Problem Cleaning Cartridges of Officejet 5740

[DavidSchmidt]

Used HP Print and Scan Doctor 5.2.1 to print a test page and noticed a few white lines in the first column of the black ink box.  Ran the option to clean the cartridges.  It was still running (displayed "Cleaning cartridges . . .") after 15 minutes.  Assuming it wasn't suppose to take that long, I went ahead and printed another test page - - -  now there is hardly any black in printing in the first column of the black box AND only light gray printing in the alignment lines.  All other colors are printing fine and the Scan Doctor indicates that the black cartridge is about 1/3 full.  I decided to try and clean the cartridges again and the "Cleaning cartridges..." message has been displaying for the past hour.  This does not sound right. 

Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks very much, David

[The_Fossette]

@DavidSchmidt,

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Do you face the same issue when you make a copy?

Meanwhile, follow the below steps to clean the ink cartridges and check if it helps.

1. Load U.S. letter or A4 size, unused, plain white paper into the input tray.

2. On the printer control panel, swipe the display to the left, and then touch Setup.

   The Setup menu displays.

3. Swipe the display up, and then touch Printer Maintenance.

4. Touch Clean Cartridges.

   A Print Quality Diagnostic report prints.

5. Examine the Print Quality Diagnostic report.

   • If the print quality is unacceptable, touch Proceed when prompted to continue the next level of cleaning. Repeat these steps for the third cleaning stage, if necessary.

     NOTE: 

     If the printhead is badly clogged, it might require another cleaning cycle. If so, wait 30 minutes before you perform all three levels of cleaning again.

   • If the print quality is acceptable, touch Done when prompted to continue the next level of cleaning. You do not need to continue troubleshooting.

6. Examine the print quality on the Print Diagnostic report.

Let me know how it goes and you have a great day!

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accept as Solution. Your feedback counts!

Cheers!

[DavidSchmidt]

Thanks for the response.  Followed your directions (performed twice).  Unfortunately, the black ink is not showing in the Print Quality Diagnostic report - - - the yellow, red, blue and black "boxes" are outlined in black, but the fourth box (which should show black or grey columns) is pure white.  Scan Doctor still shows 1/4 ink remaining in black cartridge.  Any other thoughts?

Thanks, David

[The_Fossette]

@DavidSchmidt,

We need to perform a semi-full reset to fix this issue. However, as the steps to perform a semi-full reset are confidential and specific to your printer. I will be sending you a private message please watch your inbox for more information.

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accept as Solution. Your feedback counts!

Cheers!