HP ENVY 5540 Won't Print Color Windows 10 Over Wireless Network

[Surfdude2000]

My HP ENVY 5540 just stopped printing in color from my Windows 10 desktop a few weeks ago on my wireless network, however it does print color if I use a USB cable or send pictures from my iPhone. The color cartridge is about 2/3 full. I've reinstalled the driver on my Windows 10 machine, but for some reason, it just won't print color over the wireless network. What is even more puzzling is there is no option to switch back and forth between color and black and white in the Printing Preferences. Picture previews, before printing are also gray-scale. Check the screen shots. I'm lost... Any suggestions out there? Thx - joe

 

[DavidSMP]

Hi @Surfdude2000,

Good Day. A warm welcome to the HP community. I reviewed the case regarding problems with printing in color. Superb description, brilliant troubleshooting and terrific observations made before posting. Kudos to you for that. 🙂 I will be delighted to assist you here.

For better clarity, and to assist you correctly, I would require more information regarding this:

• Did you try to print from multiple apps like MS Word or Adobe Reader?
• Did this happen after a software or Windows update?

For now, try these steps:

• Please uninstall the printer software and drivers:
• Uninstall the printer from "programs and features" which can be accessed by doing a right-click on the Windows button (Please have the printer Off and disconnected during uninstallation.)
• Check in device manager, if the printer is listed there, please delete it. (Right click on the Windows button to access device manager)
• Go to devices and printers, select any printer listed there and you will get some options on the top.
• Click on print server properties.
• You will get a popup, click on the drivers tab and delete all the HP printer drivers listed there if any.
• Delete all the instances of your printer listed in devices and printers.
• Restart the PC.
• Once the PC is on the desktop, press Win + R, it would bring a Run dialog box,
• Type %temp% in the run box and click Ok or hit the Enter button.
• It would bring up the temporary files folder. Delete the files in the folder (You might not be able to delete all the files).
• If possible, delete the printer from the registries using Regedit or using any other 3rd party application.
• Ignore the Regedit option if it cannot be done.
• Restart the PC again.

Log into the new user account after restarting your computer.

Then download the latest full feature driver from http://hp.care/2rIgkZ5  and install it on the computer after selecting the correct operating system.

Connect the printer to your computer only when the setup prompts for the printer.

This should fix the issue.

If this does not do the trick, please download the Windows Built-in drivers by following instructions from this link: http://hp.care/2o3acvH

This will resolve the issue for you.

• This link:http://hp.care/2sdO3Zy shows you how to change the printer settings. Please look up the option "Color and black & white settings" to change the settings of the printer to print as required.

Please perform all these steps patiently as it is critical to resolving the issue. The trick is to remain patient. Going by your technical expertise and competence I am sure you will be able to perform these steps without breaking a sweat.

Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes. To simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue to get it resolved without hassles.

Take care and have a blessed week ahead. 🙂

Cheers!

[Surfdude2000]

Thanks David...

I’ve done a bit more troubleshooting and was able to print a color test sheet over the wireless network using my laptop running Windows 10, so this issue is only related to my desktop computer, when trying to print wirelessly. This has been the same regardless of what program I’ve tried to print from: Word, Power PFD or just a picture file. The puzzling thing is that there is no color or black and white option in the Printing Preference window. 

This weekend, when I get some free time, I’ll go down list you gave and see if I/we can get to the root of this. Thank you for your help, - joe

[DavidSMP]

HI @Surfdude2000,

I read the super quick reply.Thanks for the response. You've done great by displaying immense patience and immaculate attitude to try and resolve the issue. Kudos to you for that. You've also displayed great technical competence in this regard by printing in color over the wireless network.

This reinforces the fact that it is a driver issue. Uninstalling and reinstalling the printer software will do the trick for you.

Please keep me posted on how it goes. Let me hear some good news that is music to your ears and mine. I genuinely hope the product works great and last you a long time.

If you found my information useful, then to simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue to get it resolved without hassles.

Take care and have a blessed year ahead. 🙂

Cheers!

[Surfdude2000]

Hi David... I uninstalled the HP 5540 as did a complete re-install. Unfortunately it hasn't resolved the problem. It still will only print b&w from the network connection. I shot a short video to document the problem.

HP ENVY 5540 - no color on network printer

Once I did a reinstall, I discovered that it still only prints b&w from the network connection, so I reconnected the USB cable.

Once I did that I checked the Printer Preferences for both the USB and Network Connections and each showed b&w and color options. This is a step in the right direction, because the Network Connection, previously had no option, at all.

 

Unfortunately, when I went to print a color pic, the Network Connection still shows up in gray scale.

I

If I toggle back and forth between the Network and USB connection, you can see the print preview change between b&w and color.

So as they say, back to the drawing board. I just printed a color 4x6 from my iPhone, so the problem seems to be local to my desktop computer. I'll go down through your list again tomorrow to see what the next logical step should be. Thx - joe

[DavidSMP]

Hi @Surfdude2000,

I read the quick response. Thanks for the reply. Brilliant effort and Kudos to for that.  It clearly indicates that there is an issue with the operating system of the computer and not the printer.

• Did you try the built-in drivers from my previous post?

If you've tried using the built-in drivers and they still don't work, then try these steps:

• Uninstall the printer drivers by following the steps from my previous post. 
• Then create a new local user account as an administrator by following the steps from this link: http://hp.care/2rZfJBC
• Later restart the computer and log in to the new user account.
• Then download the full feature printer software from the support site and try to print in color.
• This should do the trick for you.
• If that does not work, then perform  Microsoft a push button reset of Windows 10 from this link: http://hp.care/2g0Tjzs;
• Then download the full feature software from the HP support site and install it on your computer.
• This should fix the issue.

Let me know how it goes and you have a great day!

To simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue to get it resolved without hassles.

Take care and have a superb week ahead. 🙂  

[mjceli]

I am having the exact same issue.  HP 5540 will not print i color from my wireless connection on my desktop however if I send a print job from my phone or ipad it works perfectly.  I don't even have the option as David stated to switch between color and grey scale.  Any ideas?  I uninstalled and reinstalled, updateed drivers etc and no change.  This just started happening a couple of months ago.

[Surfdude2000]

I was able to resolve this issue, I believe, by changing the printer device it was sending to. Check to make sure that your software is sending to HP ENVY 5540 series (Network) and not HP ENVY 5540 series. I believe that was the issue in my case. 

[mjceli]

Thank you for your response,  where is the setting to verify where it is sending

[Surfdude2000]

First check the global settings by opening the Control Panel > View Devices and Printer to see what’s selected. It should have HP ENVY 5540 series (Network) selected. If you don’t see that, you need to reinstall the wireless driver. If that’s okay, open any program and select a file to print.
It is different from software to software, but in Word, when you go to print, a dialogue box opens and in it, you have a dropdown box that when you open, gives a list of options you can send it to: fax, pdf , etc and that’s where you should see it on a software level. Hope that helps.