Printing problem black, also on alignment page - but only on PART of this.

[Bart2]

I have problems printing in BLACK. Some diagnostic checks did not give a solution.

A VERY strange phenomenon:  on a print-out of the alignment page the black is mostly missing, but NOT on the outer edges. The 5 slightly greyish shaded black blocks (3 on top of print, 2 on bottom)  and the the 2 columns of 6 dark black blocks each in the outer left and right margins are completely normal !

This shows that the black cartridge is not the problem, it must be something else.

Strange enough, on the rest of the page ALL black is missing completely, all the way down to the bottom.

The blue on the alignment page is printing normally, so does the red in the left bottom (arrows and warning triangle).

My print problem manyfested itself first in a print-out of a message from my e-mailaccount. The (black) text just did not show, although the black cartridge had been replaced recently and is almost full. No earlier problems with this cartridge.

I ran a cleaning of the cartridges, then a 'second level' cleaning.  Colors printed normally, but NO black at all. 

A 'Quality diagnostics page' also showed everything normal, but for the lack of black.

Next, a print-out of the alignment page (see description above) finally PROVED that it was NOT a simple case of lack of black ink.

I am puzzled ! Anybody else familiar with this problem? Solution?

[jabzi]

Hello, 

Please click HERE to access the steps that should resolve the issue .

If you have tried all the steps mentioned in the above document, then it could be an issue with the printer.

You may have to call HP Tech Support for further assistance 1-800-474-6836 (USA)

[Bart2]

Well, I had already checked the options discussed on the page you refer to.  But all 3 'solutions' are not to the point, as they all assume there is something amiss with the (black) cartridge, which is not the case. As clearly demonstrated by the fact that a printed alignment page does show NORMAL black - but ONLY in certain PARTS OF THE PAGE.

As I clearly described before.

But maybe this is a software problem, not an ink supply c.q. hardware problem ?

Since this problem is new, an update could possibly be to blame.  I am not aware ever to have downloaded an update of my HP software for this printer under this OS (Vista). Maybe though one has been installed automatically, by HP itself ?

Any comments?  Suggestions ?

Thanks,

Bart

[jabzi]

Hello, 

Please try cleaning the Cartridges ..

1. In the printer software, click Print & Scan.
2. Click Maintain Your Printer (). The HP Toolbox opens.
3. Click the Device Services tab.
4. Click Clean Ink Cartridges, and then follow the on-screen instructions to clean the cartridges.
5. After running the tool, click Print to print a test page. If the print quality is still unacceptable, follow the on-screen instructions to run aSecond-level clean.

After which try the below steps to print, Printer Status Report and check for the presence of Black.

1. In the printer software, click Print & Scan.
2. Click Maintain Your Printer (). The HP Toolbox opens.
3. Click the REPORTS tab.
4. Click Printer Status Report, .

If the Printer Status Report still shows white streaks in the Black or if faded black, then there are 2 possibilities.

1> issue with Black ink. You may try with a new Blacnk ink cartridge. 

Or

2> issue with the printer itself.

[Bart2]

Hello Jebzi,

Thanks for trying to advise, but it escapes me how cleaning the cartridges would help.

As I clearly - I thought ! - explained before, black DOES print. But:  ONLY on PART of the (alignment)page.

On that part, there is NO problem with streaky printing in the black. Also, the other colors print normal.

So, there is no problem with the print quality  -  only with the fact that a certain part of the page does not get printed in black at all:  the complete center part where my text should appear.

Oh !  One exception:   I did earlier print a  'Quality Diagnostics' page, and - I forgot to tell before; sorry - surprisingly  smack in the MIDDLE of this page 2 sets of 2 black BRACKETS were printed.  Each set about 0,5 cm. high and 2,5 cm. apart, with 4 cm. between the 2 sets.   Both on one line [in 'portrait' form print].

Perfectly thick black, and in the middle - so, different from the 'Alignment' page which had black only on top / bottom and in the margins, as I described earlier.

I cannot compare what a 'Quality Diagnostics' print-out should look like, to see what these black brackets are part of and if maybe other black parts were left out in my print.

A pity HP on it's Help site(s) does not show examples of 'normal' diagnostic prints  [ SUGGESTION ! ]

Does this help ?  I appreciate your efforts.

[jabzi]

Hello, 

Please try the below steps to print the Diagnostic page, and check if the TEXT in Black  and the color bar on the right is also in Black ( solid black ) without having any white streaks.

Below is the photo of a Diagnostic page.

         

If black as in the above picture does not show up, then it could be either an issue with Black Cartridge or the printer itself.

[Bart2]

Good morning Jabzi !

                                            -  here in Amsterdam (Netherlands) it is already afternoon -

The photo of the diagnostic page you sent looks quite different from the 'Quality Diagnostics' page I referred to earlier.

So, I went searching for alternative 'diagnostic'-named  pages.

In the 'HP Printer Assistant' for my Deskjet 2540 All-in-One, in the section 'Print', I found  'Maintain your printer - align and clean ink cartridges, print a diagnostic page'.

In the subsequent menu, the first item ('device services') offers as one of four options the possibility to print-out a 'Print quality diagnostics page'. That's the one I already had tried (and which shows those 2 pairs of well-printed black brackets at aprox. center page).

The 2nd item in the menu, 'Device reports', shows two options.  The first one is 'Print diagnostic information'. Bingo !

That clearly is the one you sent a photo of:  on top of the [ portrait form ] page on one line 3 short separate horizontal bars of the 3 colors, and further about halfway down on the left side one horizontal bar composed of all 3 colors together.

BUT:  in my print-out of THIS PAGE that is all:  there is NO BLACK, apart from a few very  minimal traces of some lines between those 2 sets of color bars.

Conundrum:  how can it be that on print-outs of 2 different standard test pages I  DO get (some) normal, WELL printed black elements:

            -   the 'Alignment' page with those blocks in the marges and upper/lower limits,

and

            -   the 'Quality diagnostics' page with those brackets  [          ]                [          ] ,

while  on the

            -   'Diagnostig information'  page I get NO black to speak of    ?!?... 

No big black bars, no black text as on the diagnostic page you have shown me.

Again, I cannot believe this to be an ink cartridge issue.   As I wondered before:  something in the software ?!

The hardware seems unlikely as a cause, wouldn't you agree ?

[jabzi]

Hello, 

Hold Power Button and Cancel button together for 5 seconds and release them.

The printer itself should start to print the extended diagnostic page.

If you dont see Black ink as mentioned in the picture in earlier post, there would be 2 possibilioties.

1> Ink cartrdge , if so you may try using another black ink cartridge. ( If you have already tried with a spare black cartridge go to step2.

2> It could be issue with the Printer . You may have to call HP Tech Support for further assistance (USA) 1-800-474-6836

[Bart2]

Hello again !

Sorry for reporting back with such a delay - I have been away from home (and laptop + printer) for several weeks.

Your suggestion for getting what you call the "extended diagnostic page" had the same result as what I described in my latest mail as the second possibility I tried:  from 'Device Reports' >  'print diagnostic information'.  Clearly the same page you meant.  And this time, again:  no black.

Reminder:  on some of the other printed reports I díd get black, proving it not being a problem of the ink supply.

So, I went back and tried to check what I could find out about the other suggestion I put forward.  I.e. a SOFTWARE problem.

To isolate the separate vectors involved [ on-board printer software vs.  software on the computer ] for analysis, I disconnected  the printer and tried how it would react independently. I had not done this before.

A diagnostic print-out from the stand-alone printer did not give any results diverging from what I already obtained earlier when connected to the computer.

Next:  printing a scanned page, containing color and black.  SAME result:  color;  YES,   black:  NO.

Also, print commands from a second computer gave the same results.

So it seems clear to me that any software problem resides in the printer itself, not in the computer.  CORRECT  ?

BUT   now some further STRANGE things came to light (after reconnecting printer to laptop):

   1.     I had to print out e-tickets for a concert. These contained a bar-code (in black) within the black text.

Since I really needed at least proof that I held a reservation (with seat numbers), I did try and manage to make a print by forwarding the e-tickets to myself, in this way having the option to change the color [ as I said before, colors do print out normally ]. 

The forwarded mail + e-tickets indeed appeared in the new chosen color, except the bar-code (staying black).

Therefore I fully expected the tickets to be printed without the bar-code, but at least I should be able to prove my reservation.

BUT, to my SURPRISE the bar-code was in effect printed out within the text:  not in deep black, more greyish, but this proved scannable enough !

   2.     Even MORE SURPISING:   when I tried printing out a city plan from Google Maps, the whole print was normal:  including all the street names in perfect black .

Again, this proves there is nothing wrong with the black ink cartridge itself.

Of course I hoped this successful print action had somehow resolved the problem, so I tried again to print an e-mail from my computer and to print a scanned page, to see what would happen.  But no change there:  the problem persists.

                                                       *                     *                    *

All in all it seems I am stuck with a printer with malfunctioning software, but which in some cases DOES manage to make a normal print-out when receiving a command with software that - somehow - is able to override the defect in it's internal software.

Which makes me wonder:  does this printer / do HP printers maybe have an option for a 'factory reset', either in the form of pressing some dedicated button/ combination of buttons or by receiving a command from any other source?

I checked the manual and the 'Print and Scan Dotor' for this, but to no avail.