Page Alignment Error

[Village_Elder]

Hello, my trusty HP Officejet 7210 has decided to stop working. I don't use it very often, but now I need it.

I put in some new print cartridges, it accepted them, and proceeded to the alignment task. It print a blank page and gave generated an "alignment failed" error message on the display. The user manual suggested a paper sensor problem, and Bob_Headrick suggested a cleaning of the sensor located in the right rear bottom area of the cartridge tray. It is very hard to get to, and I cannot see what I'm doing as I try to clean it. Can someone tell me how to disassemble the unit so I can give that area a proper cleaning.

I love this printer and really don't want to buy a new one. Any help would be appreciated

Thanks!

[Nal_NR · Accepted solution]

Hi @Village_Elder,

Welcome to the HP Support Community. 

I'd like to help!

Reset the printer

Reset the printer to recover from printer errors or failures.

If your printer has a rechargeable battery, remove it.

With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the printer.

Unplug the power cord from the power source.

Wait 60 seconds.

Reconnect the power cord to a wall outlet and to the printer.

NOTE:

HP recommends plugging the printer directly into a wall outlet.

Turn on the printer to complete the reset.

Perform an alignment

Align the printheads or cartridges in your printer when you replace them, to improve print quality, or to clear an alignment error.

Make sure paper is loaded in the input tray.

Open the HP Smart app, and then click the printer image.

Click Print Quality Tools, and then select Align or Align Printheads.

If prompted by the software or printer control panel to scan the Alignment Page, follow the instructions on the page to complete the alignment.

If the alignment issue persists, continue with the steps and perform an alignment after each one.

Click here for the remaining steps. If this does not work, then it could be a hardware issue or the cartridge is faulty. 

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance.
Please click “Accepted 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!

[Village_Elder]

Hi, Elohi_NR and thanks for the response.

I tried the printer reset steps you suggested but unfortunately they didn't work. As an aside, my printer is ancient and is not fully supported by the HP Smart app, so the print quality functions are not available.

The print cartridges are new, sealed, authentic HP cartridges so I doubt they are faulty. If they are, it would be the 1st time I've received bad cartridges from HP - and I've used HP inkjets since the 80's.

I"m comfortable working on the hardware (even replaced a circuit board when the scanner malfunctioned) and this problem feels like hardware failure. To be certain, I just want to give the thing a thorough cleaning before I throw in the towel. Since you work at HP, is there any way you can tell me how to get disassembly instructions (like a service manual). If you can do that, I will take it from there.

Thanks!

[Nal_NR]

Hi @Village_Elder,

I will recommend you contact the support team who can assist you via remote. 

For that to happen, we will give you additional instructions/information via Private Message.

Please check your inbox on the forums page for the private message.

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