Print quality issue with magenta only. Print head issue?

[jehsom]

My print quality is suffering but only with magenta. I'm not sure what is causing it but I've done the deep 3-level cleaning and it says it might be the print head, but it's only magenta that is having a problem. What might be the issue? See below for an example of what's happening during the cleaning test:

Edge of magenta is not sharp

[atharva_gp]

@jehsom,

Thanks for reaching out to the HP Support community!

Let's try these steps:

Step 1: Use genuine HP ink cartridges

Step 2: Power Reset

• Make sure this printer is plugged into a direct wall, not a surge protector.
• Turn the printer on.
• Wait until the printer is idle and silent before you continue.
• Remove all of your ink cartridges from the printer and close the door.
• With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer.
• Unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.
• Wait at least 60 seconds.
• Plug the power cord back into the wall outlet.
• Reconnect the power cord to the rear of the printer.
• Turn on the printer, if it does not automatically turn on. The printer might go through a warm-up period. The printer lights might flash, and the carriage might move.
• Wait until the warm-up period finishes and your printer is idle and silent before you proceed.
• Reinsert the ink cartridges, and then close the ink cartridge access door.

Step 3: Align the printhead

• Load plain white paper into the input tray.

• On the printer control panel, touch the Right Arrow () to display additional options.

• Touch Setup (), and then touch Tools.

• Touch Align Printhead. The printer prints an alignment page.

• After the printer prints the alignment page, touch OK to return to the Home screen.

• Try to print

• If the issue persists, proceed to the next step.

Step 4: Update the printer firmware

The HP printer must connect to a wired (Ethernet) or wireless network with an active Internet connection to receive updates.

• 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.

• If the issue persists, proceed to the next step.

You can also refer to this document.

Step 5: Clean the Printer Head manually

• Follow the steps from this video and clean the print head.
• Try to print the quality report after cleaning and check.

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.

[jehsom]

@atharva_gp,

Thanks, I tried everything you mentioned, including following the YouTube video for cleaning the printhead, but that did not solve the issue... it is still having exactly the same issue with the red ink not coming out until slightly after it is first requested on each pass of the printhead, so on the Left-to-right passes, the red is fuzzy on the left border, and on the right-to-left passes, the red is fuzzy on the right border. 

You can see what I mean in the attached image taken from the alignment test:

Any other suggestions?

Thanks.

[atharva_gp]

@jehsom,

You have tried all the possible troubleshooting steps for this issue.

I think it could be a possible hardware issue either with the printer head assembly or with the printer.

I request you to contact our HP Support Team for repair/upgrade options.

Open this link.

Follow the on-screen instructions to contact our HP Support Team.

Cheers!

[jehsom]

Hi Atharva,

I went to the link you directed me to, but when I click on "contact a support agent", it just redirects me back to a screen where the only option is to go back to the support community. Could you please help me get in touch with an agent?

Thank you.

[atharva_gp]

@jehsom,

Follow these steps.

Step 1. Open link: www.hp.com/contacthp

Step 2. Sign in / sign in as a guest

Step 3. Enter the product number or select to auto detect

Step 4. Scroll down to "Still need help? Complete the form to select your contact options"

Cheers!