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HP PSC 1310 Series - Missing, Faded, or Dull Colors
Problem
The printer is working, but colors in the printed output are missing, faded, or dull in comparison to the original.
Step 1 - Check the paper
Make sure the paper type is appropriate for the project. If the paper you are using is too fibrous, the ink applied by the printer may not fully cover the print surface.
Step 2 - Make sure the printer is set to Best print quality
Open HP Director
, then click Settings
, Print Settings
, then Printer Settings
.
Figure 1: HP Director
The printer Properties
dialog box opens. Click the Paper/Quality
tab and make sure Best
is selected in the Print Quality
area.
Figure 2: Paper/Quality tab of Printer Properties dialog
Step 3 - Print a self test report
If none of the steps above have helped, print a self test report to see if the printer or print cartridges are causing the problem.
Make sure the printer is loaded with plain, white paper. Remove any special or colored paper.
Press and hold the Cancel
button.
Press Start Color Copy
.
Figure 3: Print a self-test report
1 - Press and hold Cancel
2 - Press Start Color Copy
Step 4 - Evaluate the self test report
First, find out which cartridge prints which color bars. If you have tricolor and black print cartridges installed, the black cartridge prints a single bar at the top, and the tricolor cartridge prints three bars below.
If you have tricolor and photo print cartridges installed, the tricolor cartridge prints three bars at the top, and the photo cartridge prints three bars below.
Figure 4: Tricolor and black print cartridge combination
1 - Printed by the black cartridge
2 - Printed by the tricolor cartridge
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Figure 6: Tricolor and photo print cartridge combination
1 - Printed by the tricolor cartridge
2 - Printed by the photo cartridge
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The pictures above show what the color bars should look like. They should be completely filled in with solid color and the colors should match the color dots on the label on the cartridge itself.
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NOTE:
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Do not compare the colors on the self test with the colors shown on this Web page. Depending on your monitor settings, the colors on this Web page may be incorrect. Compare the colors on your self test to the color dots on the print cartridge label. |
If the cartridges or printer is failing, however, the color bars will not look like the pictures above. Instead, the color bars may be missing, faded, or streaked with white lines. Or the colors may not match the color dots on the cartridge label. The pictures below show some defect examples. See if the bars on your self test report have any of the defects shown in the pictures below.
Figure 8: Black cartridge running out of ink, tricolor cartridge okay
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Figure 9: Photo cartridge running out of ink, tricolor cartridge okay
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Figure 10: Both black and tricolor cartridges going bad
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Figure 11: Tricolor cartridge going bad, photo cartridge okay
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Figure 12: Tricolor cartridge going bad, black cartridge okay
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Figure 13: Tricolor cartridge going bad, photo cartridge okay
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Figure 14: Tricolor cartridge does not match color dots
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Figure 15: Photo cartridge does not match color dots
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If you see defects in the color bars, one or both cartridges are probably out of ink, clogged, have dirty contacts, or the inks in the cartridge have mixed. Make a note of which cartridge printed the defective color bar, then
click here to continue troubleshooting
(c00100219). |
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Printable version
