HP Photosmart 8450 Printer printing colors incorrectly.

[Ant]

Hello,

Ever since I had the HP Photosmart 8450 printer, as new from CompUSA,
from November 2004, I noticed its colors didn't do well after a few
months even though I didn't print much. The first incident occurred in
end of May 2005. You can read about it at
http://groups.google.com/group/comp..._frm/thread/89a644f1d77c2e32/1d665f6a00bd8f18
(Google Groups won't let me reply to that thread). Bascially, it was not
printing colors like red (turned out to be yellowish).

I replaced the defective cartridge (97; tri-color) under warranty with a
new one from HP. It was fine after a few years, and it happened again in
February 2007. Note that I don't print a lot. I print maybe a few pages
every two weeks or more, and it is mostly Web pages with some images and
mostly texts. I print in colors too. According to HP's Web pages, this
is enough to keep the inks working properly.

Today, I noticed my colors are not correct even with best and maximum
quality. So, I thought it was time to change its tri-color cartridge
again even though I have about a half of ink left. I am still having
this problem even after changing the tri-color cartidge with a new one
(September 2006 on the box). I have to use best quality again to get the
correct colors. Best quality is slow speed. Normal is nice and fast, but
it can't output the correct colors. I used to be able to do that.

I also tried steps 3 and 4 in
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...c=us&dlc=en&product=402150&rule=34749&lang=en
.... The print out shows missing red (just blank) in the top corner area
(between blue and yellow) and top center (between the thick blue and
yellow horizontal bars) --
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf-JAVA/Doc/images/c00254173.gif ...
Automated cleaning printer heads doesn't help.

Does this printer and/or HP cartridge(s) have problems that I don't know
about? If not, then any ideas why? Can cartridges dry out fast when
unused for a long time? During the summer, my room can be hot up to
almost 90 degrees(F) [Southern CA weather].

Thank you in advance.
--
"The ants are my friends, they're blowin' in the wind. The ant, sir, is
blowin' in the wind." --the misheard lyrics to Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in
the Wind"
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phillip (Ant) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
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[Bob Headrick]

Ever since I had the HP Photosmart 8450 printer, as new from CompUSA, from
November 2004, I noticed its colors didn't do well after a few months even
though I didn't print much. The first incident occurred in [snip]
Today, I noticed my colors are not correct even with best and maximum
quality. So, I thought it was time to change its tri-color cartridge again
even though I have about a half of ink left. I am still having this
problem even after changing the tri-color cartidge with a new one
(September 2006 on the box).

The date on the box is the "install by" date. This cartrdige is a year past
its recommended installation time.

I also tried steps 3 and 4 in
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...c=us&dlc=en&product=402150&rule=34749&lang=en
... The print out shows missing red (just blank) in the top corner area
(between blue and yellow) and top center (between the thick blue and
yellow horizontal bars) --
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf-JAVA/Doc/images/c00254173.gif ...
Automated cleaning printer heads doesn't help.

Try running the cleaning cycle three times. If this does not clear the
problem you could try dunking the nozzles in hot water for a minute or so
and then carefully blotting them on a damp tissue.

Does this printer and/or HP cartridge(s) have problems that I don't know
about? If not, then any ideas why? Can cartridges dry out fast when unused
for a long time? During the summer, my room can be hot up to almost 90
degrees(F) [Southern CA weather].

Yes, the cartridges have a shelf life and being in elevated temperatures
makes things worse. With your limited usage you would probably be better
off with using the #95 cartridge (less money, less ink) or perhaps even the
#93 (even less money, much less ink). Do not store unused cartridges for
long periods of time, especially in hot areas. Cartridges do have a shelf
life and in printer life. Pay attention to the "install by" dates on the
cartridge.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[Ant]

Ever since I had the HP Photosmart 8450 printer, as new from CompUSA,
from November 2004, I noticed its colors didn't do well after a few
months even though I didn't print much. The first incident occurred in [snip]
Today, I noticed my colors are not correct even with best and maximum
quality. So, I thought it was time to change its tri-color cartridge
again even though I have about a half of ink left. I am still having
this problem even after changing the tri-color cartidge with a new one
(September 2006 on the box).

The date on the box is the "install by" date. This cartrdige is a year
past its recommended installation time.

I also tried steps 3 and 4 in
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...c=us&dlc=en&product=402150&rule=34749&lang=en
... The print out shows missing red (just blank) in the top corner
area (between blue and yellow) and top center (between the thick blue
and yellow horizontal bars) --
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf-JAVA/Doc/images/c00254173.gif ...
Automated cleaning printer heads doesn't help.

Try running the cleaning cycle three times. If this does not clear the
problem you could try dunking the nozzles in hot water for a minute or
so and then carefully blotting them on a damp tissue.

Does this printer and/or HP cartridge(s) have problems that I don't
know about? If not, then any ideas why? Can cartridges dry out fast
when unused for a long time? During the summer, my room can be hot up
to almost 90 degrees(F) [Southern CA weather].

Yes, the cartridges have a shelf life and being in elevated temperatures
makes things worse. With your limited usage you would probably be
better off with using the #95 cartridge (less money, less ink) or
perhaps even the #93 (even less money, much less ink). Do not store
unused cartridges for long periods of time, especially in hot areas.
Cartridges do have a shelf life and in printer life. Pay attention to
the "install by" dates on the cartridge.

Thanks. Yeah, I always buy extra because I always run out of inks at the
wrong time like off-business hours. How much cheapers are those #95
and #93 compared to #97? I noticed my black and photograph cartidges
still work even though the dates were way farther.
--
"Be thine enemy an ant, see in him an elephant." --Turkish Proverb
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phillip (Ant) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
\ _ / Remove ANT from e-mail address: (e-mail address removed)
( ) or (e-mail address removed)
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.