Officejet Pro 8600 will not load HP photo paper

[Jerol]

Just getting to this forum was torture.

I need the world's most complex password, evidently, so that evil Russian hackers can't find their way into my HP forum account which could put the entire world's future at risk.  In addition, I need to identify the world's smallest taxis on multiple tiny photos in order to prove I'm not an evil robot... but I digress.

I have the world's most annoying printer -- the HP Officejet Pro 8600.  It will not load HP's own photo paper -- continually giving an error message that states the printer is out of paper.  It's not.  It's filled with HP's own proprietary photo paper and it will not load the paper from the tray to the printer.  It loads normal paper fine -- just not photo paper or anything thicker than a standard sheet of paper.  

I've gone through the "solutions" -- reboot the printer (waste ink), unplug the printer (waste more ink), "build up" the paper feeder (waste of time AND ink), update the firmware, adjust the settings for thicker paper (cardstock is NOT an option despite instructions to use that setting).  Nothing works.  I just want to print some photos. 

Any ideas?  

I know, get another printer.  I'm coming to that conclusion as well.  But any other advice would be welcome.

Thanks

Mike

[atharva_gp]

@Jerol,

Thanks for reaching out to the HP Support community!

Appreciate all the time and efforts that you have put in to perform those troubleshooting steps.

Are you able to print regular documents off your HP Printer?

There are some additional troubleshooting steps that may fix this issue.

Let's try these steps:

Step 1: Make sure this printer is plugged into a direct wall, not a surge protector.

Step 2: Update the printer firmware

• From the home screen on the printer control panel, touch the ePrint icon ().

• Wait for the printer to connect to the ePrint server. The ePrint status displays.

• Touch Settings on the bottom left corner of the screen.

• Touch Printer Update, and then touch Check for Update Now.

• Once the update is complete try printing.

Step 3: Clean the paper pick rollers

Dust, paper fiber, and other debris might accumulate on the paper feed rollers and cause paper feed issues. Clean the rollers inside the printer and in the duplexer.

• Gather the following cleaning materials
  • A clean, lint-free cloth, or any cloth that will not come apart or leave fibers
  • Distilled, filtered, or bottled water (tap water might damage the printer)
• Press the Power button to turn off the printer.

• Disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer.

• Unplug the power cord from the electrical outlet.

• Disconnect any other cables attached to the printer.

        

• Remove the tray from the printer by pulling it toward you.

• Check for and remove any foreign objects that might have become lodged in the paper path, including any jammed or torn paper.

• Lift the printer from the right side, and then place the printer on its left side.

• Turn the printer so you see its underside, and then locate the pick roller.

• Roll the pick roller to the right so that the rubber part faces you. This might require some force.

                                          

         The pick roller in its normal position                     The rubber part of the pick roller

• Lightly dampen a clean, lint-free cloth with bottled or distilled water, and then squeeze any excess liquid from the cloth.
• Press the cloth against the rubber part of the roller, and then rotate the roller to the right with your fingers. Apply a moderate amount of pressure to remove any dust or dirt buildup.
• Rotate the roller back to its original position. (The pick roller in its normal position picture). Remove any jammed papers.
• Turn the printer back around so that the control panel faces you.
• Place the printer its normal position.
• Re-install the paper tray
• Try printing and check if picks the paper

Step 4: Create Custom Paper settings for the printer

• Open up the run command with the "Windows key + R" key combo.
• Type printui.exe /s and click Ok. (Note: there is a space in between “printui.exe” and “/s”)
• 
• Select Create a new Form
• 
• Select the photo paper size.
• on the bottom of the form enter the width, height specifications etc. that you find from the photo paper packaging.
• Rename the form
• Click OK.
• Open the photo, click on print.
• In the print preset window, select the custom paper size  that you have created
• Try to print

Let me know if this helps. 

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.