Deskjet 5550, Windows Vista, and borderless printing

Question

I tried searching for this issue regarding my printer, but did not find it.  I apologize in advance if it has already been solved.
I own/use a Deskjet 5550 to print my digital photos.  Unfortunately, I am unable to get borderless prints.
I am running Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit, Service Pack 2
I am printing onto HP's Premium Photo Paper, glossy, 4 x 6.5 inches (has the tab on one side)
Under Control Panel I click on printers, highlight the 5550, right-click properties, and under the About tab it displays: "hp deskjet 5550 series (HPA) (61.53.25.9)"  Then it lists about 27 files in the Driver Files window.
Method 1:
1) From My Computer I go to the folder where the picture is located.
2) I double-click the picture and click Print, Print...
3) In the following window I choose Printer: hp deskjet 5550 series (HPA), Paper size: Photo 4x6in. (tab), and Paper Type: HP Premium Photo Paper, Glossy
4) I next click on Options, then Printer Properties to verify these settings, as well as to adjust the Print quality, if necessary.
Method 2:
I've also tried using HP Photosmart Essentials 3.5, but that hasn't worked either.  In fact, when I choose a picture to print and click on the Printer Settings tab, I find an option for Borderless printing, and the user can click on either Yes or No.  Yes is greyed out for me, meaning I cannot click on it, and it is instead stuck on No.
Using either method, I still end up with a white border around three sides of the picture.
I was able to do borderless printing when I was running Windows XP, so I am kind of stumped as to why it isn't doing it anymore.  Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

Answer 1

There are a few things to check:
 Print a self test page as shown here.  You should have patterns of black, cyan (blue), magenta and yellow.  If cyan does not print fine in this page then move to step 2, otherwise skip to step 3.
If cyan does not print in the above test then gently blot the nozzles of the color cartridge on a damp tissue.  There should be a stripe of cyan, magenta and yellow.  If cyan is missing here then the cartrdige is defective.  If the cartridge is new and a genuine HP (not a refill) check the warranty expiration as shown here.  If the cartrdige is in warranty then contact HP for a replacement.  If the cartrdige is beyond its two year warranty then replace it with a fresh cartrdige.  When buying new cartridges look for the "isntall by" date on the package.  I would look for a package with at least six months of remaining time before the :install by" date, which would have a year of remaining warranty.
If cyan printed OK in the test page but not when printing from the computer then it is probably a driver issue.  In this case I would disconnect the printer, delete the 5550 from the printers folder and then download and install the driver from HP's site here.
Regards,
Bob Headrick, Microsoft MVP Printing/Imaging
Bob Headrick,  HP Expert
I am not an employee of HP, I am a volunteer posting here on my own time.
If your problem is solved please click the "Accept as Solution" button ------------V
If my answer was helpful please click the "Thumbs Up" to say "Thank You"--V