HP Envy 4520 prints image too dark

[Linda6363]

We recently bought an HP envy 4520 to replace the old HP photosmart (which produced great prints).  Now when we print the images are dark and flat....not at all like on the screen.  The old photosmart was very good at wysiwyg, but not this new one.  I've tried both normal and best using everyday printing (which is what we are doing:  word docs with pix and text, usually a school report). The text quality if fine, but you can see no details in the images and the colors are muted.

Also, if we make a word doc with text and images, the resulting print again does not match the screen:  the images are truncated and shifted on the page.  The only way to get good quality is to flatten the word doc into a pdf and then print.  Doable, but very annoying.

We are using word 2007, the newest version of adobe reader, windows 8 and are on our second round of print cartridges, the one that came with the printer from HP and genuine HP purchased from office max.  The print cartriges have not made a difference. I can't find anything in the settings to address this problem.

I am not a fan of the envy right now.  I'm hoping someone has some suggestions.

[rb011]

Hi Linda6363,

Welcome to the HP Support forum.

I understand that you have HP ENVY 4520 All-in-One Printer and when you print from your Windows 8 computer the text on the printouts is fine but the images are "dark and flat" compared to the old Photosmart that you replaced. I would like to help you with that.

I would start by running the HP Print and Scan Doctor to make sure that everything is alright with the printer's software.

If everything is alright with the printer's software and drivers here is a support document that you can use to ensure that the printer is printing in the best print quality possible - Fixing Print Quality Problems.

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!

[Linda6363]

I appreciate your reply. I had some trouble with the link....it did nothing.  I was able to google the scan doctor and find a way to it, but I had a lot of trouble finding active HP pages.  Not sure if it was firefox or hp or the cybergods themselves.  I was able to download and install the scan doctor:  ran the scan, it claimed it fixed things.  When I printed an image, the image quality had not changed:  the print is still dark and muddy.  There are no details in the dark sections and the colors remain a bit off.  The scan doctor did appear to fix the truncation problem, however, so that is good news.

I then took my printed image and scanned it so that I could show you what I am talking about....the scanned image on my computer screen looks pretty good:  colors are correct and detail is showing.  So now I'm really at a loss about this. 

I don't expect photographic quality when printing on plain paper...it's not photo paper after all.  But my photosmart did a pretty good job at it, and the envy is terrible.

For grins I just put HP photo paper in my printer.  I tried three times to print an image on photo paper and three times the machine jammed:  the paper seems to be "too slippery" and does not advance for printing.  How do I fix THAT one?

As for the fixing print quality link:  I looked at that long before I contacted anyone in this forum.  That does nothing to address the problem.  What would be nice is an option on the printer to print 5 or 10% lighter/darker to resolve these issues.

[rb011]

Hi Linda6363,

Thanks for getting back to me with the results of your efforts.

On the Advanced tab on the Printing Preferences window, there should be a section for increasing/decreasing the amount of ink used to print. Decreasing the volume of ink going onto the paper could lighten the print. Here is a support document that can help you with print settings if needed - Change Print Settings (Windows 😎.

Here is a support document that is intended to help resolve paper feed issues - Paper Jam Error.

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!

[Linda6363]

you recommended:

On the Advanced tab on the Printing Preferences window, there should be a section for increasing/decreasing the amount of ink used to print. Decreasing the volume of ink going onto the paper could lighten the print. Here is a support document that can help you with print settings if needed - Change Print Settings (Windows 😎.

I've been all over the preferences tab...it was the first thing I tried.  This option is not available on the envy 4520.

As for the paper jam:  I have no problem clearing the jam.  The problem is that the paper is pulled from the tray, but does not complete the turn fully onto the roller.  It's as if the paper is too slippery, even though it is HP photopaper in an HP printer.  This is a brand new printer, so I can't see why the roller would be dirty or dusty, although I will attempt a cleaning as recommended. 

Truly, with all the printers I've worked with, at home and the office, none have ever behaved quite like this one....  Linda

[rb011]

Hi Linda6363,

I do apologize for the misinformation. I was following the steps from the general support document that I posted.

Settings do differ a bit from printer to printer. What I did find was that on the Paper Type/Quality tab in Preferences there options for Draft, Normal, and Best. Maybe if you selected Normal or Draft It might lighten the print to an acceptable level.

When you are on the Paper Type/Quality tab there should be an Advanced button in the bottom-right corner. When you click that you can set the printer to print in maximum dpi so the printer uses maximum dots per inch (dpi) mode to print high-quality, sharp images on photo paper.

I hope this helps. Please click the "Accept as Solution", and the "thumbs up" buttons up on my initial reply above so others with similar issues can find the solution easier.

Thanks!

[fedemariani74]

I have the same problem... I. print with illustrator or Photoshop and magenta is purple, cyan is dark blue and yellow is dark mustard.

but I have a MAC. how can I adjust this color settings ?

thank you.

All best.

Federico

[Rainbow23]

@fedemariani74, 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.

I understand that you facing print quality issues with your HP ENVY 4520 All-in-One Printer.

Don't worry as I have a few steps that should help fix this issue.

And here's the step by step guide for you in the link: Fixing Print Quality Problems

Let me know how that works.
I hope you have a good day ahead.
 

[fedemariani74]

Hello,

yes I've already read several times this pages... it's the same answer that every support agent gives.

Unfortunately this page not explain why Envy models prints color too dark...

I tried everything. I suppose that it's a machine problem... because many customers complains about same problem.

[Linda6363]

For the record, I have not been able to solve this. I have printed on draft, which makes the image lighter, but it is also not that great a print, not is it still the color it should be, just marginally better for detail. This printer is great for text, terrible for images. Good luck, and if you solve this yourself, please post. The help from the HP "professionals" is the same thing anyone can get themselves from checking the website help links. One would think that these professionals would forward these bugs to the developers so that they can be solved, rather than just pointing out what doesn't work.