OfficeJet 8725 Skipping Letters when printing from specific device through HP Smart

[mo-user]

I have an officejet pro 8725 that will, periodically, skip letters when printing documents. 

This has happened so far with PDF and word documents.  It is not consistently happening, but when it does happen to a document on that device, then it keeps happening. 

This current situation has two documents, shown below where things are skipping letters.  In the PDF, it is numerous letters, but the same one each time.  For the powerpoint, it is just a few letters, like the j below, that is skipped in the same location, but prints in others.  I

am printing from a Microsoft Surface tablet with snapdragon processor running windows 11 home, OS build 26100.3775 using HP Smart. 

For these two documents, I have printed them from surface laptop and from my android phone and they printed fine.  So it appears, in this instance, to be tied to the machine.  Interestingly enough, I printed the PDF below to a PDF file, then printed that PDF from the surface tablet and it printed fine.

I did have this issue previously on the surface laptop too printing a PDF, but haven't had that for four weeks now on that device.

What I have done is the following:

• Cleaned the printer heads Through HP Smart
• Aligned the cartridges through HP Smart
• Ensured the printer firmware was up-to-date
• Turned off and restarted both devices
• Uninstalled and re-installed HP smart on the surface/snapdragon device

None of these have worked.  

I appreciate any support or guidance that can be provided.

 

[mo-user]

And it just occurred on a Microsoft Word document also.

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @mo-user 

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Thanks for posting your query! We're here to help you get back up and running.

It seems like the issue is specific to your Microsoft Surface tablet with a Snapdragon processor running Windows 11 Home. Since you've already tried cleaning the printheads, aligning cartridges, updating firmware, restarting devices, and reinstalling HP Smart, here are some additional steps to consider:

1. Check for Compatibility Issues

• Ensure that the HP Smart app and printer drivers are fully compatible with the ARM architecture of your Surface tablet. Some apps and drivers may not function optimally on ARM-based devices.

2. Update Windows and Drivers

• Check for any pending updates for Windows 11 Home and install them.
• Visit the HP Support page to download the latest drivers specifically for your OfficeJet Pro 8725 and ensure they are compatible with your Surface tablet.

3. Adjust Print Settings

• Open the print dialog box and verify the settings for the affected documents.
• Ensure that the font and formatting are supported by the printer.

4. Test with Another App

• Try printing the same documents using a different app (e.g., Adobe Reader for PDFs or Google Docs for Word files) to see if the issue persists.

5. Perform a Hard Reset

• Turn off the printer and unplug it from the power source.
• Wait for 2-3 minutes, then plug it back in and turn it on.
• Test printing again.

If my response helped, please mark it as an Accepted Solution! ✅ It helps others and spreads support. 💙 Also, tapping "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" makes a big difference! Thanks! 😊

Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye

[mo-user]

Hawks_Eye, thank you for your response.

Unfortunately things are worse now, it is printing one line of gibberish, going to next page and printing a line of gibberish and running through paper until I cancel the job.  

Fundamentally all I did was to install the universal ARM/Snapdragon driver. Here's the responses to your actions below.

1. HP website says they are compatible.

2. There are no pending Windows 11 update.  After searching on the HP support area on drivers, it appears that the universal snapdragon print driver may be needed.  I installed SUPD-4.08.1.3348-V4-ARM64 software downloaded from the HP website.  I got an error when it tried to print the test page.  Then I've tried to print documents and am getting the gibberish that I mentioned.  I performed a hard reset on the printer as noted in step 5 below.  At the same time I shut down and restarted my computer.  I then printed documents and got the same gibberish result.

3. Print settings were ok.

4. As I noted in the original post, this is occurring over 3 apps now.  I did try to print from adobe and powerpoint after installing the new driver.  I got the same gibberish result.

5. As noted above, I performed a hard reset.

I was able to print a pdf document from another device.

Now I have no idea what to do.

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @mo-user 

Thank you for sharing the detailed steps you’ve already taken to resolve the printing issue with your OfficeJet 8725. 

Your persistence and thoroughness are truly commendable, and I’m here to assist further.

Based on the information provided, here are some additional steps to try:

 

1. Driver Compatibility Check

• Uninstall the universal ARM/Snapdragon driver completely from your system.
• Download and install the latest driver specifically for your OfficeJet 8725 from the HP Support page. Ensure it matches your system architecture (ARM64).
• Restart your computer and printer after installation.

 

2. Printer Firmware Update

• Check if there’s a firmware update available for your printer on the HP Support page.
• Updating the firmware can resolve compatibility issues and improve performance.

 

3. Reset Print Spooler

• Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run the following commands:net stop spooler   del %systemroot%\System32\spool\printers\* /Q   net start spooler  
• This will clear any stuck print jobs and reset the print spooler.

 

4. Test Printing from Another Device

• Since you were able to print a PDF from another device, try printing from that device again to confirm the issue is isolated to your current system.

5. Alternative Driver Installation

• If the issue persists, consider installing a generic PCL6 driver or an alternate driver recommended for your printer model.

Keep me posted.

Regards,

Hawks_Eye

[mo-user]

Thanks for the continuing support.  The good news is that after deleting and reinstalling  is back to where it was.  The bad news is that, where it was is the original issue.

Driver compatibility check - HP support page is not very helpful on this. I keep getting pushed to this page with my different queries.  https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/hp-officejet-pro-8720-all-in-one-printer-series/model/7902037?s...

This page doesn't provide a driver download option for a new driver.  The last driver date is 2021 and I've reinstalled HP Smart 3 times in the last few days, so that should have the most current driver there.  If there is another page for the latest 8725 driver, please point me to it.

Printer Firmware Update - I already noted in the first posting that my printer firmware was up to date.

Reset Print Spooler - I'm not advanced enough to figure out how to get into the administrator area and do command prompts.  I tried from my user (the only user on the computer) and got errors.

Test printing from another device - As I shared previously, I was able to print the same documents from other devices, so it appears to be isolated to this Surface Pro with Snapdragon Processor.

Alternate Driver Installation - I downloaded this universal driver from HP's site.  upd-pcl6-x64-7.4.0.25959  However, when installing it I got the below issue.  I have no idea how to resolve this error.

[mo-user]

As an aside, there is a windows Universal Print Class Driver that is available on the machine.  The info on it online says the following

Yes, the Windows 11 Universal Print Class Driver can be a PCL (Printer Command Language) driver. Specifically, the "Smart Universal Printing" driver, which is part of the Universal Print Class Driver, will generate PCL6 by default if the connected printer supports it. It can also use other PDLs like PostScript, PCL3, or PCLmS.

I went into the printers properties and selected this driver.  I then tried to print two of the documents in question and got a printer error for each one, that I had to cancel out the print jobs.  

[Hawks_Eye]

@mo-user 

You are very Welcome!

It sounds like you've been through quite a troubleshooting journey! Since you're looking for the latest driver for the HP OfficeJet 8725, you might want to check this HP support page for software and driver downloads. It should provide the most up-to-date options available.

Regarding the Reset Print Spooler, if you're not comfortable with command prompts, you can try restarting the Print Spooler service through the Windows Services menu:

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, and hit Enter.
2. Scroll down to Print Spooler, right-click it, and select Restart.

For the Universal Print Class Driver, it’s possible that it doesn’t fully support your printer’s features. 

If switching to it caused errors, reverting to an HP-specific driver might be best.

Since the issue seems isolated to your Surface Pro with Snapdragon Processor, it could be a compatibility issue between HP Smart and your device’s architecture. 

Have you checked if HP Smart has any updates specifically addressing ARM-based processors?

Let me know if any of this helps or if you need more guidance!

Regards,

Hawks_Eye

[mo-user]

Hawks_Eye,

 You provided this HP support page, which is the same page I have been pushed to about a dozen times when doing different queries on 8725 support.  There is not an updated driver on this page.

I reset the print spooler and then couldn't print at all to the printer.  I rebooted the Surface tablet and it still wouldn't print.  I had to delete the printer and HP Smart and then re-install HP Smart and the printer.  I am able to print again with the same issue.

Yes, I did look specifically at HP Smart and ARM-Processors.  It shows an updated driver.  This is the one I am trying to install in the last comment when I got that error (copied again below).  You didn't address how to resolve the error.

[Hawks_Eye]

@mo-user 

It sounds like you've been through quite a troubleshooting journey! 

Based on what I found, the issue of skipping letters when printing from an HP OfficeJet 8725 using HP Smart on a Surface tablet with an ARM processor has been often resolved by cleaning the printer heads, aligning cartridges, updating firmware, and reinstalling HP Smart; however, the issue persists in this case.

Regarding the driver installation error, one user encountered error 0x800f0214, which indicates that the specified path does not contain applicable device INFs. If this is the same error you're facing, you might want to check whether the driver package includes the necessary INF files for your device. 

Some users have had success by manually extracting the driver files and pointing Windows to the correct INF file during installation.

If you haven't already, you could try the below steps:

Manually install the driver

• Download the latest driver package from HP’s official website.
• Extract the files if they are in a compressed format (like a .zip file).
• Open Device Manager (Win + X → Device Manager).
• Locate your printer under Print queues or Other devices.
• Right-click the printer and select Update driver → Browse my computer for drivers.
• Navigate to the extracted driver files and look for an .INF file. Select it and complete the installation.

Check for updated drivers

• Visit HP’s support page for your OfficeJet 8725 printer.
• Look for driver updates specifically compatible with your device and operating system.
• If a new driver is available, download and install it following the manufacturer’s instructions.

Ensure your Surface tablet is fully updated

• Open Settings → Windows Update and check for available updates.
• Install any pending updates, including optional updates related to drivers or system stability.
• Restart the device after updates have been installed to apply changes.

Reset the print spooler and reinstall HP Smart

• Press Win + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
• Scroll down to Print Spooler, right-click it, and select Restart.
• If necessary, stop the service and delete temporary spool files (C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS).
• Restart your computer and reinstall HP Smart from the Microsoft Store.
• Re-add your printer in HP Smart and test printing.

These steps should help resolve the issue you're facing with skipped letters when printing. 

Let me know if you need any further clarification or assistance!

Thanks,

Hawks_Eye