Printer prints most black words with a gray overprint version dropped 0.5 mm. New 901XL cartridge.

[EJohn2]

Printer is Officejet 4500G510g-m.  Prints color OK.  Problem arose with installation of new black 901XL cartridge.  Have realigned cartridges twice, no improvement.  Some words print OK (on the same line as bad words).  Is the cartridge at fault, or the printer?  Is this fixable?  Many thanks for advice.

[Kumar0307]

@EJohn2, Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Have you tried using an alternate/old Black ink cartridge and check if the issue persists?

Try making a standalone copy and check if that works. By this, we can conclude if this is a hardware or a driver issue.

For now, let us try these steps:

Clean the ink cartridges

1. Press Setup.

2. Select Tools, and then select Clean Cartridge.

Manually clean the area around the ink nozzles

Refer to step 10 mentioned in this document.

Print a test page on the printer

1. Press and hold the Cancel button .

2. While you press and hold the Cancel button , press OK.

   The self-test report prints.

Let me know how this goes.

If you feel my post solved your issue, please click “Accept as Solution”, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

[EJohn2]

Thanks, KUMAR0307, for your suggestions.  Prints (as you suggested) for "Clean Cartridge" and "Self-test report" had perfect black printing and no warnings.  I found an original page, printed from a Word file using an old cartridge, that was perfectly clean.  When I now printed it from the Word file using the new cartridge, most (but not all) words had the same errors I previously described.  And when I made a standalone copy of the original clean page (on the copier glass) it printed clean EXCEPT it made similar errors wherever there were pencil markings (black or pale blue) on the original.  What does this tell you?  Note:  I've noticed that the gray is an underprint of the black, not an overprint.  EJohn2.

[Kumar0307]

@EJohn2

It seems like an issue with the ink cartridge as the old cartridge is working fine. Please contact our HP Support team for Service Options:

1) Click on this link - www.hp.com/contacthp/

2) Select your product type below.

3) Enter the serial of your device.

4) Select the country from the drop-down.

5) Select the appropriate option based on your preference.

6) Fill the web-form and proceed further.

Keep me posted for any other assistance.

If you feel my post solved your issue, please click “Accept as Solution”, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!