errors displayed? From the examples it looks like the transfer kit needs to be replaced. Again, depending if you see the "halftone calibration" errors on the event log.

Hope this helps....

[davidzuts]

Looks like it could be an electrical issue but it is weird.  First thing I would do is with the power off remove the formatter from the right side back.  Just press the black levers towards each other and slide the formatter out.  Now on your printer I am not sure if you can print an engine test without the formatter, but it is worth a try. Attached are instructions how to perform an engine test. If you consistently get all color lines as you should without the formatter that would indicate an issue with the formatter or its connections. Most times if connections issue, just reinstalling the formatter with a good hard shove into the slot will solver the issue.  Let us know.

[kandikan]

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@Imagenet_Tech wrote:

Hello have a quick question, if you look at the event log are there any halftone errors displayed? From the examples it looks like the transfer kit needs to be replaced. Again, depending if you see the "halftone calibration" errors on the event log.

Hope this helps....

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Thanks for the pointer. Yes, 38 of the 50 errors are Halftone calibration errors. The other 12 are CPR sensor out of range. Does that mean a new transfer kit, or something else?

[kandikan]

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@davidzuts wrote:

Looks like it could be an electrical issue but it is weird.  First thing I would do is with the power off remove the formatter from the right side back.  Just press the black levers towards each other and slide the formatter out.  Now on your printer I am not sure if you can print an engine test without the formatter, but it is worth a try. Attached are instructions how to perform an engine test. If you consistently get all color lines as you should without the formatter that would indicate an issue with the formatter or its connections. Most times if connections issue, just reinstalling the formatter with a good hard shove into the slot will solver the issue.  Let us know.

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Thanks davidzuts I think you cracked it.  The engine test worked (evenly spaced alternating CMYK lines across the whole page) and re-seating the formatter seems to have resolved the issue, which is fantastic.

So I guess it was a problem with the formatter connections, and I'm wondering if a recent office move was the culprit ... next time more bubblewrap 😉