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HP Printer 7400 series won't print correctly

My OS system is 10.15.7. I use to have this printer connected to my iMac. I gave the printer to my daughter for a couple of years to use with her PC. Now that I have it back, I can't get it to print correctly. I have deleted the printer from the system and reinstalled it. I have the disk that came with the printer, but when I put it in my drive, it doesn't even show up on the screen. I have tried to look for printer driver updates, but nothing comes up for this printer. I'm hoping to find some solution because, at the time, it was an expensive printer at almost $500 and I hate to just toss it. Any suggestions? thanks.

iMac 27″, 10.15

Posted on Jan 18, 2022 11:49 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 18, 2022 5:35 PM

Hi,


Would that be an HP Officejet 7400 series? There are other 7400 printers from HP as well (HP Officejet Pro L7400, HP Photosmart 7400, HP Photosmart D7400). These printers are listed in Printer and scanner drivers for Mac - Apple Support. You may want to check whether a suitable driver for your model can be found in the HP 5.1.1 Printer Software Update from Apple at https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1888?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US . As always, before testing drivers, make sure that you have backup copies of all important files (documents, photos, et cetera).


If necessary, reset the printing system and (re-)add the printer.

Reset the Mac printing system to solve a problem – Apple Support (UK)

Add a printer on Mac – Apple Support (UK)

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7 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 18, 2022 5:35 PM in response to beehive52

Hi,


Would that be an HP Officejet 7400 series? There are other 7400 printers from HP as well (HP Officejet Pro L7400, HP Photosmart 7400, HP Photosmart D7400). These printers are listed in Printer and scanner drivers for Mac - Apple Support. You may want to check whether a suitable driver for your model can be found in the HP 5.1.1 Printer Software Update from Apple at https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1888?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US . As always, before testing drivers, make sure that you have backup copies of all important files (documents, photos, et cetera).


If necessary, reset the printing system and (re-)add the printer.

Reset the Mac printing system to solve a problem – Apple Support (UK)

Add a printer on Mac – Apple Support (UK)

Jan 20, 2022 12:20 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

Hi Jan... the printer is connected by usb to the computer. Yes, I reset the printing system and re-added the printer...several times.

I printed the "test" page from the printer utility. As I stated in my 1st post. My daughter was using it with her PC for a couple of years. Would that effect any configuration with my mac?

I'm going to upload some pics so that you can see what it is doing.

Sample of what I want to print:


How it prints:

Yet, other things I've tried to print from my desktop will print, but not very dark:


How the "test" page printed:


Roxanne

Jan 19, 2022 4:46 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

Thank you, Jan for trying to help with this issue I have. I have a HP Officejet 7410xi all-in-one printer. I have tried all that you have recommended. I downloaded the driver 5.1.1 from apple support. It said the installation was successful. But when I check the driver info on my printer, it says the driver is 2.0.4. I am not very tech savvy... so if you have any other suggestions, I'm willing to check them out. Even before I downloaded the driver 5.1.1, I could print a test page, it printed beautifully. It just won't print anything I want it to print up that I have on my desktop.

Jan 20, 2022 4:13 AM in response to beehive52

Hello beehive52,


Thank you for the report.


5.1.1 is the entire package, containing drivers for a number of printers. 2.0.4 is a driver in the package for the HP Officejet 7400 series (according to the above article), and ought to be a version suitable for your printer.


Printer drivers on HP's support page are for older operating systems only, and would probably not be of any help here. I guess that drivers on the CD are very old, too.


When you say test page, was this a self-test report (http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00235090.pdf#d0e40796enww) directly from the printer's control panel, or possibly something involving the computer?


How is the printer connected? USB, Ethernet, or wirelessly?


Would it be correct to assume that you tried resetting the printing system (link in my previous message) and re-adding the printer?

Jan 20, 2022 2:16 PM in response to beehive52

Thank you. The fact that the printer has been used with a PC should not per se affect its ability to work with a Mac (unless the printer has had some kind of failed firmware upgrade). The confusing thing here is that printing from the Mac appears to work in some cases, but not always. My guess is that the printer driver is OK, but further tests will be needed. A remote diagnosis is always difficult, though.


Have you noticed whether there is a change with a different file format (files created in another program)?


You could also check whether the printer's copy function is OK. Try to copy a number of times from the printer's control panel. This could possibly be a way to detect a temporary hardware problem in the printer.


Try to print from the computer using another USB printer cable. A faulty cable cannot be ruled out.


If available, connect another computer to the printer via USB.


If no change, try to connect the printer via Ethernet (to one of the LAN ports of a Wi-Fi router). Alternatively, try a wireless connection from the printer to the router. The iMac would then be connected to the same router (by Ethernet, or wirelessly). The idea here is to rule out a USB problem inside the printer (or in the computer).

Jan 20, 2022 5:58 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

Thank you so much in your efforts to help me solve this problem! I really appreciate it. There is no change in the file formats.

I've tried many times to use the copy function on the printer. It acts and sounds like it's printing something, but the paper comes out blank or faint lines on the paper. I have changed out the printer cable to no avail. I only have one computer here, so I can't hook it up to another computer. I will borrow my daughter's laptop tomorrow and see if I have better success that way. I can't hook the printer via Ethernet because the computer and printer are too far away from the router. The computer is connected to the router wirelessly. If I have no success with using my daughters laptop tomorrow, I'm going to go buy a new printer. : (

But thank you for trying your best to help me with this silly printer issue. Best Regards. Roxanne

Jan 21, 2022 5:10 AM in response to beehive52

>I've tried many times to use the copy function on the printer. It acts and sounds like it's printing something, but the paper comes out blank or faint lines on the paper.


Hi Roxanne,


When you try to copy (using the printer's control panel), the computer would not be involved at all. You could double-check this with the USB cable disconnected. This would indicate a problem inside the printer.


Something similar should really happen if you print a Self-Test Report using the printer's control panel only. According to the manual (link above) page 154: press Setup, press 2, then press 5.


Are the ink levels OK? If necessary, see page 161 (http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00235090.pdf#d0e41674enww) about how to clean the print cartridges from the control panel.


Another possibility could be some kind of contact problem with the cartridges. A contact cleaning procedure is described in the manual on page 162 (http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00235090.pdf#d0e41874enww).


Jan

HP Printer 7400 series won't print correctly

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