faint or incomplete print from HP Envy 5530

[wheezieO]

I bought the HP Envy 5530 about 5 or 6 months ago thinking that my current HP printer was done.  I got the old printer working again and recently purchased a lap top for work.  I thought I would be able to use the brand new HP Envy 5530 with it.  Print quality is very poor.  The print is extremely faint and some parts are missing altogether.  I don't know if it is because the printer sat around at my house for 6 months and the ink cartridges dried out (the box was sealed until just a few weeks ago when I purchased my laptop) or if it is a more serious problem.  I am hesitant to buy new cartridges if this printer will never do a better job

[HevnLgh]

Hi wheezieO,

Welcome to the HP Support Forums! I understand you are getting bad print quality on your HP Envy 5530, some lines are missing and the prints are very faint. I notice you said it had sat around for a few months which may be why you are experiencing the print quality issue as the cartridges may have dried up, they may also just need a good cleaning.

I would like you to start here: Printer Does Not Print Black Ink or Color Ink, or Prints Blank Pages, please complete ALL steps listed.

If you are still running into print quality issues, as the troubleshooting document says, change the cartridges and see if the problem persists.

I will watch for your reply.

Thanks,

[goku11729]

Howdy. After tinkering around with my Envy having the same issue, I found out that after replacing my black cartridge because it was low, I was having the same issue.

Turns out the color cartridge will simulate a black in an to preserve both the tri color cartridge and the black cartridge for as long as possible, which is why even if you've never printed any color, both your cartridges should be low. Once the color cartridge starts getting low, the printer doesn't have a sensor to realize which of the tri color is mixing in the most, so it continues to mix it in either way.

I was having this issue where I would print one page and it would be okay and then any page following would slowly look worse.

Long story short, just print without the color cartridge in and you shouldn't have the issue unless your black is really low. Replacing that should fix it overall though.