Printer prints too light

[sdk17]

Hello, 

I have an HP PSC 1315 All-In-One printer. 

I recently put new ink (hp brand) in my printer, and though a test page prints fine, when I try to print a pdf of music, it prints way too lightly (I cannot see the staff lines that should be printing...in other words, not everything is being printed and what is printed is printing way too lightly). I am not sure how to resolve the issue. I've looked at similar forum posts and have tried increasing the print quality (had it entirely maxed, did nothing to help). It isn't the quality of the pdf because everything shows up on the pdf when I view the print preview on my computer screen. I am not sure of what else to try. 

Thanks!

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[Raj1788]

@sdk17

Thank you for joining HP Forums. 

This is a great place to get support, find answers to your technical queries.

I understand that you are your printer has a print quality issue.

To provide you with an accurate solution, I'll need a few more details:

Were you facing the same issue with the old cartridge?

However,I suggest you do a Hard Reset

(1) Turn the printer on, if it is not already on.

(2) Wait until the printer is idle and silent before you continue.

(3) With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer.

(4) Unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.

(5) Wait at least 60 seconds.

(6) Plug the power cord back into the wall outlet.NOTE: HP recommends connecting the printer power cord directly to the wall outlet.

(7) Reconnect the power cord to the rear of the printer.

(8) Turn on the printer, if it does not automatically turn on.

The printer might go through a warm-up period. The printer lights might flash, and the carriage might move.

Wait until the warm-up period finishes and your printer is idle and silent before you proceed.

Then, Clean the ink cartridges using an automated utility

Follow these steps to run a utility to clean the cartridges if you found defects on the extended self-test report.

1. Open the Printers folder:

   • Windows XP: Click Start, and then click Control Panel. In the Control Panel, double-click Printers and Faxes.

   • Windows Vista: Click the Windows icon (), and then click Control Panel. In the Control Panel, double-click Printers.

   The Printers folder opens.

2. Right-click the icon for your product, and then click Printing Preferences. The Printing Preferences window opens.

3. In the Printing Preferences window, click the Services tab, and then click Service this device. The printer Toolbox opens.

4. Click the Device Services tab, and then click Clean the Print Cartridges.

5. In the next box, click Clean. The cleaning utility runs, and the product prints a page with an illustration.

6. Examine this test page for print-quality issues.

• If these steps resolved the issue, there is no need to continue troubleshooting.

• If the issue persists, see the next step.

Align the printer

Follow these steps to open the printer toolbox and align the printer, if you found defects on the extended self-test report.

1. Press and hold the Cancel button () and the On/Resume button ().

   The Check Paper and Check Print Cartridge lights should blink.

2. Release both buttons.

      NOTE:

   You will have eight seconds to complete the next five steps.

3. Press the Cancel button ( ) again.

4. Press the Copies button.

5. Press the Paper Type button.

6. Press the Start Copy - Color button.

   The alignment sheet will begin printing. If the sheet does not start printing, repeat the button press combinations.

7. Open the scanner glass lid.

8. Place the alignment sheet face down on the left-front corner of the glass. See the engraved guides on the sides of the scanner glass for assistance.

   Figure : Load the alignment sheet on the scanner glass

   

9. Close the lid, and then press the Scan button. Wait while the product finishes the alignment. The On light () blinks until the alignment completes.

10. Try the print job again.

Keep me posted, how it goes! 

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the Accepted Solution and Kudos buttons, that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Have a great day!

Cheers:)

[sdk17]

Hello, 

Thank you for your reply! I tried everything that you suggested, but nothing worked. I'm not sure if the problem is somehow tied to the quality of the pdf I received and if there is a way to darken the pdf for printing? 

I did not have this problem when I was using Meijer brand (compatible with hp) ink. 

Thanks!

[Jeet_singh]

@sdk17,

It looks like you were interacting with @Dvortex, but he is out for the day & I'll be glad to help you out, 
I'm the Jeet_Singh & I'm at your service. 

Thank you for replying with this detailed response 😉 
I appreciate your time and efforts,

In this scenario, I would suggest here is to print the print quality test report and check for the defects, as this will help us identify if it's a hardware or software related issues.

For detailed instructions, please go through the support document for - HP PSC 1315 All-in-One Printer - Troubleshooting Print-Quality Issues

If the print quality reports prints fine, then this could be a software issue. I would recommend you go ahead and do a clean install of the printer software.

First, unplug the USB cable from the printer if present.

Go to Control panel – Programs and feature – Select all the HP PSC printer entries and uninstall them.

Now go to Control panel – Devices and printer – Select all the printer entries and remove the device.

Press the "windows key" + "r" to get the "Run" window open - Type "printui.exe /s" (There is a space between .exe & /) and press enter.

Under print server properties, go to drivers - remove any entry there as well.

Again, go to the Run window, type – “c:/programdata” – Go to Hewlett Packard folder, remove any printer related folders & files.

Restart your computer.

Now click on this link: HP Customer Support - Software and Driver Downloads to download and install the printer software.

Connect the USB cable only when prompted and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup.

Eagerly waiting for your response!

I hope you have a good day ahead,

And Feel free to ask your queries as this forum has some of the best people in the world available and ready to help.

Regards,

[sdk17]

Hello, 

I printed a test page, and it printed fine. 

I uninstalled and reinstalled everything, and it still prints too light. It seems to only be happening with this document/pdf - is there a way to make it print darker for just this pdf? 

Thanks for all your help!