Photosmart C6380 print quality

I bought this printer for my parents last March as a gift and it never worked properly out of the box. Unfortunately I left it at their house 4 hours from my residence after purchasing, thinking the problem would get resolved, but it did not. I called HP support twice over Thanksgiving (at my parents) trying to get help and was left on hold indefinitely on the last call.This unit has some issues not solved with standard user maintenance, or replacing ink, which was done once.
I don't know where to call now in trying to resolve this. The printer is under warranty and I have the receipt.
Any ideas? Thanks.
David

Well, I didn't think I'd get any help here, but it was worth a try I guess. Anyway, my mother-in-law took the printer back to Best Buy and the techs there told her they had received TONS of this model back due to defects. They (BB) checked it out and they told her the printer was so screwed up it would have never made a print job. They let her pick out a new printer, she went with an Epson.
So, with absolutely no help from HP support and a printer that was crippled right out of the box, I have to deduct that HP wanted me to take my loss and then just go away. VERY NICE!
Hopefully somebody higher in the chain at HP reads these posts, so read this:
I have bought 3 computers (2 laptops and a desktop) for my company in the last few months. After this episode do you think I considered buying an HP? Good luck HP, I hope your business division is lucrative because your consumer division bites.
Bye Bye now.

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PhotoSmart 6520 Print Quality Diagnostic no grayscale

Have a PhotoSmart 6520 printer that has worked well for 6 months. Used several black cartridges over the 6 months.
Ran out of black ink again and replaced the cartridge, new cartridge would not work at all. So put in another, which seemed to work at first, but when printing black in any darkness other than full black there is little to no ink dispensed. However, it will still print black text.
Now after changing printer cartridges twice, when printing the "Print Quality Diagnostic" page, all the text prints out fine, but the grayscale bars do not print at all.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Are your color cartridges working? Light grayscale areas are typically printed using the color inks to give better print quality. (The black ink droplets are much larger than the color, grayscale using color gives better prints.) Depending on your operating system there may be a setting in the driver for "Print in Grayscale".
Check the color print quality as shown in the document here.
Bob Headrick, HP Expert
I am not an employee of HP, I am a volunteer posting here on my own time.
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HP Photosmart 5520 print quality issues - Not printing black

Hi,
I bought a HP 5520 printer. I used it once and printed less than 10 photos and it was great the quality was superb.
I went to use it for the second time and the print quality was terrible. There is no problem with the printer responding to comannds it tries to print just it is awful quality.
I used the trouble shooting guide that HP have posted on line. I went through every step multiple times - I am using the correct paper, Genuine HP cartridges.
I got to the step where you run the Print Quality Diagnostic Report and there is NO Black present, Yellow is faint and the other colours have horizontal streaks.
I ran multiple print head cleans and no change.
I bought brand new HP print cartridges and still no change also ran multiple print head cleans and Print Quality Diagnostic Reports but still the same.
I tried to phone HP technical support but as I am at work just now and not with the printer they would not put me through to a technician
They told me to try and get an online Chat with a technician - well a few attempts and hours later still no response from them
Has anybody got any help on this issues please?
Chris

Hi,
Yes it is in Warranty. It is virtually brand new.
After I last posted I got through to the online chat support and was sent an email with options to 'troubleshoot' which I had already done with no success.
I was also given a link to try to update the printer firmware - which I will try when I get home from work.
I will see if that makes any difference but am sceptical as the printer worked fine the first time round but hasn't worked since and nothing has changed on it.
Chris.

Photosmart C6180 Print Quality Problem

For some reason I am getting mottled output when printing photos. I'm using HP Premium photo paper, settings are on automatic, and I've tried printing from HP Photosmart Essential and directly from the printer with the photos on an SD card. The results are the same. The same photo will print ok one time and mottled at the top or bottom another time. It kind of looks like a bunch of freckles. Any ideas?

I saw your post and forwarded it to the right people for their review. You should hear back from someone shortly via private message on this Forum.
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I am not an HP employee.

HP PhotoSmart C6380 will only print to default printer in Outlook

Hello,
I hope you can help me figure this out. We recently purchased a HP PhotoSmart C6380 for an employee here and we have encountered a strange problem. If the printer is selected as default, then regardless of what printer we choose in Outlook only we can only print to that printer. The last printer she had did not do this and it was an HP as well (although I can't remember the model). Both printers were set up as network printers. The difference is that on the previous printer we set it up by created a TCP/IP port and sharing that out to others. This printer had a network option upon install, so I did it that way.
Anyone that is sharing this printer has the same problem. If they want to print out any e-mail (does not matter if there are attachments) it will only go to this HP printer regardless. We are using Office 2007 and I have done my research on it as well, and I can't find a common thread, since the last printer was also used to print within it, but had no problems choosing other printers.
The only thing I can come up with is the way I installed this printer. We just had a network cable attached to it and had the software search for it and set it up in that fashion. Again, I don't think it's Outlook 2007 because it only occurs with this particular printer, albeit only in that application.
Has anyone ever seen anything like this?
Thanks,
mtaffer

Hi SportBilly15,
Welcome to the HP Support forums. I understand that your Photosmart 6510 is not printing black ink correctly.
I have included the Fixing Ink Streaks, Faded Prints, and Other Common Print Quality Problems document. It will take you through several trouble shooting steps to correct the issue.
Regards,
Happytohelp01
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Print Quality HP Photosmart 5510

I have a HP Photosmart 5510 operating on Windows XP OS. The printing has started to print crooked on the page no matter if it's a print, copy or scan. I did a Print Quality Diagnostic Report and the Pen Alignment Status was a:Fail.
I then printed an alignment page but the scanner would not recognise it.
Any ideas what is causing this?

Hi there,
This article should cover the issue you are experiencing. Give the steps outlined a shot and let us know if it helps.
Best of Luck!
You can say thanks by clicking the Kudos Star in my post. If my post resolves your problem, please mark it as Accepted Solution so others can benefit too.

Changing Default Print Quality for Photosmart Printers in Stand Alone mode

Hello Everyone. I am using a group of Photosmart Printers in Stand Alone mode for events where I shoot and print on site. Although I have quite a few printers with me (6 total at a time), I prefer to have the printers print in "Normal" Print Quality Mode, instead of "Best". Images come out twice as fast, and because I have a disciplined shooting technique, I get "GREAT" results from the "Normal" setting. I and/or my assistant have to go to my "Preferences" to change my Print Quality everytime we prepare to print another batch of photos. Sometimes we have groups that will want 5 copies, and it simply takes FOREVER in Best mode, and really, although with a 5x Loupe I can tell the difference, My customers can't with their naked eye. Sometimes we forget to change the setting due to the pressure of the pace sometimes. OOPS!
I am using the following Photosmart Printers: A516, A512v and the 335.
As I stated, I don't use these with a computer, I drive them straight from CF Cards. I do have all the original software, if I need to use the computer to make some changes. Just tell me how. Manual says nothing about getting the setting to default to normal.
Thank you so very much in advance.
BLAYZE!

Hello:
One way of assuring high quality would be to export the photo to the desktop (at highest quality) and then print from there.
In my own case, I find that when I occasionally print a photo from iPhoto, the quality is quite good.
Barry

HP Photosmart C6380 not scanning or photo printing with Windows 8

Just purchased HP M6/1125DX/15j with Windows 8. My current HP printer is an HP Photosmart C6380 All In One. The printer does work but the photo part and scanning icons no longer appear that were on my desktop before. I tried to download the whole program that said would update my printer but after 6 tries at an hour each, at the end it just said my download was cancelled. Is there any chance my printer will be supported by Windows 8 and how do I do that if I can't download. Or am I stuck buying a new printer? Thanks
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Hi,
The C6380 is supported in Windows 8 and has a Full Solution Download. I would try using the Print Install Wizard to help download and install the drivers.
Try this link for the Print Install Wizard.
Print Install Wizard
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Printing quality problem with Photosmart D110

The printing quality is very bad after we changed the catridge. The printer keeps saying that there is catridge jam. But after I followed the steps by the printer, the problem is still unsolved. What is the possible reason and how could I solve it?

Hello RussellYang.
Welcome to the HP Forums! I understand your concerns with your Photosmart D110A. Does this issue occur from multiple program(s) or just one program?
Please follow this entire HP document on Continuous Pages of Strange or Garbled Characters Print in Windows.
What is your operating system on your computer? Click here to find out: Windows.
Have you tried using a different USB cord, to verify if the issue still occurs?
Please inform me your troubleshooting steps.
I worked on behalf of HP.

Photosmart 7520 Horrible Print Quality

I have purchased HP printers for years and have always considered them excellent and reliable products. About a year ago I purchased a Photosmart 7520. This has turned out to be the worst printer I have ever owned.The print quality is terrible and unreliable. The ink constantly streaks or doesn't flow properly. The ink cartridges last no time at all. I have constantly used the clean print head and align feature with only minimal and temporary improvement. I may have to throw this one in the trash and look at another brand.

I have to agree with you. The HP7520 is the worst HP printer I have ever owned. It streaks constantly on regluar paper, none of my previous printers did this.
I abandoned an old reliable printer for this printer just to get wi-fi network printing capability. My old Brother MFC250 all in one printer was the first non-HP printer I had ever owned. Previous to that I had several HP printers, and had worked supporting HP Corvallis' site in the 90's, so I am a fan of HP technology in general.
This printer has the following shortcomings:
1) Ink cartridges are engineered to look like they contain ink... but are constantly running dry. I do not print as much now as I used to in the past. (*SMALLEST INK LONGEVITY*)... If the cartridges could be made any smaller... HP Marketing would have done this IMHO.
2) Print output is constantly streaking, requiring the printer be "tuned up" constantly
3) Print cartridge installation/sanity check is buggy/fragile, in one case a $12 print cartridge for Photo Black I installed this week was "damaged". I bought another cartridge, and it too was "damaged". A power cycle of the printer yielded non problem... just a wasted purchase and time to run out and buy a replacement cartridge to replace a newly installed cartridge that had no problem.
I *just* ran out of color ink, and I'm certain that this is indeed the worst HP printer I have ever owned.
Having said all of this... it looks nice on my desktop and the chimes are nice...
What would help is a better "you are running low on ink" indication with this printer. If I knew say, a week ahead of time that I'm running out of ink... that would be nice.
This printer may need to be recycled once I can find a review of a better one.
My wife has an old printer somewhere in storage, we may pull that one out and dust it off and plug it into the router to have wireless printing... <sigh>.
Would *NOT* recommend this printer for purchase.... heading to Amazon to add that customer review.

Black only prints on Print Quality Diagnostic report - Photosmart 6525

I have a Photosmart 6525 printer. On the 2nd page of a 2 page print, black rapidly faded out. Cartridge only weeks old and printer ink level check showed it as nearly full. I ran the Clean Printhead option which printed out a Print Quality Diagnostic when it was done. All of the informational text printed perfectly but nothing in the black grey-scale box or in the alignment. Still won't print or copy black. **bleep**?

The informational text on the print quality page is printed with color and black inks, so that if one or the other is not working the print will still be visible.
I would suggest going through the troubleshooting steps in the document here. Be sure to check the vents as described in that document.
Is your printer still in warranty? You can check with HP's warranty tool here.
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
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Poor print quality for black ink for Photosmart 6520e

Having a problem with black printing. Using all HP cartridges, but when I run a test page, I get white, horizontal bars across the black test bars. Some of them are 1/4 inch wide. Replaced the cartridge and did the automatic printhead cleaning, but no improvement. I know the printhead is not removeable, what is the next step?

Hi @Mikenstlouis,
Welcome to the HP Support Forums! I see you are running into some print quality issues with the black ink on your HP Photosmart 6520.
I would like you to continue here: Printer Does Not Print Black Ink or Color Ink, or Prints Blank Pages, I understand you may have done some of these steps already but I need you to complete all steps in order to resolve the missing black issue you are experiencing.
Please note: There are three printhead cleaning stages. Complete all three stages if necessary. If the printhead is badly clogged, it might require another cleaning cycle. If so, wait 30 minutes after the last (third) cleaning stage to start the first stage of the cleaning process over again.
If you are still unable to print in black ink, I suspect the issue may be the printer and not the cartridge. I highly recommend you call our technical support at 800-474-6836, I trust they will be able to assist you regardless of the warranty status. If you live outside the US/Canada Region, please click the link below to get the support number for your region. http://www.hp.com/cgi-bin/hpsupport/index.pl
Thanks,
HevnLgh
I work on behalf of HP
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HP Photosmart C6380 won't print entire page

My HP Photosmart C6380 won't print entire pages. Some lines near to the end of the page aren't printed. Once in a while it prints the entire page.
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I think the problem has been solved. Thanks!

HP Photosmart 7510 - L:ooking at my Print Quality Diagnostic Reports - Why so many more "PHA Drops?"

My Photosmart 7510 C311a indicates it has printed about 7500 pages since I purchased it in about November 2011.
Tonight, after replacing the Cyan ink cartridge, I ran the cartridge alignment and then printed out the Print Quality Diagnostic Report. As I was checking it out, I noticed the mention in 11, 12, 13, and 22 of the words:
11. PHA Installed: 01/24/2012
12. PHA TTOE Completed 1
13. PHA Hex ID: K: 3ff11948_5c3f230b, C: 00f11d60_5b421f06
and on the line across the page for Item 22, with numbers under each color cartridge,
(Cartridge Color)       Photo                  Magenta             Cyan                    Yellow                     Black
22. PHA Drops          1493032000   4700387000   7245406000   51771850000   13001389000
While these numbers are very large, I was curious as to how quickly the grew in the very short time (like five minutes) between the time I ran the first diag report and then aligned the heads and ran another diag report -- at the most it was five minutes and I printed nothing in between. Then, after calculating the growth in each number, in about ten minutes, I ran another diag report and the numbers grew again. For each color cartridge, over the three tests, with no more than ten minutes between tests and with nothing but the three reports printed, here are the three sets of numbers  for "PHA Drops."
Photo        1493032000       1494847000         1496485000
Magenta    4700387000        4702380000        4704197000
Cyan           7245406000        7247860000          7249779000
Yellow        5177185000         5179178000        5180995000
Black          13001389000      13008428000      13013963000
Between the first and the second diag reports, the numbers for each cartridge increased by the following numbers:
Photo           1,815,000
Magenta      1,993,000
Cyan             2,540,000
Yellow          1,993,000
Black            7,039,000
I didn't bother to calculate the change in numbers between test 2 and test 3, but I suspect the numbers will be similar.
My question is this: What exactly is the definition of a "PHA Drop" and how does it fit into whatever the "PHA-related process" entails?
I have read two or three "PHA Drop" related queries and answers on the HP Forums and the answers -- bluntly -- sound like the answer-maker either has no real idea what is involved - or - thinks nobody on the forum could understand the real answer. Bad form..
I don't think there is a 'conspiracy to deny' here and I don't even think the PHA Drop is something I must know about to sleep tonight -- but, it is an obvious and open part of the information that HP has seen fit to include in every Print Quality Diagnostic Report and one of the posted answers states that the whole PHA 'thing' is only used for "diagnostics."
Okay, diagnostics run by whom and when and where and for what purpose? A really good, complete and accurate, fact-based answer might even help HP Users better understand the equipment we have spent good money to acquire and use.
Answer please.
Thanks
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PHA stands for Print Head Assembly. This is the assembly of the color and black printheads and the electrical interconnect.
PHA drops are the individual ink droplets printed. An individual drop is very small, on the order of 5 x 10 ^-12 liters for color, perhaps larger for black. I would not be surprised to see 7 million black drops on a page. At 600 dpi one square inch of paper would take 360,000 drops so 7 million drops would be about 20% coverage of the page if all the ink were used for printing There will also be some ink used for servicing to keep the printhead clear. The document here has information on how ink is used.
The diagnostic page is useful in cases where there is a problem in printing and you call HP support. They may have you print a diagnostic page and may ask for some of the particular lines to help diagnose the issue. There are a large number of items in the diagnostic page that can be of interest to the support folks (or the engineers during development) but for the most part they are not useful for the end user.
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

Photosmart C6380 AiO won't print black

Hi, We have a HP Photosmart C6380 All-in-One that will no longer print black. The photo black and the color cartridges are OK as far as I can tell. It is the regular black that won't print. We had this happen the last time we changed the regular black ink cartridge. For some reason the new cartridge wasn't printing anything so we momentarily went back to the old cartridge and it worked again. Then we took out the old cartridge and put back in the new cartridge and it continued working. Now the cartridge is about half empty and it has quit printing black. This shouldn't be a computer related issue. But in case it is important: WIndows XP SP3. Sorry I'm not sure exactly what driver version I'm using but I did run HP Update through the Solution Center -> Help -> Check for Updates and everything is up to date as far as I can tell. I've tried to get the printer to print black by going through the menus on the printer itself Setup -> Tools -> Printer Status Report. It kicks out only a blank page. I tried running the HP Hardware Diagnostic Utility. It reports that everything is fine but, of course, when I tell it to print a test page it kicks out a blank page. We finally gave up and put in a fresh new black ink cartridge (564 XL) and it still doesn't print anything. Any suggestions?

I see this is still being read so the following is an update. My earlier reply mentioned the printer started printing again. It printed for a while but eventually the same problem started again- no black or blank print-outs and a new ink cartridge didn't help. I think the print head was dodgy. The printer wasn't worth the cost of buying a new print head and wasn't sure that would help. I looked for a printer at a thrift store with a matching print head or same ink cartridges. I found a printer that produced a good print test page after some cleaning cycles, bought it, and moved the ink cartridges to the printer.

Photosmart C6380 print quality

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