Aliased text with jagged edges

[mehlkopf]

I recently purchased a Laserjet M15w to replace my 8-year-old P1102w. However, the printed text is noticeably aliased in comparison to my old P1102w.

It was printed from Microsoft Word, the font used is Helvetica Neue  (pre-installed in macOS).

Same results using AirPrint and USB.

The cartridge is new and full as it comes with the printer.

Common 80g/m2 A4 paper.

Nothing in the print settings is related to this problem, I tried different media types including "bond paper", "light 65-74g", "heavy 90-120g", "labels" and "plain paper". Can't spot a difference, the results are equally bad.

The driver (HP easy start) does nothing but prompts me to install the HP smart app. Installed it, tried to update the driver but to no avail.

In the app, the "print quality tools" in "printer settings" is not available for this printer.

Bad results when printing using the HP smart app.

There's no option to change the printing resolution in EWS, either. The only option in the EWS which is remotely related to resolution is print density.

Restarted the computer, restarted the printer, the problem persists.

Only the self test page looks crisp, that means this printer is capable of producing better results and it must be a software issue.

[Jay_G24]

Hi@mehlkopf,

 I'd like to help!

I understand you are facing print quality issues.

Check the print settings on your Mac.

1. Open a document, click File, click Print, and then click Show Details.

2. Click the name of the program, and then select the Paper Type/Quality or Media & Quality menu.

3. Review the following options, and then make any necessary changes:

   • Paper type: If one of the options matches your paper type exactly, select that option.

   • Quality: If you are dissatisfied with the quality of your printouts, increase the print quality. To print more quickly, decrease the print quality.

NOTE: 

To save these settings for future print jobs, choose Save in the Presets menu, and then name the new preset. If multiple printers are installed, open System Preferences, and then click Printers & Scanners or Print & Scan (depending on your operating system). Set the Default Printer to Last Printer Used.

Check the EconoMode settings

1. In the program you are trying to print from, select the Print option.

2. Right-click your printer, and then depending on the software program, the button might be Properties, Options, Printer Setup, Printer, or Preferences.

3. Click the Paper/Quality tab, and then locate the Print Quality area.

4. If the entire page is too dark, use these settings:

   • Select the 600 dpi option.

   • Select the EconoMode check box to enable it.

   If the entire page is too light, use these settings:

   • Select the FastRes 1200 option.

   • Clear the EconoMode check box to disable it.

5. Click OK, and then click OK to print the job.

Try updating mac and printer firmware

To update the printer's firmware, refer - HP Printers - Updating or Upgrading Printer Firmware 

 To update Mac, try these steps - How to update the software on your Mac

Hope this helps! Keep me posted. 

And, Welcome to the HP Support Community

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!

[mehlkopf]

Unfortunately there isn't an option to change quality in the print settings. Under Media & Quality menu there are only two options: "Feed from" and "Media Type".

Also there's no settings related to "EcomoMode" either in the HP smart app or EWS. I looked for it everywhere.

My Mac is on the latest Big Sur 11.4.

The driver only prompts me to install the "HP smart app" which doesn't really do anything and there is no settings related to print quality whatsoever.