Chapter 8
This section contains the following topics:
•Print and evaluate a print quality report
•Advanced printhead maintenance
•Advanced ink cartridge maintenance
Clean the printhead
If your printed output is streaked or has any incorrect or missing colors, the printhead might need to be cleaned.
There are two stages of cleaning. Each stage lasts about two minutes, uses one sheet of paper, and uses an increasing amount of ink. After each stage, review the quality of the printed page. You should only initiate the next phase of cleaning if the print quality is poor.
If print quality still seems poor after you complete both stages of cleaning, try aligning the printer. If print quality problems persist after cleaning and aligning, contact HP support.
NOTE: Cleaning uses ink, so clean the printheads only when necessary. The cleaning process takes a few minutes. Some noise might be generated in the process. Before cleaning the printheads, make sure you load paper. For more information, see Load media.
Not turning the printer off correctly can cause print quality problems. For more information, see Turn off the printer.
To clean the printhead from the control panel
1.Load letter, A4, or legal unused plain white paper into the main input tray.
2.Touch right arrow 
, and then select Setup.
3.Touch Tools, and then select Clean Printhead.
Align the printhead
The printer automatically aligns the printhead during the initial setup.
You might want to use this feature when the printer status page shows streaking or white lines through any of the blocks of color or if you are having print quality issues with your printouts.
To align the printhead from the control panel
1.Load letter, A4, or legal unused plain white paper into the main input tray.
2.On the printer control panel, touch right arrow 
, and then touch Setup.
3.Touch Tools, and then select Align Printer.
Print and evaluate a print quality report
Print quality problems can have many causes: software settings, a poor image file, or the printing system itself. If you are unhappy with the quality of your prints, a Print Quality Diagnostic page can help you determine if the printing system is working correctly.
114 Solve a problem