Black Horizontal Lines

[DrREchizen]

My printer has just started printing black horizontal lines and cleaning/aligning print did not solve the problem.

Does anyone know if this is a printer problem or a cartridge problem?

[Raj1788]

@DrREchizen

Thank you for joining HP Forums.

It's a pleasure assisting you in finding answers to your technical queries.

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

Are you using genuine HP Ink cartridge?

Are you facing the same issue while making a copy?

Any hardware changes made in the printer?

Manually clean the area around the ink nozzles

1. Gather the following materials:

   • Dry foam-rubber swabs, lint-free cloth, or any soft material that does not come apart or leave fibers (coffee filters work well)

   • Distilled, filtered, or bottled water (tap water might contain contaminants that can damage the ink cartridges)

        CAUTION: 

     Do not use platen cleaners or alcohol to clean the ink cartridge contacts. These can damage the ink cartridge or the printer.

2. Turn on the printer, if it is not already on.

3. Gently grasp the handles on either side of the printer, then raise the ink cartridge access door until it locks into place.

   The carriage moves to the center of the printer.

   

4. Wait until the carriage is idle and silent before you continue.

5. Disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer.

6. Disconnect the USB cable, if it is connected.

7. To release the ink cartridge, lift the lid on the ink cartridge slot, then gently push the lid back until it stops.

8. Pull up on the ink cartridge to remove it from the slot.

      CAUTION: 

   Do not remove both ink cartridges at the same time. Remove and then clean each ink cartridge one at a time. Do not leave an ink cartridge outside the printer for more than 30 minutes.
   

   1. Lift the lid

   2. Gently push the lid back

   3. Pull up on the ink cartridge

9. Hold the ink cartridge by its sides.

   

      CAUTION: 

   Do not touch the copper-colored contacts or the ink nozzles. Touching these parts can result in clogs, ink failure, and bad electrical connections.

   

10. Lightly moisten a foam-rubber swab or lint-free cloth with distilled water, and then squeeze any excess water from it.

11. Clean the face and edges around the ink nozzle with the swab.

       CAUTION: 

    Do not clean the ink nozzle plate.
    

    1. Nozzle plate - Do not clean

    2. Area surrounding ink nozzle - Do clean

    3. Ink cartridge contacts - Do not clean

12. Either let the ink cartridge sit for 10 minutes to allow the cleaned area to dry, or use a new swab to dry it.

13. Hold the ink cartridge by its sides with the nozzles toward the printer, then slide the ink cartridge forward into the slot.

14. Close the lid on the ink cartridge slot to secure the ink cartridge into place.
    

    1. Insert the ink cartridge

    2. Close the lid

    3. The color ink cartridge is on the left, and the black ink cartridge is on the right

15. Repeat these steps to clean, then reinsert the other ink cartridge.

16. Close the ink cartridge access door.

17. Reconnect the power cord to the rear of the printer.

18. Turn on the printer, if it does not turn on automatically.

19. Try to print again

Keep me posted, how it goes!

Have a great day!

Cheers:)

[DrREchizen]

Thank you!! Found the problem! It was the black cartridge

[Raj1788]

@DrREchizen

I'm glad to hear you found the solution you were looking for.

Thanks for taking the time to let the community know about the solution!

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!

Take care now and do have a great week ahead.

:)Cheers:)