ENVY 4520 suddenly prints only in grayscale when submitted from my Windows 10 HP 15 notebook

[lita19]

After successfully printing a two-page Excel worksheet yesterday, I proceeded to change the printing options from portrait to landscape and to two-sided just before hitting the Print button again.  From that point forward, this and any other document (Word, email, web image, etc.) only prints in grayscale, when submitting from my HP 15 notebook.  If submitted from either the mini iPad or iPhone 6, there is no problem whatsoever ... the correct colors of the document print just fine.  Same if making copies, prints fine.  I did have a Windows update (KB4019472) a couple of days ago, and also renewal of McAfee LiveSafe, but laptop-to-printer submittals where working fine after those updates ... up until that switch yesterday from portrait to landscape and two-pages to two-sided (these changes were done within Excel printing options). 

I have searched and read many postings everywhere that say to unselect the grayscale option and select the color option from within the Devices & Printers management function, specifically, in the Printing Preferences dialog box.  Well, I don't see where in the dialog box for ENVY 4520 this could be done. Tabs there are: Layout, Paper/Quality, and Printing Shortcuts ... there is no Advanced or Color tab as most postings talk about.  There is an Advanced button within Layout and Paper/Quality tabs, but in those trees that open there there is nothing to manage 'color'. In the Printer Properties dialog box, there is a tab for Color Management, but I have found very little info for it and wouldn't know what to do anyways; currently, the printer has 'Automatic' selected for the Profile (I have no clue what that means, though).

I have un-installed the ENVY 4520 software, re-started, removed the printer, and re-installed the current Full Features software after downloading from HP site, following all directions.  And also ran the HP Print and Scan Doctor.  Problem is still there ... it's as if the laptop-printer connection is 'stuck' on grayscale printing.  The color cartridge is about 75% full, but black is coming down fast due to problem. 

Any other suggestions as to why grayscale is defaulting when printing from this Windows 10 laptop, without an obvious place to change it?  Am I missing where within the Printing Preferences and/or Printer Properties the color selection can be changed?  I find it strange that neither dialog boxes offer a place to do so, especially the Printing Preferences one.  Thanks!

[Riddle_Decipher]

@lita19

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 🙂 

As I understand your HP ENVY 4520 suddenly prints only in grayscale via windows but works fine via iPad or other devices,

No worries, as I'll be glad to help you, that said, I'll need a few more details to dissect your concern & provide an accurate solution: 

What were the results of the HP Print and scan doctor? It might have given you details about the test? does the test page print fine?

Have you deleted the driver on root level and then attempted to reinstall the printer drivers?

If you haven't, here's what you need to do:

I recommend you delete the driver at the root level and retry, follow the steps below: 

1) In Windows, search for and open Programs and features 

2.) Select your HP Printer 

3.) Select Uninstall 

4.) In Windows, search for and open Devices and printers 

5.) In the Devices and Printers windows look for your HP printer. If you see it listed right-click on it and choose `Delete' or `Remove Device' 

6.) Open up the run command with the "Windows key + R" key combo. 

7.) Type printui.exe /s and click Ok. (Note: there is a space in between "printui.exe" and "/s") 

8.) Click on the "Drivers" tab 

9.) Look for HP Printer driver. If you see it Click on it and click Remove at the bottom 

10.) Select Ok 

11.) Select Apply and Ok on the Print Server Properties windows 

12.) Close Devices and Printers 

Then, Click here to access the HP website, find the drivers compatible with your windows and install it.

Keep me posted for further assistance 😉

[lita19]

Thank you Riddle_Decipher for the prompt reply. 

You asked about the results of the HP Print and Scan: it said that all looked fine, and that the only issue was that the printer was not in the homegroup (which I believe it proceeded to 'fix' by sharing it).  The test page was only in black & white (shouldn't something have printed in color for a true test of a color printer?).

Regarding deleting the drivers at the root level, no, I have not done that yet.  But I did perform the uninstall of the printer from within Programs and Features (uninstalled both the ENVY 4520 Basic Device Software and the Help program), and I also removed the printer through the Devices and Printers screen (including the HP ePrint icon).  And then I reinstalled the current Full Features software after having downloaded it from the HP site and saved locally in my laptop.  The difference between my actions and your directions is that I have not yet done a delete/removal of the printer drivers at the root level using that Windows command. 

So now I will proceed to execute your recommended steps, in the sequence you outline.  But before starting, can you tell me if at any point in the process the printer should be turned off?  This is a wireless printer, with a good wireless connection to the computer.  Should the computer be re-started after uninstalling and deleting the software/printer/driver at root level, and then again after reinstalling the software?  I just would like to know if the printer should be powered down at any time in the process, and more specifically, where in the sequence.

I will wait for your reply before proceeding, and later let you know the results of the new attempt.  Again, thank you.

[Riddle_Decipher]

@lita19

Thank you for replying with this overwhelming and detailed response 😉 

I appreciate your time and efforts,

That's a good question, I would like to let you know that you do not have to restart the printer until the completion of Step 12,

You may then restart the Printer and install the latest printer drivers as suggested earlier using the link provided.

Also, if the HP driver from the website doesn't work (which is quite rare) you may uninstall the driver on root level again and this time, utilize the windows built-in drivers: Click here to know more.

Let me know how that works out, keep me in the loop and Good luck! 😉

[lita19]

Riddle_Decipher,

I followed your steps to delete the printer drivers at the root level, but this made no difference.  I decided not to use the built-in Windows driver approach, mainly because I didn't have confidence this would work, having had so many unsuccessful results using the HP Full Features downloaded version. 

However . . . out of the blue this morning I received two Windows 10 update pushes, which I proceeded to apply.  After installation and almost like magic, the options that had been missing from the Printer Preferences dialog box are now available once again.  I am referring to the Black & White and Color radio buttons within the Paper/Quality tab (with the Color radio button checked), and the Print in Grayscale document option turned off.  These options had suddenly disappeared a few days ago, and none of the uninstall and reinstall of software and drivers had reinstated them.  This morning's Windows updates did the trick. 

For those interested or with the same problem, the Windows 10 updates installed today were KB4020001 and KB4016871.  I am assuming that the problem was: corruption of the printer driver when I selected double-sided printing just before printing an Excel worksheet, a compatability issue between the printer and Win 10, or some other bug.  Or all of the above.  So far, all printing well.

Thanks!

[Riddle_Decipher]

@lita19

Thank you for the update,

I appreciate your time and efforts, 

I'm glad you found the solution you were looking for. 

Thanks for taking the time to let the community know about the solution

You've been great to work with and it has been a genuine pleasure interacting with you.

I hope both you and your product works great and remain healthy for a long time 😉 

Take care now and do have a fabulous week ahead. 🙂