Resolve copy problems with HP printers

'Scanner Failure' error displays

When attempting to scan, copy, or fax, a Scanner failure. Unable to scan, copy, or send a fax or Scanner System Failure error displays.

The error displays for scanner hardware or power issues, such as a scanner bar jam or calibration issue, low scanner bulb temperature, or an internal or external electrical problem. It is not related to network or USB connection issues.

How to troubleshoot a scanner failure error on HP printers

If your HP printer is displaying a “scanner failure” or “unable to scan” error message, the scanner is experiencing issues. Follow the steps in this video to troubleshoot potential scanner hardware and software errors.

Perform the following tasks in the order given. Use the printer after each task to see if the issue is resolved.

Reset the printer

Reset the printer to recover from printer errors or failures.

If your printer has a rechargeable battery, remove it.
Press the power button to turn off the printer. If the printer does not turn off, disconnect the power cord from the printer.
Unplug the power cord from the power source.
Wait 60 seconds.
Connect the power cord directly to a wall outlet and to the printer.
Turn on the printer to complete the reset.

Check scanner bar functionality

If you have a flatbed scanner, watch the scanner bar while scanning to see if it is working properly.

Remove any original documents or photos from the scanner glass.
Lift the scanner lid slightly, and then press the Copy button or icon.
Look at the scanner. The scanner bar should illuminate and travel across the length of the glass.

If the scanner light does not illuminate or move, Contact HP Customer Support to service the printer.

Reinstall the printer software

Reinstalling the printer software might resolve any printing or scanning issues.

Uninstall HP print driver and use HP Smart (Windows)

Uninstall the HP print driver and install and use HP Smart on a Windows computer.

Disconnect any USB cables from the printer.
In Windows, search for and open Add or remove programs.
Look for your HP printer name in the list of programs.
- If you find your printer, click the printer name, and then click Uninstall.
- If you do not find your printer, search for and open Printers & scanners, click your printer, and then click Remove device.
If a User Account Control message displays, click Yes.
Follow the instructions to complete the software removal, and then restart the computer.
Go to 123.hp.com to download and install HP Smart.

Uninstall the HP software and use the HP Smart app (macOS)

Uninstall the HP print driver and then install the HP Smart app to set up and use the printer.

Download and install HP Easy Start from 123.hp.com/setup.
From the HP Easy Start drop-down menu, select Uninstall HP Software.
Follow the prompts to uninstall all HP software.
Download and open the HP Smart app from HP Smart - Mac App Store (in English), and then follow the prompts to set up your printer.

Service the printer

Service or replace your HP product if the issue persists after completing all the preceding steps.

Go to Contact HP Customer Support to schedule a product repair or replacement. If you are in Asia Pacific, you will be directed to a local service center in your area.

To confirm your warranty status, go to HP Product Warranty Check. Repair fees might apply for out-of-warranty products.

Copies have lines or color bands

Vertical or horizontal lines or color bands are typically caused by fingerprints, smudges, or debris on scanner parts, cartridge issues, or power or calibration issues with the scanner mechanism.

Perform the following tasks in the order given. Use the printer after each task to see if the issue is resolved.

Clean the scanner glass and parts

Fingerprints, smudges, dust, or debris on the scanner glass, under the scanner lid, or in the document feed slot can cause lines and color bands. Clean these parts with a soft, lint-free cloth sprayed with glass cleaner.

Callout	Description
1.	Printer with flatbed scanner glass and lid
2.	Printer with a document scan feeder

Clean a flatbed scanner

Clean the scanner glass and underside of the scanner lid with a soft, lint-free cloth sprayed with glass cleaner.

Turn off the printer and disconnect the power cord.
Lift the scanner lid.

Spray a soft, lint-free cloth with glass cleaner, and then wipe the scanner glass, glass strip (if present), the white backing under the scanner lid, and the white strip under the lid (if present) until clean, dry, and streak-free.

CAUTION:

To protect the interior printer parts, do not spray the cleaner directly on the glass or on the underside of the lid.

Clean the scanner glass and under the lid, and any glass or white strips (if present)

Callout	Description
1.	White scanner lid backing
2.	White ADF scanner lid strip (if present)
3.	Glass ADF scanner strip (if present)
4.	Main scanner glass

Reconnect the power cord, turn on the printer, and then close the scanner lid completely.

Clean a document scan feeder

Clean the plastic and glass strips inside the document feeder with a soft, lint-free cloth sprayed with glass cleaner.

Note:

Some printers ship with a document feeder cleaning cloth. If you have the cloth, load it into the document feeder and start a scan job to clean the scanner mechanism.

Turn the printer off, disconnect the power cord, and then remove the rechargeable battery if your printer has one.
Depending on your printer model, open any top cover, document feeder tray, and scan document feeder cover.
Remove any debris such as bits of paper or paper clips from inside the document feeder.
Spray a soft, lint-free cloth with glass cleaner, and then wipe the scanner glass and the white strip on the underside of the document feeder until clean, dry, and streak-free.

CAUTION:
To protect the interior printer parts, do not spray the cleaner directly on or into the printer.
Completely close any covers and trays that you opened.
Reconnect the power cord, reinstall the battery if necessary, and then turn on the printer.

Clean the automatic document feeder (ADF)

If your printer has an ADF, clean it regularly to help avoid paper jams and quality problems.

Get a lint-free cloth and distilled water.
Remove the original document from the ADF.
Turn off the printer and disconnect the power cord.
Open the ADF cover.

Find the paper pick rollers and the separator pad inside the ADF.

ADF paper pick rollers and separator pad

Callout	Description
1.	Paper pick roller
2.	Separator pad

Lightly dampen a clean, lint-free cloth with filtered or distilled water, and then squeeze any excess liquid from the cloth.
Use the damp cloth to clean the paper pick rollers and the separator pad.
Leave the ADF cover open for two minutes to allow the rollers and pad to dry.
Close the ADF cover.
Reconnect the power cord and turn on your printer.

Reset the printer

Reset the printer to recover from printer errors or failures.

If your printer has a rechargeable battery, remove it.
Press the power button to turn off the printer. If the printer does not turn off, disconnect the power cord from the printer.
Unplug the power cord from the power source.
Wait 60 seconds.
Connect the power cord directly to a wall outlet and to the printer.
Turn on the printer to complete the reset.

Check scanner bar functionality

If you have a flatbed scanner, watch the scanner bar while scanning to see if it is working properly.

Remove any original documents or photos from the scanner glass.
Lift the scanner lid slightly, and then press the Copy button or icon.
Look at the scanner. The scanner bar should illuminate and travel across the length of the glass.

If the scanner light does not illuminate or move, Contact HP Customer Support to service the printer.

Troubleshoot print quality issues

Find steps to improve print quality by printer model on HP Customer Support.

Go to HP Customer Support, and then type your printer model in the search bar. Browse your printer support page for a Print Quality document.

Service the printer

Service or replace your HP product if the issue persists after completing all the preceding steps.

Go to Contact HP Customer Support to schedule a product repair or replacement. If you are in Asia Pacific, you will be directed to a local service center in your area.

To confirm your warranty status, go to HP Product Warranty Check. Repair fees might apply for out-of-warranty products.

Copies are completely black

Copies that are a black page can be caused by power source or mechanical issues.

Perform the following tasks in the order given. Use the printer after each task to see if the issue is resolved.

Reset the printer

Reset the printer to recover from printer errors or failures.

If your printer has a rechargeable battery, remove it.
Press the power button to turn off the printer. If the printer does not turn off, disconnect the power cord from the printer.
Unplug the power cord from the power source.
Wait 60 seconds.
Connect the power cord directly to a wall outlet and to the printer.
Turn on the printer to complete the reset.

Check scanner bar functionality

If you have a flatbed scanner, watch the scanner bar while scanning to see if it is working properly.

Remove any original documents or photos from the scanner glass.
Lift the scanner lid slightly, and then press the Copy button or icon.
Look at the scanner. The scanner bar should illuminate and travel across the length of the glass.

If the scanner light does not illuminate or move, Contact HP Customer Support to service the printer.

Service the printer

Service or replace your HP product if the issue persists after completing all the preceding steps.

Go to Contact HP Customer Support to schedule a product repair or replacement. If you are in Asia Pacific, you will be directed to a local service center in your area.

To confirm your warranty status, go to HP Product Warranty Check. Repair fees might apply for out-of-warranty products.

Copies are too small or too large, or paper is the wrong size

This issue is caused by the printer detecting the wrong size paper or copy job settings that do not match the paper loaded.

Perform the following tasks in the order given. Use the printer after each task to see if the issue is resolved.

Reload paper

Make sure the paper is loaded into the printer correctly.

Remove the paper stack from the input tray.
Reload the paper, making sure the paper-width guides rest gently against the edges of the stack.
If a message displays on the printer control panel to confirm the paper type and size, touch OK if the size is correct, or touch Change or Modify to change it.

Change copy size settings

Adjust copy and paper size settings from the printer control panel menu to enlarge or reduce the size of copies.

Note:

Many printers without a control panel menu display use default copy settings that cannot be changed. To improve print speed or print quality, or change the size of your copies, scan the original, edit settings with HP scanning software, and then print multiple copies of the scanned document or photo.

Touch Copy, Copy Document, or Copy Photo on the printer control panel, and then select any available basic settings that apply to your copy job.
Touch Settings or the Gear icon to open the copy job options.
Scroll to access and change the following copy settings.
- Resize or Size: Change the size of the copy. Options can include a list of presets, custom sizes between 25 and 50 percent of the original size, Fit to Page, and an Actual Size setting to make a borderless copy.
- Paper Size: Select the plain or photo paper size for your copies, or select Automatic to let the printer detect the paper loaded in the tray.
- Paper Type: Select the type of plain or photo paper for your copies.
- Tray Selection: Select the paper input tray with the paper being used for your copies.
Select Save Current Settings or Set as New Defaults to retain the settings for future copy jobs.

Service the printer

Service or replace your HP product if the issue persists after completing all the preceding steps.

Go to Contact HP Customer Support to schedule a product repair or replacement. If you are in Asia Pacific, you will be directed to a local service center in your area.

To confirm your warranty status, go to HP Product Warranty Check. Repair fees might apply for out-of-warranty products.

Copies have poor resolution, wrong colors, or blurry text

Copies that are faded, blurred, or have the wrong colors compared to the original might be caused by incorrect copy settings, power issues, or ink or toner.

Note:

Make sure the original being copied is high enough quality. If the original copy has low resolution or poor quality, use HP scanning software to scan it into the computer, edit it to improve the image quality, and then print as many copies as you need.

Perform the following tasks in the order given. Use the printer after each task to see if the issue is resolved.

Change copy settings to improve print quality

Adjust color, contrast, and enhancement settings from the printer control panel to improve copy quality.

Note:

Many printers without a control panel menu display use default copy settings that cannot be changed. To improve print speed or print quality, or change the size of your copies, scan the original, edit settings with HP scanning software, and then print multiple copies of the scanned document or photo.

On the printer control panel, touch Copy, Copy Document, or Copy Photo.
Touch Settings or the Gear icon to open the copy job options.
Scroll to access and change the following copy settings.
- Paper Type: Select the type of plain or photo paper for your copies.
- Quality: Select an available copy quality level.
- Lighter/Darker or Contrast: If the original is faded or too saturated, make the copy lighter or darker.
- Optimize or Enhancements: Select the type of item you are copying to apply automated quality improvements, such as sharpening text and image edges or improving faded photo colors.
- HP Copy Fix: Let the printer automatically improve copy quality and adjust skewing.
Select Save Current Settings or Set as New Defaults to retain the settings for future copy jobs.

Reset the printer

Reset the printer to recover from printer errors or failures.

If your printer has a rechargeable battery, remove it.
Press the power button to turn off the printer. If the printer does not turn off, disconnect the power cord from the printer.
Unplug the power cord from the power source.
Wait 60 seconds.
Connect the power cord directly to a wall outlet and to the printer.
Turn on the printer to complete the reset.

Troubleshoot print quality issues

Find steps to improve print quality by printer model on HP Customer Support.

Go to HP Customer Support, and then type your printer model in the search bar. Browse your printer support page for a Print Quality document.

Service the printer

Service or replace your HP product if the issue persists after completing all the preceding steps.

Go to Contact HP Customer Support to schedule a product repair or replacement. If you are in Asia Pacific, you will be directed to a local service center in your area.

To confirm your warranty status, go to HP Product Warranty Check. Repair fees might apply for out-of-warranty products.

Copies are blank

Copies might print without any ink or toner because of power-related problems or issues with the cartridges.

Perform the following tasks in the order given. Use the printer after each task to see if the issue is resolved.

Reset the printer

Reset the printer to recover from printer errors or failures.

If your printer has a rechargeable battery, remove it.
Press the power button to turn off the printer. If the printer does not turn off, disconnect the power cord from the printer.
Unplug the power cord from the power source.
Wait 60 seconds.
Connect the power cord directly to a wall outlet and to the printer.
Turn on the printer to complete the reset.

Check scanner bar functionality

If you have a flatbed scanner, watch the scanner bar while scanning to see if it is working properly.

Remove any original documents or photos from the scanner glass.
Lift the scanner lid slightly, and then press the Copy button or icon.
Look at the scanner. The scanner bar should illuminate and travel across the length of the glass.

If the scanner light does not illuminate or move, Contact HP Customer Support to service the printer.

Troubleshoot print quality issues

Find steps to improve print quality by printer model on HP Customer Support.

Go to HP Customer Support, and then type your printer model in the search bar. Browse your printer support page for a Print Quality document.

Service the printer

Service or replace your HP product if the issue persists after completing all the preceding steps.

Go to Contact HP Customer Support to schedule a product repair or replacement. If you are in Asia Pacific, you will be directed to a local service center in your area.

To confirm your warranty status, go to HP Product Warranty Check. Repair fees might apply for out-of-warranty products.

Slow copy speed

Copies might take too long to print because of quality settings.

Note:

Most printers without a control panel menu display use default normal copy settings that cannot be changed. To improve printing speed, scan the document or photo, edit settings with HP scanning software, and then print multiple copies.

Perform the following tasks in the order given. Use the printer after each task to see if the issue is resolved.

Improve copy speed

Adjust paper type and quality settings from the printer control panel menu to print copies faster.

Touch Copy, Copy Document, or Copy Photo on the printer control panel.
Touch Settings or the Gear icon to access and change settings.
- Paper Type: Copy speed can be impacted if photo paper is selected for a plain copy job. Select the type of plain or photo paper for your copies.
- Tray Selection: Select the paper input tray with the paper being used for your copies.
- Quality: Select a lower copy quality level.
- Draft Mode: Turning on Draft Mode speeds up copying, but reduces quality.
Select Save Current Settings or Set as New Defaults to retain the settings for future copy jobs.

Service the printer

Service or replace your HP product if the issue persists after completing all the preceding steps.

Go to Contact HP Customer Support to schedule a product repair or replacement. If you are in Asia Pacific, you will be directed to a local service center in your area.

To confirm your warranty status, go to HP Product Warranty Check. Repair fees might apply for out-of-warranty products.

Copies are cut off

Part of the original copy might be missing because of power or hardware issues, or incorrect paper and copy size settings.

Perform the following tasks in the order given. Use the printer after each task to see if the issue is resolved.

Reset the printer

Reset the printer to recover from printer errors or failures.

If your printer has a rechargeable battery, remove it.
Press the power button to turn off the printer. If the printer does not turn off, disconnect the power cord from the printer.
Unplug the power cord from the power source.
Wait 60 seconds.
Connect the power cord directly to a wall outlet and to the printer.
Turn on the printer to complete the reset.

Check scanner bar functionality

If you have a flatbed scanner, watch the scanner bar while scanning to see if it is working properly.

Remove any original documents or photos from the scanner glass.
Lift the scanner lid slightly, and then press the Copy button or icon.
Look at the scanner. The scanner bar should illuminate and travel across the length of the glass.

If the scanner light does not illuminate or move, Contact HP Customer Support to service the printer.

Change copy size settings

Adjust copy and paper size settings from the printer control panel menu to enlarge or reduce the size of copies.

Note:

Many printers without a control panel menu display use default copy settings that cannot be changed. To improve print speed or print quality, or change the size of your copies, scan the original, edit settings with HP scanning software, and then print multiple copies of the scanned document or photo.

Touch Copy, Copy Document, or Copy Photo on the printer control panel, and then select any available basic settings that apply to your copy job.
Touch Settings or the Gear icon to open the copy job options.
Scroll to access and change the following copy settings.
- Resize or Size: Change the size of the copy. Options can include a list of presets, custom sizes between 25 and 50 percent of the original size, Fit to Page, and an Actual Size setting to make a borderless copy.
- Paper Size: Select the plain or photo paper size for your copies, or select Automatic to let the printer detect the paper loaded in the tray.
- Paper Type: Select the type of plain or photo paper for your copies.
- Tray Selection: Select the paper input tray with the paper being used for your copies.
Select Save Current Settings or Set as New Defaults to retain the settings for future copy jobs.

Service the printer

Service or replace your HP product if the issue persists after completing all the preceding steps.

Go to Contact HP Customer Support to schedule a product repair or replacement. If you are in Asia Pacific, you will be directed to a local service center in your area.

To confirm your warranty status, go to HP Product Warranty Check. Repair fees might apply for out-of-warranty products.

Resolve copy problems with HP printers

'Scanner Failure' error displays

Reset the printer

Check scanner bar functionality

Reinstall the printer software

Uninstall HP print driver and use HP Smart (Windows)

Uninstall the HP software and use the HP Smart app (macOS)

Service the printer

Copies have lines or color bands

Clean the scanner glass and parts

Clean a flatbed scanner

Clean a document scan feeder

Clean the automatic document feeder (ADF)

Reset the printer

Check scanner bar functionality

Troubleshoot print quality issues

Service the printer

Copies are completely black

Reset the printer

Check scanner bar functionality

Service the printer

Copies are too small or too large, or paper is the wrong size

Reload paper

Change copy size settings

Service the printer

Copies have poor resolution, wrong colors, or blurry text

Change copy settings to improve print quality

Reset the printer

Troubleshoot print quality issues

Service the printer

Copies are blank

Reset the printer

Check scanner bar functionality

Troubleshoot print quality issues

Service the printer

Slow copy speed

Improve copy speed

Service the printer

Copies are cut off

Reset the printer

Check scanner bar functionality

Change copy size settings

Service the printer

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