I get 'alignment failed' but the print out looks good to me

[joji]

I changed out the black ink cartridge. When I did the aligment step it printed out and said 'print cartridge alignment failed'

The print out page looks good to me -- no streaks, color is good, so I don't get it.

There was never a problem before and I have changed out the black cartridge many times.

Any help is appreciated. I would love to talk with someone if possible. Thank you.

[Riddle_Decipher]

@joji

Thank you for joining HP Forums. 

I'll be glad to help you 🙂 

As I understand there's an alignment failure on the HP Photosmart c5550 printer,

Don't worry as I'll be glad to help, however, to provide an accurate resolution, I need a few more details: 

Have you attempted to reset the printer?

Did you check the paper, then retry the printer alignment?

While you respond to that, here's what you need to do:

Solution one: Reset the printer

1. Press the Power button () to turn on the product.

2. With the product turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the product.

3. Unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.

4. Wait at least 15 seconds.

5. Plug the power cord back into the wall outlet.

6. Reconnect the power cord to the rear of the product.

7. If the product does not turn on by itself, press the Power button () to turn it on.

Solution two: Check the paper, and then try to align the printer again

If the paper tray contains color, photo, or used paper, the alignment fails. Load the correct paper, and then try the alignment again.

Step one: Load the correct paper

1. Remove all the paper from the paper tray.

2. Load unused, plain white letter or A4-sized paper with a brightness level of at least 85 into the tray.

      NOTE:

   Look for the brightness level on the paper packaging.

   Figure : Load paper into the tray

   

Step two: Align the printer using the printer control panel

1. Press the Setup () button on the printer control panel.

2. Press the Down Arrow () to select Tools, and then press OK.

3. Press the Down Arrow () to select Align Print Cartridges, and then press OK.

   The printer calibrates, aligns the cartridges, and then prints an alignment page.

4. When a success or failure message displays, press OK to continue.

Step three: Examine the alignment page

The alignment page should have both black and color print areas, and the print areas should be sharp and clear, with no fading or streaking.

• If the alignment page prints successfully and there is no error message, the issue is resolved, and you can stop troubleshooting.

• If the alignment page prints successfully and the 'Alignment failed' error message still displays, the sensor in the printer might be faulty. Skip to the solution at the end of this document to service the printer.

• If the alignment page is streaked, faded, or missing colors, continue to the next solution to check the cartridges.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE STEPS AND INSTRUCTIONS.

(By the end of this article all the issues should be resolved)

Do get back to me as I have a few more tricks up my sleeve, 

That said, If I have helped you resolve the issue, 

feel free to give me a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon 

followed by clicking on 'Accepted as Solution' 

And Have a great day Ahead!

[joji]

Thanks for responding --

I have done all those steps -- I have reset the printer a number of times and did the alignment thing and have come up with the 'alignment failure' notice about 5 times now. Each time the alignment print out looks clear to me -- all the colors are there, there is no streaking or fading.

I just did it again and the same thing happened.

So if you have another trick up your sleeve I am waiting to give it a try.

Thanks --

Joseph

[Riddle_Decipher · Accepted solution]

@joji

Thank you for responding,

It's great to have you back 😉

The next best thing to do, is reset the printer to factory defaults to fix this once and for all,

And to help you out, I'm sending out a Private message with the information you need

Please check your Private message icon on the upper right corner of your HP Forums profile 

Next, to your profile Name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it or simply click on this link: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/notes/privatenotespage 

Please reply back on the public post as this Private message box is not monitored.

(The reason we are utilizing the private message is because the instructions are critical)

Keep me posted,

If the information I've provided was helpful, 

Give us some reinforcement by clicking the solution and kudos buttons, 

that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Good Luck.