HP Officejet sporadically refuses to print in color

[JaffaFoose]

In a nutshell, my printer sometimes fails to print in color, and there's no apparent rhyme or reason to when or why.

The printer is an Officejet 3830.  It is used as a network printer and accessed wirelessly through our private Wifi network by several computers.  Most of the time, it works fine (apart from network hiccups which obviously don't reflect on the printer), but every once in a while, it prints in black and white. 

In one case, the color toner was low, so I tried replacing it.  The first thing we tried to print came out in color just fine, but then literally the next thing we tried to print was black and white again.

Any ideas on what might be causing this?

[Betty0610]

@JaffaFoose

Welcome to the HP Support Community.

Are the color copies coming out well?

Use the printer control panel to clean the ink cartridges, and then evaluate the results.

NOTE: 

To avoid issues that require cleaning, always turn the printer off with the Power button.

1. Load plain paper into the input tray.

2. On the printer control panel, swipe the display to the left, and then touch Setup.

3. Touch Tools, and then touch Clean Cartridges.

4. The printer performs the automated cleaning process and then prints a Print Quality Diagnostic page.

   • If the print quality is acceptable, you can stop troubleshooting.

   • If the print quality is unacceptable, touch OK for a Second-level Cleaning when prompted to continue the next level of cleaning.

     NOTE: 

     If the ink cartridge nozzles are badly clogged, it might require another cleaning cycle. If so, wait 30 minutes before you perform both levels of cleaning again.

Try to print.

If the issue persists, please perform the remaining steps from this document: https://support.hp.com/in-en/product/hp-officejet-3830-all-in-one-printer-series/7172321/document/c0...

Let me know if this helps.

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Thanks!

Have a great day!

[JaffaFoose]

When it actually prints in color, the color copies are fine.  There are no smudges.  We get our ink cartridges directly from HP Instant Ink, and we just replaced them.  

[asmita6658]

Hi @JaffaFoose

Thanks for replying. 

To better assist you - 

1.) Does the color copy works? 

2.) Have you tried printing using a USB cable? 

I'd suggest, try adding the printer using the IP address and check if that works -

1.) Select “Start” and type “printers” in the search box.

2.) Choose “Printers & scanners“.

3.) Select “Add a printer or scanner“.

4.) Wait for the “The printer that I want isn’t listed” option to appear, then select it.

5.) Select “Add a printer using a TCP/IP address or hostname” , then select “Next“.

6.) Select “TCP/IP Device” in the “Device type” list.

7.) Type the hostname or the IP address of the printer. Select “Next“. To find the IP address of the printer, touch the Wi-Fi icon on the printer's control panel. 

8.) Windows should find the printer if the printer is on and configured correctly. You may have to specify more information. If prompted, Select the type of network adapter installed in the printer in the “Device Type” drop-down list. You can also click “Custom” to specify custom settings for the network printer. Select “Next“.

Let me know. 

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

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Have a great day!