My HP Officejet Pro K8600 will not print yellow.

[Geographer79]

My wide-format printer is a HP Officejet Pro K8600. It will not print yellow. If it sits overnight, it might print about 1/2 page with yellow, then yellow stops. I cleaned the printhead multiple times. I did align heads multiple times. I used a cotton swab with isopropol alcohol. I soaked the printhead submerged in isopropol alcohol. Still, nothing.

I heard this was an internal software defect as a planned obsolescence. Hope not.

Thanks, Phil 

[Raj1788]

@Geographer79

Welcome to HP Forums, 

This is a great place to get support, find answers and tips to your technical queries.

To provide you with an accurate solution, I'll need a few more details:

Are you using genuine HP Ink cartridge?

Is the copy working fine?

Let's follow the below steps that could resolve the issue.

Step one: Retry the print job

The problem may occur only rarely. If you have not seen it in other printouts, try again.

Step two: Increase the print quality mode

If reprinting did not help, try increasing the print quality mode.

1. In the application you are printing from, click File, then Print.

2. Make sure the printer is selected, then click Properties.

3. Select the Features tab.

4. In the Print Quality area, chose the next higher quality setting (if the current setting is Draft, choose Normal. If the current setting is Normal, choose Best).

Step three: Print in grayscale (black area streaking only)

If the streaks are in a black area of a black and white printout, change to grayscale printing.

NOTE: 

This step does not apply to color printouts.

1. In the application you are printing from, click File, and then click Print.

2. Make sure the printer is selected and click Properties.

3. Click the Color tab, and select Print Grayscale and High Quality.

Step four: Clean the printheads

If the print quality is still bad, clean the printheads.

1. Make sure the printer is loaded with unused white paper.

2. Open the printer Toolbox and select the Services tab.

3. Click Clean Printheads. A Clean Printheads window opens. Click the Clean button.

Step five: Align the printheads

If the print quality is still bad, align the printheads.

1. Make sure the printer is loaded with unused white paper.

2. Open the printer Toolbox and select the Services tab.

3. Click Align Printheads. The Align Printheads window opens. Click Align.

4. The printer prints an alignment page. The lines in the patterns should appear to be straight. Click OK when the page finishes printing.

Step six: Calibrate the linefeed

If the print quality is still bad, calibrate the linefeed:

1. Make sure the printer is loaded with unused white paper.

2. Open the printer Toolbox and select the Services tab.

3. Click Calibrate Linefeed. The Advanced Linefeed Calibration window opens.

Step seven: Check the ink cartridge lights

If any of the ink cartridge LEDs are lit, but not blinking, replace that ink cartridge only. The printhead will recover in most cases when a new ink cartridge is inserted.

• If replacing the ink cartridge did resolve the issue, you do not need to continue with the rest of the steps on this page.

• If replacing the ink cartridge did not resolve the issue, continue to the next step.

Step eight: Replace one or both printheads

If the print quality is still bad after performing all the previous steps, replace one or both of the printheads. Print a Print Quality Diagnostic page to see which printhead should be replaced.

1. Make sure the printer is loaded with unused white paper.

2. Press and hold the Power () button.

3. Press the Cancel () button seven times.

4. Press the Resume () button two times. Then release the Power () button and the diagonstics page prints.

   Figure : Print Quality Diagnostic page. Note the streaks in the red and green blocks (caused by the KY printhead)

   

5. Look at the color blocks labeled Test Pattern 2. Some or all of them should show white horizontal streaks (if none of the blocks are streaked, the printheads are okay).

   • If the Black block has lines – replace the KY printhead.

   • If the Cyan block has lines – replace the MC printhead.

   • If the Magenta block has lines – replace the MC printhead.

   • If the Red block has lines – replace the KY printhead.

   • If the Green block has lines – replace the KY printhead.

If the issue persists, click on this link: https://support.hp.com/in-en/product/hp-officejet-pro-k8600-printer-series/3434445/document/c0084895... and follow the Step nine.

Keep me posted, how it goes!

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the Accepted Solution and Kudos buttons, that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Have a great day!

Cheers:)

[Geographer79]

Thanks, Raj:

The steps you suggested did not resolve the issue of no yellow printing. Here is another symptom. The first page I print in the morning prints yellow, then  all subsequent print jobs have no yellow. Any other suggestions? I am hesitant to spend the money for a new printhead unless I know that will be the fix. This is an old and reliable printer, until now, and did a good job printing photographs up to the 11x17" size. Do the ink supply lines and nozzles get clogged? How would one clear them?

Thanks.

[Raj1788]

@Geographer79

Are you facing the same issue while making a copy or is it working fine?

If the copy is working fine, it could be a driver issue.

I recommend you delete the driver at the root level and Install the drivers, follow the steps below:

1.) In Windows, search for and open Programs and features 

2.) Select your HP Printer 

3.) Select Uninstall 

4.) In Windows, search for and open Devices and printers 

5.) In the Devices and Printers windows look for your HP printer. If you see it listed right-click on it and choose `Delete' or `Remove Device' 

6.) Open up the run command with the "Windows key + R" key combo. 

7.) Type printui.exe /s and click Ok. (Note: there is a space in between "printui.exe" and "/s") 

8.) Click on the "Drivers" tab 

9.) Look for HP Printer driver. If you see it Click on it and click Remove at the bottom 

10.) Select Ok

11.) Select Apply and Ok on the Print Server Properties windows

12.) Close Devices and Printers 

Then, Click on this link:  https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/swdetails/hp-officejet-pro-k8600-printer-series/343... to download the HP Officejet Pro Full Feature Software and Driver

Keep me posted, how it goes!

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the Accepted Solution and Kudos buttons, that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Have a great day!

Cheers:)