Deskjet F4180 Blank Pages Printing via emails/webpages

[JNiuNiu]

Hello, 

I unboxed this brand new and very old printer last night.  I have had it here for over 15 years at least, newly packaged as a gift.

It seems as though I cannot print anything from my emails such as confirmation pages from airlines or the likes.  I have tried to print specific pages to see of that works- trying to only select pages that had text rather than an image to print.  They either print black or they are barely visible.  Although the more I go through the process of elimination, I'm getting more blank pages than I am faint and poorly colored printing attempts.

I have printed a test page.  Comes out all black with no colour.  All the black is fine and solid looking.

I have "cleaned" the heads- page one prints out fine.  Page two is blank.  Page three is generally fine.

I have powered down and disconnected all cords- restarted laptop, reconnected printer power.

However relevant this is- the ink cartridges have a 11/12/2009 date on them.  They were brand new and opened for the first time last evening.  As previously stated, the ink seems to be fine as I can print the black portion of a test page is solid black.

I am coming from a nightmare with a HP photosmart c7280 and so I am starting to feel that uber frustration to say the very least.

In closing, I had gone to staples with my c7280 and they told me that they do not and will not touch printers.  So im not entirely sure where to find someone in the event this F4180 Deskjet needs to be looked at by a professional.

thank you for your time and help.

J

[TEJ1602]

@JNiuNiu, Welcome to HP Support Community!

I really appreciate your efforts in trying to resolve the issue. After going through your issue description, I see that the ink cartridges are pretty old and might have been dried up. You can try replacing the ink, but the issue resolution cannot be guaranteed.

Since it is a very old printer, service options will be limited. Please reach out to the HP Support in your region for further assistance.

Hope this helps!

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!

[JNiuNiu]

Thank you Tej1602 for your insight.

Thanks for understanding my situation.

I am trying not to spend any extra money if I do not have to- and I say that to say . . . . the black in seems to print 100 percent fine on a test page and copying.  Yet not when trying to print an email or a webpage.

I mean, I don't mind spending the money on the colour cartridge if that is my final option here- but it just seems as though, if I'm able too print a test page in black and copy in black- that my emails and webpages should print out fine as well.  There again, Im not professional in this world!  

You think getting a colour cartridge that is new may lead me down a path where I can finally print emails with success and webpages with success? 

[TEJ1602]

@JNiuNiu

Thanks for replying!

This could be a driver related issue as per your description. Let us try to uninstall and reinstall the printer driver. Here is how you do it-

The HP Uninstaller is a software application that is installed during the initial printer software installation.

1. Click Finder in the Dock.

2. In the menu bar, click Go, click Applications, and then open the HP or Hewlett Packard folder.

   • If HP Uninstaller is in the folder, double click it, and then follow the on-screen instructions to uninstall the software.

   • If HP Uninstaller is not in the folder, continue to the next step.

3. Click and drag the HP or Hewlett Packard folder to the Trash icon in the Dock.

4. In the menu bar, click Go, click Go to Folder, type /Library/Printers, then click Go.

   The Printers folder opens.

5. Click and drag the HP or Hewlett Packard folder to the Trash icon in the Dock.

6. Restart the Mac.

7. Right-click or Ctrl + click the Trash icon, and then select Empty Trash.

Now restart the computer. Download and install the printer driver from here.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted. 

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!

[JNiuNiu]

Hello, I apologize for the delay in being able too dedicate time to the printer.

I have gone through your steps of deleting the contents and following the instructions in the last post.

I tried to print a page from an email as I normally would do and it was acting like it was printing (on the best setting) but only produced a blank piece of paper.

Would you recommend I trey another testing page via the hold two button method, to see if it prints the black ink?

I'm assuming the next step would be to spend the money to try new cartridges- which makes me uneasy because if that is not the solution- then I've spend the money needlessly on cartridges that I may have not need to buy, open and install.  But if that is the process of elimination here- I will go through with it on your recommendation.

I look forward to hearing your insight, thanks again for your help!

[Kumar0307]

@JNiuNiu

As you are able to print a test page and make copies in black, it seems like the black ink cartridge is working fine. 

Have you tried printing different types of documents like PDF, Word or Webpages and check if the issue persists?

Keep me posted for further assistance.

[JNiuNiu]

1) please see image below.  I am able to print this test page (there is no colour on it).  I proceeded to try to copy this test page in the copy section of the printer and it came out blank.

2) I am able to print a resume PDF from adobe in black, perfectly.

3) I tried to copy the test page and the page has come out blank.

I  

[TEJ1602]

@JNiuNiu

Thanks for replying! This further requires remote assistance.

Please reach out to the HP Support in your region 

Hope this helps!

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!

[JNiuNiu]

Hello.

As I use the links both you and your associate have given me, both don't show the option to get a printer repaired, looked at or worked on- unless its a specific commercial business printer.

Is this indicting that this printer is going to have to be thrown out?

I TRULY, hope that this is not the case.  The printer is brand new and it prints black ink fine.

How will you advise me from here if the HP Support links do not aid in getting any help with my HP printer?

[TEJ1602]

@JNiuNiu

If you do not have repair options, you can opt for an upgrade. That's the best you can do at this given situation of yours.

Hope this helps!

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!