Common Hp Printer Problems

Hewlett-Packard printers are perhaps the most popular brand of inkjet printers used at home and in business because of its high quality text documents and colored images. But of course, there are some instances when your HP printer may not be working at its optimum. Here are some of the common problems faced by HP printer users and how to deal with them.

Printing Icons and Strange Fonts

Instead of printing the text document that you have specified, your HP printer would sometimes wind up printing icons and symbols or would be printing the text in extremely large fonts. This is usually caused by the following:

File or computer is corrupted by a virus
Data communication errors
Outdated or incompatible printer drivers.

To solve this problem, first try to close your printer and give it some time to rest. Update and run a virus scan on your computer to check if the file itself is corrupted by a virus.

White Spots on Printed Documents and Images

If you find any areas on your print out that are missing colors or the colors are not correct, the problem may be:

Dirty printer or printer head
Ink cartridge is used up
Clogged ink cartridges and printer nozzles

Unlike other printer manufacturers, HP printers do not provide you with a status screen to allow you to see how much ink is left in the cartridge. If it has been a while since you replaced your ink cartridge, try replacing it with a new one. Before you replace your printer ink cartridge, it would be a good idea to first clean your printer roller and head before doing so. If this still fails, check the expiration date of the printer cartridge. If it has passed the expiration date, it may be clogged with dried ink.

Streaks on the Print Out

For older HP printer models, there will come a time when the documents and images will be having jagged and streaks on the document or image itself. This means that the printer head would need to be realigned. You can try realigning your printer head through the "Alignment" icon that is found in the Maintenance Window. To get to this, follow the following steps:

Click on the "Start" button
Select and click "Control Panel"
Double click the icon that says "Printers and Faxes"
Right-click the printer icon beside the your printer model
Select and click "Properties"
Click on "Printing Preference"
Select "Maintenance"
Click "Alignment"

The alignment wizard will guide you through the entire process on realigning your printer head.

About the Author:
This Article is written by John C Arkin from MyOfficePortal.org the contributor of Office Supplies Information & Resources. More information on the subject is at Common Hp Printer Problems, and related resources can be found at Differences Between HP Printer Series.