HP Photosmart C4380 stuck in cartridge alignment mode

[returner]

I have replaced the Black Cartridge (with a genuine HP 350XL Cartridge) however the Printer remains stuck in cartridge alignment mode:

- the Display asks for paper to be inserted and to press "OK"

- the Printer successfully prints the cartridge alignment page

- the Display asks for cartridge alignment page to be placed on the scanner bed

- the Paper attempts to scan the paper but it always fails to complete the scan and alignment

- a power reset makes no difference and the Printer remains stuck in alignment mode

[sandytechy20]

@returner

Welcome to HP forums, I see that your printer is stuck in cartridge alignment mode.

Perform a power reset

1. Turn on the printer, if it is not already on.
2. Wait until the printer is idle and silent before you continue.
3. With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer.
4. Wait at least 30 seconds.
5. Plug back the power cable straight to a wall outlet without any surge protector and printer.
6. Turn on the printer.

Update the printer firmware

Refer this HP document for the steps to update the printer firmware:- Click here

Let me know how it goes.

To thank me for my efforts to help you, please mark my post as an accepted solution so that it benefits several others.

Cheers.

[returner]

Many thanks @sandytechy20 for taking the time to provide a response. Unfortunately, this did not resolve the issue.

A few further notes:

- my operating system in Mac OS 10.14.1

- there does not appear to be a new/updated Driver available for this OS

- I have deleted the Driver (in System Preferences/Printers & Scanners/Printers) and re-added

- I have physically removed and re-inserted the actually Cartridges

- I've used the HP Easy Start utility but this did not resolve the issue

- and, just to confirm, the Printer will successfully print jobs from the queue, however, because the display is stuck in Cartridge alignment mode it's not possible to manually execute scan or copy jobs

Any further suggestions..?  It's almost as if I need a "hard reboot" to get it out of this cycle...

[A4Apollo]

Hi @returner, I am the Mr.Robot. It looks like you were interacting with @sandytechy20, but he is out of the office today, so I'll take over from here.

I appriciate your efforts for writing back to us.

Have you tried checking with a different ink cartridge?

Splendid analysis and remarkable patience shown. It is immensely appreciated.

Please try the steps recommended below.

Step one: Load the correct paper type

1. Remove all the paper from the input tray.

2. Slide the paper guide to its outermost position.

   Figure : Slide out the paper guide

   

3. Load letter or A4 unused, plain white paper into the input tray.

   Figure : Load paper into the input tray

   

Step two: Print an alignment page

1. On the product control panel, press the button next to OK. The alignment page prints.

2. Check the alignment page to see if it printed correctly. The black and color blocks should be complete and not faded. The page should have no steaks, blurs, or missing patterns.

   • If the alignment page printed correctly, continue to the next step to scan the alignment page.

   • If the alignment page did not print correctly, skip to the solution in this document to check the cartridges.

Step three: Scan the alignment page

Follow these steps to scan the alignment page.

IMPORTANT! You must scan the alignment page to complete the alignment process.

1. Lift the scanner cover, and then place the alignment page print side down on the right front corner of the scanner glass. See the engraved guide next to the scanner glass for help loading the alignment page.

   Figure : Place the alignment page on the scanner glass

   

2. Press the button next to OK to start the scan. The product scans the alignment page and continues the alignment process. The power light () stops flashing when the alignment finishes.

Refer this article to further troubleshoot alignment issues with your printer. Click Here

If the issue still persists after trying out the steps, it is a hardware issue with your printer.

Let me know if this helps!

Take Care! 🙂

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!

[returner]

Hello @Mr.Robot.  Many thanks for taking the time to help with my issue.

I walked through the instructions that you provided, however, the Printer still reports "Alignment Page not detected" during the scanning phase.

The Alignment page that is printed looks good, the ink is clear and bold; there's no smudginess or streaks.  It's almost as if the Scanner doesn't see it, but if I power-down/up the Printer and then go directly into the Printers & Scanners utility, and manually scan the same page, the image appears fine and can be successfully scanned and saved.  It's only during the Alignment phase that the Printer/Scanner fails to detect a page...  I have attached the scan - due to size limitations it's at the relatively low resolution of 300dpi - just to show that the manual scan is successful.

I have tried swapping out the 350XL Black Cartridge - both for an old "empty" original HP and a third-party unit that almost certainly is not empty - but neither option gets me any further.  With the genuine HP unit installed I simply get to the start of Alignment process (but it hangs with the same symptoms) and with the third-party unit the Printer reports "Printer Cartridge(s) missing or not detected".  I'm reluctant to purchase yet another genuine 350XL Cartridge, to assist with additional testing, if the issue is terminal.

Any suggestions..?

[sandytechy20 · Accepted solution]

@returner

Thanks for the reply.

I appreciate your time and effort.

I am sending you a private message. Please check the mailbox icon at the top-right corner of this screen.

I hope this helps resolve this issue completely.

Cheers.