Poor print quality and unexpected printouts

This section provides solutions to print quality problems.

Poor quality printouts

Meaningless characters print

Ink is smearing

Ink is not filling the text or graphics completely

The print settings may need to be changed

Output is faded or dull colored

Colors are printed as black and white

Wrong colors are printing

Printout shows bleeding colors

Colors do not line up properly

Lines or dots are missing from text or graphics

Poor quality printouts

Check the print cartridges

Replace any clogged print cartridges (see Using the print cartridges on page 19), and try to print again.

The printer may be in Ink-backup Printing Mode

The printer enters Ink-backup Printing Mode when one of the print cartridges is empty or removed. Replace the missing print cartridge with a new one (see Inserting the print cartridges on page 20).

Verify the ink levels of the print cartridges

One of the print cartridges may be low on ink. To view the ink levels, print a diagnostics page (see Printing a diagnostics page on page 83). (For Windows, if the Toolbox is installed, you can find ink- level information by clicking the Printer Status tab. For Macintosh, open the ink level panel from HP Inkjet Toolbox.) If the print cartridge is low on ink, replace it (see Inserting the print cartridges on page 20).

The print cartridges may need to be cleaned

Perform the auto-clean procedure (see Cleaning the print cartridges on page 22).

Check the paper quality

The paper might be too moist or too rough. Make sure the media used meets HP specifications (see Selecting print media on page 27), and try to print again.

90 Chapter 6 Troubleshooting

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HP K7100 manual Poor print quality and unexpected printouts, Poor quality printouts, Check the print cartridges