Cyan dots down left side of page when printing in color - LaserJet Pro 200 Color M251nw

[dasbuch]

Every time that I print a document that requires color printing, there is a row of cyan dots that are printed as well down the left side of the page. 

Printed document.

Printer is LaserJet Pro M251nw. 

Cyan, Magenta & Yellow cartridges are all at or above 40%.

Any thoughts on cause and how to fix?

[X-23]

Hello @dasbuch,

Thanks for contacting the HP Support Forums!

I would be more than happy today to help you resolve the print quality issue that's causing cyan dots to appear on the left hand side of your printed documents with your HP Laserjet Pro 200 Colour M251nw. Thanks for letting me know your toner levels as low toner can cause issues like you're experiencing. However, that doesn't seem to be the case this time as you're levels are all above 40%.

In most cases repetitive colour dots appearing on the page generally indicate an issue with:

• Product is not directly connected to wall outlet for power

• Print cartridge is damaged

• Paper path is dirty

I'd like you to start by running through a Print Quality Troubleshooting document. Make sure you're using plain white 20lbs paper while running through these steps:

Troubleshooting Print Quality Issues

Since we already know that your toner levels are all in good standing, I suggest that you start with the 'Print a Cleaning Page' step and continue on from there.

Please follow up with me and let me know if the steps I've provided made any difference for this quality issue or not. Best of luck!

[dasbuch]

Thank you X-23. 

Unfortunately the 'Print a Cleaning Page' solution did not fix my cyan dot problem.   I also checked the paper path and it is very clear of any debris.

Please let me know if you have any alternative solutions.

Thank you,

Das

[X-23]

Hey @dasbuch,

Thanks for getting back to me on this. I'm sorry to hear that those steps neglected to resolve your issue.

When you printed the Print Quality Troubleshooting page did it show any defects with any or all of the colours?

• If dots or streaks appear in only one of the groups, replace the toner cartridge that correlates with that group.

• If dots appear in more than one group, print a cleaning page again. If this does not solve the problem, determine if the dots are always the same color; for example, if magenta dots appear in all five color bands. If the dots are all the same color, replace that toner cartridge.

• If a streak continues through multiple color bands, contact HP. A component other than the toner cartridge is probably causing the problem.

Have you tried a new Cyan toner cartridge?

Let me know what you find. Good luck! 🙂

[dasbuch]

Quality Troubleshooting page did not show any defects. 

I have not replaced the cartridge because the current cyan cartridge is at 40%.  If HP is willing to send me a new cartidge to replace the defective one, then I will be able to replace.

[sjhgeary]

Hi there,

I'm having the same issue.  Were you ever able to find a fix?  I refuse to replace ink cartridges when they're at 30-40% - how unbelieveable wasteful that they suggest that's the way to resolve the problem.

Thank you

[X-23]

Hello @dasbuch  and welcome to the HP Support Forums @sjhgeary,

There is a chance that a defective toner cartridge may be causing the issue. @sjhgeary  If you have not already, can I have you run through the troubleshooting steps I posted above for Troubleshooting Print Quality Issues to see if the steps  resolve  your quality issue.

If you're using HP cartridges they are covered under warranty. Should you replace a genuine HP cartridge with a replacement genuine HP cartridge to resolve a cartridge error, and the issue is resolved than the defective genuine HP cartridge may be replaced under the cartridge warranty. However, if a new cartridge fails to resolve the quality issues than a replacement printer may be needed. If your printer is replaced, than any cartridges you had purchased for testing purposes can be used in the replacement printer. Save the original cartridge that you had replaced as well because if the issue is not toner related than you can use the original toner in the replacement printer. Then, when that toner is depleted you can use the new replacement toner you purchased for testing purposes. That way, no toner will be wasted.

I hope this clears up any confusion.

Should you wish to explore additional options I would recommend contacting our Technical Support queue by phone.

HP Technical Support can be reached at: 800-474-6836.

If you live outside the US/Canada Region, please click the link below to get the support number for your region.

HP Worldwide Contact

If you call our Technical Support queue please advise the phone support agent of the troubleshooting steps you have already ran through and the result of those troubleshooting steps. That way you should not have to repeat any troubleshooting steps with them.

Good luck!

[LawOfficeGirl]

I too am having the same problem (cyan dots printing down the right side of the page) everytime color is used to print.  I have also gone through the HP manual and performed all of the trouble shooting steps.  I do not believe that this is a faulty cartridge problem, as we were experiencing the same problem with the previous cartridges.  So I've performed the trouble shooting, replaced the cartridgde, and still the blue dots are appearing.  What should I do now?  Any help, that I haven't already tried, would be appreciated.  Thank you.

[X-23]

Hello @LawOfficeGirl,

Welcome to the HP Support Forums!

I understand that you are also experiencing the cyan dots appearing on the right hand side of your printed documents. Because this issue occurs with both new and old cartridges I do not believe this is a cartridge issue. Rather, repeating dots on the page may indicate one of the following conditions:

• Paper path is dirty. Printing the cleaning page is the only way to clean the paper path.
• Printer is not plugged into a wall outlet directly for power. Lack of power can cause HP printers not to perform properly
• The fuser built into the printer may be damaged or dirty. Should this be the case, a replacement printer would be needed.

Because you have already ran through the recommended print quality troubleshooting steps I would recommend at this point reaching out to our Technical Support queue by phone.

HP Technical Support can be reached at: 800-474-6836.

If you live outside the US/Canada Region, please click the link below to get the support number for your region.

HP Worldwide Contact

I wish you luck going forward with this! 🙂

[sjhgeary]

Update from my end:

After being told by numerous people that our printer was out of warranty, I spoke with HP.  I was able to troubleshoot with a guy who said that our printer was definitely broken and tried to sell us a new one.  Luckily, we were able to dig up our reciept which showed that our printer definitely WAS within warranty.

Of course at that point, they said that we didn't actually need a new printer.  We ran all of the tests they asked us to and provided all information.  They finally said that they would ship us a new ink cartridge - we were supposed to try that and if that didn't work, they would ship out a new printer.

They shipped out the wrong cartridge.  When I notified them via email, the support tech sent me a link to the support forums, and how to purchase extended care.  Livid, I called Support back.  There, I was transferred 4 times, and they found no documentation notes in our case.  And now, hours later, I think we're back to having them send a new cartridge.

Unacceptable, HP.