HP offers some of the best-quality printers to its massive user base. However, printer issues are common with machines of all brands. Users often report their HP printer not printing colors correctly, which hinders them from producing the desired output.
The major causes for this issue are incorrect printer settings, corrupt printer drivers, or problems with the cartridge. So to fix it, you must rectify the printer settings, replace the printhead, and replace cartridges with low ink. Read on to learn some good measures to make your HP printing machine print color correctly.
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Measures to Fix HP Printer Not Printing Colors Correctly
Use these tried-tested resolutions and fix the glitch with your printer.
1. Enable the color option in the printer settings
Your printer will not print appropriately if the color option is not on. Here are the steps to enable the print color command.
- Tap the ‘Start’ button and choose ‘Settings.’
- Now, hit the ‘Printers’ option.
- Right-click the icon of your HP printer.
- From the dropdown, choose ‘Properties.’
- In the Properties page, tap the ‘Printing Preferences’ option.
- Now, hit the ‘Paper/Quality’ tab, which is the second option at the top-left.
- Select ‘Color.’
- Tap ‘OK.’
- Give a test print command.
- If the problem persists, disable the ‘Greyscale’ printing option.
- It is also in the Printing Preferences section.
2. Check the ink levels and replace the toner cartridges
If you find your HP printer not printing colors, the ink levels in the cartridges may be low. First, find out the ink levels in your printer model and then replace the cartridges.
- If your printer has an LCD control panel, hit the ‘Setup’ button.
- Head to ‘Reports.’
- Navigate to ‘Supplies status.’
- Select ‘Print supplies status page’ and hit ‘OK.’
- HP Inkjet printer users can press the ‘Ink’ icon. It will show the ink levels.
- If the levels are low, replace the cartridges.
- If the cartridge is full, but you still find color not printing on HP printer, check the ink’s expiry date.
- If the cartridge’s expiry date is over, replace it with a new one.
3. Clean the printhead
The function of a printhead is to put ink on the paper and create a coherent text. This error can also be because of an unclean printhead, which is not allowing ink to print on the paper correctly. So, clean the printhead through these points.
- Access the Windows Start button, and from there, move to Control Panel.
- Here, choose ‘Drivers and Printers.’
- On the next page, find your HP printer’s icon.
- Right-tap it and select ‘Properties.’
- Now, click the ‘Hardware’ option.
- From the subsequent window, click ‘Clean ink.’
- Now abide by the points you see on the screen for printhead cleaning.
- Finally, give a test print and see if the HP printer prints color correctly.
4. Choose a color theme
If you still find the HP printer color not printing correctly, choose the correct color theme. Here’s how to manage colors in your printer.
- Choose the ‘Print’ option on the software application.
- Choose your HP printer and tap ‘Printing Preferences.’
- After that, tap the ‘Color’ tab.
- Clear the ‘HP Easy Color’ checkbox if you have selected it.
- From the color-theme dropdown, choose a color theme.
- Hit ‘OK’ and exit the ‘Properties’ dialog box.
- Tap ‘OK’ in the print dialog box and give a print command.
5. Choose the additional layout and print option
You may find your HP printer not printing colors correctly due to the incorrect size of your image or document. You need to choose the Additional Layout and Print option to fix this problem.
- If the printed document is of incorrect size, select ‘Reduce slash and large document.’
- Now, choose the ‘Fit to page’ option to size the document.
- You can now reduce or increase the size of the document by selecting the ‘Zoom to’ option.
- If you desire to change the sharpness, brightness, or saturation of the image, select ‘Automatic.’
- Choose ‘Custom.’
- Now, hit the ‘Advanced’ button.
- It will change the color correction manually.
- Go to additional settings by selecting the ‘Image’ option.
- These settings will enhance the printed output.
- If you want a watermark in the output, choose the ‘Watermark’ settings.
- Choose ‘Settings’ to further customize the text and its location on the page.
- Use it to add headers and footers to the document.
6. Find if the toner cartridge has any damage
Sometimes, you may not notice that your HP printer’s toner cartridge is damaged. It is particularly true for HP laser printers. Follow these pointers to find out if there’s any damage to the toner cartridge of your printer.
- Take away the toner cartridges from your HP printer.
- Now, remove the sealing tape.
- Rock the cartridges to make the powder toner distribute evenly.
- There must be no damage to the memory chips of the toner.
- Now, check the roller surfaces of the cartridges.
- Keep in mind not to come in contact with the roller.
- If you find any scratches or damage on the roller, replace the cartridges.
- If there is no sign of damage, rock the cartridges again.
- After that, reinstall them.
- Now, give a test print command and see if the output is correct.
7. Review the print quality report results
First, print a quality report and then examine its results.
- Load your device with the correct papers.
- Head to the ‘Setup’ menu of your printer and select ‘Tools.’
- Now select ‘Print Quality Report.’
- Your report shouldn’t be faded or have missing print.
- If you find white lines, review the green color blocks.
- Also, review the alignment lines.
- If you find the print quality report not up to the mark, ensure to use a high-resolution image.
- Those with low resolutions often appear blurry when enlarged.
- You can also clean your ink cartridges to fix the issue.
- After cleaning the cartridges, print a quality diagnostic report.
Read Also: Why Hp Printer Is Offline
Make Your HP Printer Print a Crisp Output!
Changing cartridges with low ink, cleaning the printhead, and enabling color command will help you troubleshoot the issue. Implement these techniques as per the instructions here. But if you still find your HP printer not printing colors correctly, it would be best to seek Our hp professional support.