Solving Color Print Quality Problems, Black printing is fading

Table 5-11. Solving Black Print Quality Problems (Continued)

Black Print Quality Issue		Possible Cause and Solution

Black printing is fading	1.	Run the print cartridge cleaning routine to clear the nozzles. See “Using the Print Cartridge
		Cleaning Routine” in this chapter.
	2.	If the print quality does not improve, replace the print cartridge.

Characters, dots or lines	Missing dots may be caused by problems with any of the following:
are incomplete or missing	•	print cartridge
from printouts; or dark	•	printer hardware
horizontal lines appear in	•	connection between the printer and the print cartridge.
gray areas	See “Printouts Missing Rows of Dots” in this chapter for solutions.
	If you are printing from a Windows application:
	•	Select Presentation mode in the Printer Setup dialog box.
	•	Print the page again using manual feed.

Black output appears	The HP DeskJet 400 printer, when using a color print cartridge, produce composite black from
greenish	the color print cartridge by mixing colors. If this composite black appears greenish or
	otherwise unsatisfactory, try to arrange the document so that each page is either only color or
	only black; you can then change to a black cartridge before printing a black only page.

		Table 5-12. Solving Color Print Quality Problems

Color Print Quality Issue		Possible Cause

Printout is faint. Colors	1. Make sure that Letter Quality mode is selected (the Draft light should be off ).
appear washed out.	2. Adjust the intensity setting in your software to increase the amount of ink thrown onto the
		page. See your software manual.

Ink is smearing	See the Ink is smearing solutions in table 5-11, Solving Black Print Quality Problems.

Colors are missing or	1.	Run the print cartridge cleaning routine to clear the nozzles. See “Using the Print Cartridge
hues change on printouts		Cleaning Routine” in this chapter.
	2.	If the print quality does not improve, the print cartridge may be running out of one color of
		ink. Replace the print cartridge.

Print density is	1.	The print cartridge nozzles may be clogged. Run the print cartridge cleaning routine to clear
inconsistent		the nozzles. See “Using the Print Cartridge Cleaning Routine” in this chapter.
	2.	Make sure that you insert media print side up in the printer. Check the packaging for an
		indication of the print side. If you are using plain paper, try turning the paper over and
		printing on the other side.
	3.	Make sure that the media meets the speciﬁcations in chapter 1.
	4.	If printing transparencies, verify that the media is HP Premium.
	5.	Some paper that meets speciﬁcations in chapter 1 will not produce satisfactory results. Try
		a different brand of paper.