Some letters missing and white space through some text when printed

[AndresD9]

My new printer, with original HP ink cartridges with sufficient ink, does not print properly. The Print & Scan Doctor did not help. Doing a Print Quality Diagnostic shows that the print quality is good, but there are horizontal lines missing black ink. Doing a copy of that page is worse. I have seen similar problems mentioned in this community, but did not find a solution that I could use.

[rcspencer]

Hi AndresD9

Have you looked at Black or Color Ink Not Printing, Other Print Quality Issues?  It's hard to know exactly what is going on since I can't see what you are seeing, but generally with an inkjet printer, horizontal white space is indicative of either cloged or blocked ink nozzles, missaligned ink cartridges, or bad ink cartridges.  The document above can help you narrow down the problem.

Your description mentions that you printed out the Print Quality Diagnostic page, but you mention that the print quality is good, and then you say there were horizontal lines missing the black ink, I assume this is just the black ink box, and all of the color boxes look good (no white lines).  If so, you probably need to Clean the ink cartridges (see step 10 in the document above).  When the printer is done with the process, it should print a new Print Quality Diagnostic page, compare it to the first one, and see if it is improved or not.  You may need to run that process more than once if the nozzles are especially clogged.

Let us know how it turns out, good luck!

R

[AndresD9]

12345

Thanks Rcspencer,

I have tried cleaning the ink cartridges a couple of times, but it does not solve the problem. I have scanned some pages to demonstrate the problem:

1 - Typical print with clear sharp letters, but with some horizontal lines missing ink.

2 - A print with no problems visible.

3 - A copy made of Photo 2, now with many problems.

4 - A print of Print Quality Diagnostic (bottom of page deliberately cut off to hide SN), with good quality except Point 1 is missing.

5 - A copy made of Photo 4, now with many problems.

I hope this helps to identify my problem.

[rcspencer · Accepted solution]

Hi AndresD9

So I assume that all of the images you shared were scanned from the printers scan function?  Just ruling out any scan issues.

I am also assuming that you are using the original ink cartridges that were shipped with the printer (you said it was a new printers so assuming you are still using those original cartridges).

Since the lines are happening when copying (I assume from the front panel of the printer), that rules out any issues with the print driver installed on the PC, since that isn't used when copying.

One thing to try is to check the printer firmware and see if there has been an update (I've linked to the latest for your printer).  You can check the current version using the printer front panel, or printing a status report, instructions can be found in Printing Self-Test Pages.   Instructions for updating the firmware if it needs it can be found in Updating or Upgrading Printer Firmware.

Based on your images, it sure looks like some nozzels are not firing.  If cleaning them hasn't change the output, and updating the firmward dosen't do anything, the next thing to do is to replace the print cartridge that is having the problem.  If this is a new printer and still in warranty, I would suggest contact the HP Support for your country and talking to an agent about getting a replacement black cartridge. 

Good Luck.

R

[AndresD9]

Hi Rcspencer,

Yes the scans were from the printer and yes the printer still has the original cartridges. The firmware was up to date. I will pursue your advice about the nozzles and replacement cartridge.

Unfortunately I have an ongoing battle about the warranty: I bought the printer on 10 January 2019 and promptly registered it online, only to discover that HP records the warranty start date as 22 August 2017 and end date as 20 October 2018!!! I don't want to complicate this post, so I will consider the printing problem to be closed.

Thank you for your time!

[Cheron-Z]

@AndresD9

I have brought your issue to the attention of an appropriate team within HP. They will likely request information from you in order to look up your case details or product serial number. Please look for a private message from an identified HP contact. Additionally, keep in mind not to publicly post personal information (serial numbers and case details).

If you are unfamiliar with how the Community's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.
Thank you for visiting the HP Support Community.