6978 printing very faded/blank pages

[AFMPalm]

Suddenly, our relatively new HP OfficeJet 6978 is printing a very faded page. It almost looks blank (see attached Windows test page)

These are brand new cartridges, and I have tried everything I can think of to try and fix it (driver reinstallation, cleaning procedures in HP software, etc), but to no avail.

Should I try buying a printhead cleaner or something? I'm not getting any error messages about a printhead error though.

Thanks in advance.

[AFMPalm]

Can anyone help me out with this?

[Jeet_singh]

@AFMPalm,

Thank you for posting your query on HP Community,

Are you able to make a copy from the printer? 

Let’s first try and make a “photocopy” to determine whether the issue is with the printer or not. Place a document on the scanner glass and choose “Copy” option. If the printer is making a good copy, then the printer hardware is fine.

If the copy comes out bad then I would suggest you follow the steps from this support document for - HP OfficeJet 6900 Printers - Black or Color Ink Not Printing, Other Print Quality Issues

If the copy comes out good then this could be a software or driver related. In this scenario the next step would be to uninstall the printer from the root level and then reinstall it by following the steps below: 

• Press “Windows key” + “r” to get the “Run” window.
• Type "services.msc" to get Services – Go to “Print spooler” – Right-click and “Stop” the service.
• Now again open "Run" - Type “spool” and ok - Go to PRINTERS folder - delete everything in that folder.
• Go to services again - Start the print spooler.
• Now check for issue resolution.
• If the issue persists, also try clean installing the printer drivers. Here are the steps:
• First, unplug the USB cable from the printer if present.
• Go to Control panel – Programs and feature – Select all the HP Officejet 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.
• Please click here to download and install the software.
• Connect the USB cable if prompted and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Let me know how it goes for further assistance. 

Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

[AFMPalm]

The copies look terrible as well. I test a page that has a large black bar at the header and footer, and it is just a smeared mess with little ink in both spots.

I have also tried every suggestion in your link, but nothing seems to help even a little bit. Any other ideas as to what it could be? 

[Jeet_singh]

This looks like a possible hardware failure. However, I would suggest you try to follow the steps suggested in this support document for - HP OfficeJet 6900 Printers - Black or Color Ink Not Printing, Other Print Quality Issues

If you have followed the steps recommended and still having the issue. This could be an issue with the printhead or the printer itself. I would recommend you contact our HP support team for further assistance. 

HP support team can be reached on this link. 

Let me know if you need any further assistance. I'll be more than happy to help you.

That said, Take care and have a great day!

Thank you 😉