Print on DVD disk is half faded

[wegiea]

I have the HP C309a Photosmart Premium printer with fax. I love this printer. have owned it for several years. It prints my dvd labels great. lately I noticed it isn't printing right. seems like after I updated windows 10 . It prints the DVD's but it starts out great and halfway through the DVD it fades out to a pale washed out colors. At first I thought I was out of ink even though the it showed yellow and magents was low but had not given me any warnings. but I thought the DVD looked like it does when I run out of ink so I replaced both the magenta and yellow. all other cartridges say full. I printed a second disk and the result is the same. I cannot find any reason the disks are printing like that. I can print a photo or an image on regular paper and it looks right. just the disks are faded out on the bottom half of the dvd. just wondered if anyone else has this problem or knows what to do about it. I do not get an error message. I runs the printer and prints the disk it just is faded out on the lower half of the disk. I don't want to give this printer up. I really love it and have not found one that will print DVD's as well as this one....did...any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank You. Alma

[A4Apollo · Accepted solution]

Hey there! @wegiea, Thank you for visiting the HP Forums! A great place where you can find solutions for your issues, with help from the community!

I understand when you print a DVD disk from your printer the print output is faded.

Don't worry I'll try to help you out.

Did you make any changes to your printer?

Does the issue persist when you make a copy from your printer?

Have you tried printing using a different application?

Have you tried printing using a different ink cartridge?

Have you tried checking with a different brand paper?

As you mentioned when you print a DVD disk from your printer the print output is faded.

Replace low or empty ink cartridges on your printer.

Some HP Photosmart printers released prior to 2010 have a special CD/DVD holder and tray for printing directly onto a disc. To support this accessory, the driver packages included Roxio Express Labeler, HP Photosmart Essential, or HP Photosmart Studio design software. Unfortunately, these programs are no longer supported in newer operating systems. If you have one of these programs installed on a computer with Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Mac OS X 10.6 or earlier

Since you are running windows 10 on your PC the software is no loger supported.

However, You can try the steps recommended below.

Step 1: Load the disc into the CD/DVD holder

Place the disc in the CD/DVD holder and insert it into the printer's CD/DVD tray.

1. Obtain CDs or DVDs that have a printable surface. For better results, record the data on to the disc before printing.

2. Move the printer so that the rear side is at least 7.5 cm (3 in) away from any wall or objects. While printing on the disc, the CD/DVD holder protrudes from the rear of the printer by that distance.

3. Pull the CD/DVD tab  to remove the CD/DVD holder from the storage area below the main tray.

   Figure : Remove the CD/DVD holder from under the main tray

   

4. Place the CD or DVD print-side up on the ring on the CD/DVD holder, and then snap it into place.

   Figure : Load the disc into CD/DVD holder

   

   If you are using a small disc, snap it into place on the holder, and then flip the CD/DVD holder ring over the disc.

   Figure : Flip the CD/DVD holder ring over for small discs

   

5. Lower the CD/DVD tray. The CD/DVD tray sits on top of the output tray sits on top of the main tray in its lowered position.

   Figure : Lower the CD/DVD tray

   

6. Push the CD/DVD holder into position in the CD/DVD tray until the lines on the holder match up with the lines on the tray.

   Figure : Insert the CD/DVD holder into the tray

   

Refer this article to know more information about printing on a CD\DVD. Link: http://hp.care/2pAIIwq

If the solution provided worked for you, please mark accepted solution for this post.

Hope this answers your query!

Take Care! 🙂

Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

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[wegiea]

Thank you for all the suggestions. As I went through them I tried checking the ink cartridges. I found the one for 'Photo Black' , even though I just replaced it the day before was , in fact empty. when I replaced it, I also replace the other black cartridge just in case....The problem went away. SO, even if you freshly open a cartridge it doe's not mean it is a new, full of ink cartridge. I had these cartridges for a while and I assume it dried up while in storage. But the problem was an empty new cartridge which I did not suspect until I pulled most of my hair out. Problem solved. Thanks everyone for the help.

[A4Apollo]

@wegiea, Thanks for your quick response and time.

I appriciate your efforts for writing back to us.

As you mentioned after replacing the ink cartridge your issue got resolved.

I am happy to hear that your issue got resolved.

If you have any queries in future related to any HP products, you can always reach out to us.

We will try our best to help you out.

Take care,

Have a great day! 🙂

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!