Smudged print

[Pierre2020]

My HP Officejet Pro 8620 e-All-in-One Printer started recently printing by smudging the printed document. This only seem to happen when printing in black & white. If I print a page with red, blue and green text, in color, the problem does not show up. It looks like the black cartridge is "leaking". Could that be? Any recommendations?

[asmita6658]

 @Pierre2020

Greetings!
 
Welcome to the HP Support Community. This is a great place to get support, find answers and tips to your technical queries. I have reviewed your post and I understand, there's an issue with the print quality.

Don't worry, I'm here to help! To better assist you - 

1) Are you using genuine HP ink? 

2) Have you tried any troubleshooting steps before posting here? 

Let's try these steps -

Step 1 Reset the printer -

1) Take out the cartridges.

2) Unplug the power cord from the printer & wall.

3) Wait for 30 seconds. 

4) Plug the power cord back into the printer and wall, ensure the printer is plugged into the wall & not to a surge protector.

5) Insert the cartridges back into the printer.

Step 2 Use genuine HP ink cartridges. 

Step 3 Check the print settings -

1) In the software application, you are trying to print from, click File, and then click Print.
The Print window opens.
2) Open the Properties dialog box.
Depending on the software application, the button might be Properties, Options, Printer Setup, Printer, or Preferences.
3) Depending on your print job, you might consider modifying the following settings:
· Paper Type: If you are printing on photo paper, select the type of photo paper you are attempting to print on.
· Print Quality: If you are dissatisfied with the quality of your printouts, increase the print quality. To print more quickly, decrease the print quality. These options typically include Best, Normal, and Draft modes.
· Paper Size: If you are printing on a different size of paper than you normally print on, select the correct paper size.
· Black and White: If you want to print in black and white only, select the grayscale option.
4) After selecting the print settings, click OK to apply the settings, and then click Print.

Step 4 Update the printer's firmware -

1) From the home screen on the printer control panel, touch the ePrint icon ().
2) Wait for the printer to connect to the ePrint server. The ePrint status displays.
3) Touch Settings on the bottom left corner of the screen.
4) Touch Printer Update, and then touch Check for Update Now.

Step 5 Check the estimated ink levels -

On the printer control panel, touch the Ink Level icon. Identify any ink cartridges that are low or empty, and replace it. 

If the issue still persists, print a Print Quality Diagnostics report -

1) On the printer control panel, touch the Right Arrow to display additional options.
2) Touch Setup, touch the Arrow and then touch Reports.
3) Touch Print Quality Report. The Print Quality Diagnostics Report prints.Down

Evaluate the report, if defect found try cleaning the printhead -

1) On the printer control panel, touch the Right Arrow to display additional options.
2) Touch Setup, and then touch Tools.
3) Touch Clean Printhead. There are three cleaning stages. A test page (different from the Print Quality Diagnostics page) prints between each cleaning stage. Do not use this test page for analysis. Touch No when prompted to continue the next level of cleaning.

Hope this helps!

Let me know how that goes.

To thank us for our efforts to help you, click here to access your public post and Select - "Accept as solution" and click on the  "Thumbs up". 

Have a great day ahead 🙂 

[Pierre2020]

It did not work. Went through every suggestion. As I told you, the problem is just with black ink, so your suggestions do not apply to the situation I am facing. Please have at look at the pictures. The last one shows 3 rectangles with no black ink being used. They are fine but for a trace on the green rectangle, as if the black cartridge was leaking (could not add a third picture, what's wrong with your messaging app?).

[Pierre2020]

[asmita6658 · Accepted solution]

@Pierre2020

Thanks for getting back to us. Appreciate you trying the steps. This indicates a hardware issue with the printer. I have sent you a Private Message with the  details regarding the service options for your printer.
 
Check next to your profile Name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it. Click here for more details on how to access the private messages on HP Forums.

Have a great day!