Color Printing Problems - but NOT color management!

[Cheeseliz]

Ok - PLEASE someone help me! I'm having printing problems. Keep in mind, everything was going great up until a week ago - I was printing on my HP Photosmart D7160 8.5 x 11 borderless color scrapbook papers - They printed great - no problems with the colors!

About a week ago, about the time I replaced some cartridges (with HP brand mind you), my prints started having a red cast and it got worse - It was redish on both full 8.5 x 11 sheets, and small 4 x 6 (I started copying my letter sized layouts to 4 x 6 trying to save ink and paper). Green was printing brown and it didn't improve no matter how I had color management configured in Adobe Elements.

So, I called HP, spent an hour troubleshooting with them. It happened in both Adobe, as well as when I printed directly from Picassa (my photo managing software). HP concluded it was a hardware problem, and sent me a new printer with brand new HP ink cartridges. Great!

Now, when I print the test layouts in 4 x 6 size, the colors are perfect! But, when I print the same layout (flattened or not) in 8.5 x 11 they are still reddish cast. Now, however, greens are neon green and purples are hot pink! I use the same settings in both sizes, but I get dramatically different results!

Anyone have a clue what's going on? After two printers and some correct 4 x 6 print outs, HP says it is a software problem with Adobe or my computer settings which they cannot help me with - I'm at my wits end! What gives? HELP!

P.S. - I'm using I'm usingan HP computer running Windows XP and Photoshop Elements 5 if that helps anyone!

[Codebreaker]

Have you tried un-installing and then re-installing your printer drivers?

Colin

[Cheeseliz]

No I haven't tried uninstalling and re-installing, but I did check to make sure I had the updated drivers, and I do. The printer is only a few months old, what exactly would re-installing the print drivers do?

When I installed the new printer HP sent me, the diretions said only to delete the old printer from the printer menu, it said I did not have to uninstall and reinstall any software. I'm not very computer savvy, so I don't like messing with things on the computer too much. I install things as directed, then expect them to work with little effort. This is driving me nuts!!!!

So, back to your suggestion Colin, I'll try it tonight when I have more time, but why do you think that would help? I've actully considered uninstalling Adobe before the printer, because I can get the printer back to default settings by simply unplugging it, but think maybe I did something in Adobe that messed up those default settings. Any thoughts?

[Codebreaker]

Most S/W is modular consisting of many different files. Some of these files are often common to other programs and occasionally one program may change or update a common module which then stops another program from working.

So it's often worth re-loading the program. Sometimes it works, sometimes it makes no difference. :)

Colin

[Fernan]

Hi Colin! I have a D7160,go to printer preferences then features. At the bottom of the page on your left you have "HP Real life technologies" settings check that is off. I had an experience when it was not off and the pictures were coming bad.

Good luck

[Cheeseliz]

Ok - I appreciate everyone's input, and hopefully someone will have a thought, I'm beginning to think it's something with the HP Photosmart printers.

After reading the last suggestion about the "HP Real Life technologies" - that was one box I hadn't messed with, so I turned it from "Basic" (which is apparently the default) to "Off" as suggested. I printed ... it turned out great! So, I printed again, which also turned out well. This time, however, the printer apparently defaulted back to "Basic" but I didn't notice before I hit print, and it still was fine. So, from then on, I left all the settings the same, never turned off my computer or Adobe, and for three days, everything was printing fine. In fact, I printed over 75 borderless 8.5 x 11 pages in a matter of three days! My theory was I was going to drain the new printer's factory installed ink cartridges, then switch with my relatively new HP cartridges just installed in the first printer, and send the first printer back to HP with the factory ink (which I drained) - I figured HP owed me something considering the number of photo papers and ink they had me waste in printing test pages.

Then, after about my third ink change .... POOF! All of a sudden, I'm back to printing with a red cast. Changing to the HP Real Life Technolofies box doesn't make a difference. Now, it's reddish whether I print 4 x 6 or 8.5 x 11 - Deep greens are back to printing brown as my originl aproblem with the first printer.

Do I have a second bad printer? Is the third ink change and 75 pages the max on a Photosmart D7160? If so, any suggestions on a new home printer that prints 8.5 x 11 borderless with a reasonable price tag? I'm that frustrated with mine!

The one thing that stumps me though, is that even this second printer wasn't working right at first - I don't know why it started working fine, and I sure as H--- don't know why it all of a sudden started printing with a reddish cast - again. So, that makes me think it's a hidden setting somewhere. I'm soooo frustrated! Anyone ... Please help!

[frank abramonte]

When you start printing with a reddish cast stop and print a page in each of the colors to see which, if any, of the colors may have run low or not getting enough ink.
It would be easier if you can print CMYK, can you? If not perhaps some one can suggest on how to test in RGB.
It sounds like one of your inks is either running out or the ink tank jet is clogging. One other thing is that the printer head is periodically clogging. Do you print at least once a week?

This may give you a lead as to what the problem is.

[Cheeseliz]

Thanks for your suggestion, but I don't think it is the ink. I've cleaned & aligned the printheads and printed a number of diagnostic pages (first thing HP help tells you to do), and each of the colors print fine - always has - No change there. It's just when I go to print photos (or scrapbook photo layouts).

Also, I've tried the various options under the color tab in printer preferences (i.e. Color RGB or Adobe RGB) - that doesn't make a difference either. So, on one hand, it makes me think it's the printer; but the other hand, because it sort of happened with the new printer HP sent, but stopped, I begin to think it's a setting - I don't know ....

[Karin Sue]

I think HP has user forums on their site. Have you tried posting there?

It's been a couple of years but I tried to solve a problem there. I think there was a forum for each model or family of printers.

HP help seemed to want to just send a new printer rather than figure out what was happening. I think I determined that most likely I needed to upgrade my OS. (from 98--It was a problem with reading media cards with the printer slots not a problem with the printing.)

[Rachel]

I know when I use to print my pictures on our HP printer that the prints would start to get the reddish color or the green would print out blue when the photo cartridge was running out of ink.

That is how I knew that I had to change the cartridge as I wouldn't go by the warning saying ink is running low. As I knew that I could print more pictures.

The printer that I use to use is HP2210 all in one. Now I use a Canon as I got it free when I purchased my laptop.

[genevh]

I know when I use to print my pictures on our HP printer that the prints would start to get the reddish color or the green would print out blue when the photo cartridge was running out of ink.

I have an older HP Photosmart printer and an Epson R220 they gave me when I bought my camera and thats how I know when I am running out of ink. The ink monitors in the printer programs both like to flag a cartridge as empty way before it actually is.