this video shows how to troubleshoot
print quality problems for a variety of
hp inkjet printers
hp makes many different printers with a
variety of ink systems and the
troubleshooting steps might vary by
printer for details on how to complete
the steps we're providing below for your
printer visit hp.com forward slash
support
in most cases the first steps are
typically the same for all hp inkjet
printers
first be aware that hp printers are
optimized for hp ink
hp recommends that you use genuine hp
cartridges
hp cannot guarantee the quality or
reliability of non-hp cartridges or
refilled hp cartridges
the type of paper you are printing on
can also have an effect on print quality
for better quality prints be sure to use
photo paper
if you are printing photos on plain
paper turn down the print quality to
normal to avoid soaking the paper with
ink
for example to change print quality in
windows 8 open the search charm
and search for devices and printers
then select devices and printers from
the search results
right click your printer and select
printing preferences
locate the print quality options and
adjust the print quality from the drop
down menu
and then click ok
finally check to see if you are low on
ink if you are unhappy with the quality
of your print and you know you're low on
ink you might need to replace a
cartridge some hp printers are designed
to stop printing before the print head
runs completely dry to protect the
printhead from being fired without ink
if you have one of these printers and
run out of ink replace the cartridge to
continue printing
now that we've covered a few tips for
quality printing we can walk through a
few basic troubleshooting steps printing
a test page helps you isolate problems
with your printer from any issues you
might have with your pc your software
application or the file you are printing
to print a test page on recent hp
printers make sure your paper is letter
sized plain paper on the printer's front
panel press the setup button
then press tools
and then press print quality report for
some printers the steps might be print
report and then print quality report
there are a variety of print quality
diagnostic pages most will have common
features such as color blocks and
alignment patterns used for diagnosing
printer problems
once you've printed a test page it is
important to review the results to see
if further action is required such as
cleaning begin by looking at color
blocks on the test page these blocks
represent each of the ink colors in your
printer if you have streaking or faded
color blocks on the test page perform a
cleaning
to perform an automated cleaning on
recent hp inkjet printers press the
setup icon
and then choose tools
and then clean printhead or clean
cartridge
some hp printers will have as many as
three levels of cleaning
after each cleaning a page is printed
if the problem is not fixed after the
page has been printed check the front
panel and try the next level of cleaning
if your cartridge has a vent check to
see if the corresponding cartridges are
properly vented if there's any residue
blocking the ink slot use a pin to
remove it another common feature on the
print quality diagnostic page is a set
of lines called the alignment pattern
these lines should appear straight on
the paper as shown here
if they are crooked you might need to
align your printer to align newer hp
printer models press the setup button
then tools
then align printhead
the printer will print an alignment page
this might take several moments
in some hp printers there will be a
second step where you need to scan the
alignment page
if you have one of these printers the
instructions will appear on your test
page
if cleaning and alignment did not fix
the problem on the diagnostic page the
next step is to try replacing parts if
your printer is in warranty your
printhead might be too and you can
contact hp for a replacement visit
hp.com for more information on warranty
replacement
if you have a printer with separate
printhead and ink cartridges see if the
printhead is replaceable open the
printer and look for a lever on the side
of the printhead a lever indicates the
printhead is replaceable wait until you
have a replacement part to remove the
printhead
for some cartridges the printhead is
part of the cartridge in which case the
whole unit is replaceable
if the date on the cartridge hasn't
passed and the cartridge still has ink
then it is covered under warranty return
it to the retail you purchased it from
or contact hp for a replacement
when you receive a new replacement
cartridge remember to peel off the
protective tape before inserting into
the printer
you can recycle your old ink cartridge
by returning it to hp visit hp dot com
forward slash recycle for more
information if replacing the cartridge
or printhead doesn't fix the problem and
the printer is in warranty contact hp
for service options you can find
additional helpful videos at hp.com
forward slash support videos and on our
youtube channel youtube.com forward
slash hp printer support