Ink not aligning for smaller text

[Lynn01]

Hello, I have a HP Photosmart C4780 Printer and it is suddenly not printing correctly.  I replaced the colored ink cartridge last week and it worked fine.  When I went to print this week the black was fading so I replaced my black cartridge even though it did not say it was super low. The ink is no longer faded, but now the alignment is suddenly off.  I have done the alignment test like 5 times now with no change, it does not give me any errors when I perform the test.  It's very weird because when it prints fast, it seems to align, but when I print with "best" quality it does not. I have also printed a test page and everything aligns correctly on this page but not when I print my actual document, and also I've cleaned the printer heads, and done a paper feed cleaning.  I have also restarted the printer, my computer, and gone through printer resetting steps.

I am attaching what my alignment page looks like, what the test page looks like (seems to be correct), and then what I'm actually trying to print looks like, kinda gives it a drop shadow (shows misalignment).  I have tried printing out of several different softwares including Preview, Microsoft word, Indesign and Photoshop.  They still look misaligned.  Please help!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i2-D4s5TUUaqANS28YIl6PcCXt-nomgq/view?usp=sharing 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/170vxT_kAIFjeIkbRoL-KQPPRGaTHLgPK/view?usp=sharing 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fkTpwS3j12bkFhbTWQpn_Sc-BDAvlkkW/view?usp=sharing 

[Lynn01]

Can anyone help? I see other forums describe this issue with no solutions.  It only is for black text, colored does not have this issue.  I also just cleaned the transparent strip thing and that didn't help either.  I replaced both cartridges again same issue. 

[jdre1 · Accepted solution]

I would return the ink if possible, and buy an OLD black ink off ebay.   I had two printers with this problem!   ( I SOLVED, just an hour ago, this exact shadow problem on my similar OfficeJet 4550 printer with an Old ebay 901xl cartridge from 2018)    I also have a Photosmart C4680 that uses the 60 cartridge, and the last Three inks I purchased would not align.   I tried 60 and 60XL, same.  2 60XL from HP, 1 60 from Staples, all product of Malaysia plant expiring June 2022.   HP refunded my cartridges, and I hope Staples will.  I still need my Old ink for the C4680 to arrive, and I hope for the results to be as good.   HP needs to correct the manufacturing problem, I hope they read this post, and save much hassle and frustration for their customers.

[Lynn01]

Hm that is interesting.  Please let me know if it works for your C4680.  I realized last night that they can line up when it prints faster/lower quality (that's why when the test and alignment pages print they look fine), but if I select like "best" quality in the print settings in Microsoft word or another program it does not align.  Did yours do this as well?

[Kumar0307]

@Lynn01, Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Have you tried using an alternate black ink cartridge and check?

With the old black ink cartridge, are the prints aligned?

I'm afraid the new black ink cartridge could be defective as you have already tried the necessary steps.

To resolve alignment issues, refer to - Alignment Errors

More info on resolving print quality issues can be found here - Fixing Print Quality Problems for the HP Photosmart C4600 and C4700 All-in-One Printer Series

There is no firmware update available for this printer. If the issue persists, please reach out to the HP Support in your region regarding the service options for your printer. 

Keep me posted for any other assistance.

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!

Have a great day! 

[Lynn01]

Hi did buy a new black ink and color cartridge and it still had the same problem.  😞 

I did try putting the old cartridge back in that was aligning correctly and it no longer printed any black ink, I think it is too low now to print at all unfortunately. 

I am not receiving any alignment errors when I do the alignment test.  It says it was completed successfully, and I have done it several times now and still seem to have an alignment problem. 

I uninstalled the driver and reinstalled it. 

I did do a print quality diagnostic report, and the alignment patterns do look slightly jagged, but there's no advice on how to fix this, at least nothing I haven't already done yet. 

I also just did a semi-full reset from the support menu.

Have you heard of any manufacturing issues with recent cartridges?

[jdre1]

My C4680 is the same way, Fast Draft mode was normal other modes shadowed.   My 60 ink should come tomorrow evening so maybe by Saturday I will know how it works.   I had previously went through the software versions as well on Windows XP and 7, no changes.   Your new color aligned with the old black, so it's certainly the black ink. 

[jdre1]

The Ebay "expired in 2016" 60 black ink came today, and now my Photosmart C4680 is back in service!!  The new production ink were all misaligned for me.

To HP:  It's ridiculous to repair something this way, could someone from HP forward this forum to Quality Control?  So many wasted cartridges, returns and hours of frustration could be saved.   This is the first time I have run into misaligned ink.  HP60 60XL and 901(All Black) were affected for me.   I have to return 2 60 and 901 inks to Staples tomorrow.   I want to just buy the ink as usual next time!

[Lynn01]

Wow thank you for following up! I will try to get my ink returned but I'm not sure if I will be able to 😕   I will try older ebay ink and follow up here. 

[jdre1]

Any luck yet?  I hope it worked for you.  There are a couple other topics on this forum now involving this same problem with 60 ink.