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HP Deskjet D730 Printer - Horizontal Streaks or Lines in the Printed Image

Issue

The printout shows streaks or lines. The lines are perpendicular to the direction the paper moved through the product and parallel to the movement of the cartridges during printing.
Figure : Defect, with the direction the paper moved through the product indicated

Solution

Step one: Let the printer rest for 30 minutes

If possible, let the product sit idle for 30 minutes, then try printing again. In some cases, a rest period allows the product to recover from temporary print problems.

Step two: Check ink levels and replace low or empty cartridges

The streaks or lines might be caused due to low ink levels in one or both cartridges. Check the ink levels using the HP Toolbox to determine if the cartridges are low on ink and need to be replaced.
note:
Ink level warnings and indicators provide estimates for planning purposes only. When an indicator shows low ink levels, consider having a replacement ink cartridge available to avoid possible printing delays. You do not need to replace ink cartridges until print quality becomes unacceptable.

Check ink levels

  1. Make sure that the product is on and connected to the computer.
  2. Double-click the HP Digital Imaging Monitor icon () on the right side of the Windows taskbar. The HP Solution Center dialog box opens.
  3. In the HP Solution Center, click Settings and click Printer Toolbox. The Printer Toolbox opens. The ink levels appear on the Estimated Ink Levels tab.
Figure : Estimated ink levels

Replace low or empty cartridges

  1. Make sure that the product is turned on.
    note:
    The ink cartridge status light blinks, indicating that the ink cartridge is empty or ink level is low.
  2. Open the product cover.
    The carriage moves to the right side of the product.
    Figure : Open the product cover
  3. Wait until the carriage is idle and silent and then lightly press down on an ink cartridge to release it and pull it out.
    • If replacing the tri-color ink cartridge, remove the ink cartridge from the slot on the left.
    • If replacing the black ink cartridge, remove the ink cartridge from the slot on the right.
    Figure : Remove the ink cartridge
  4. Remove the new ink cartridge from its packaging.
  5. Pull the pink tab to remove the plastic tape from the ink cartridge.
      Figure : Removing the plastic tape from the ink cartridge
    1. Copper-colored contacts
    2. Plastic tape with pink pull tab (must be removed before installing)
    3. Ink nozzles under tape
      caution:
    Do not touch the copper-colored contacts or ink nozzles.
  6. Hold the ink cartridge with the label facing up and the copper contacts facing the product.
    • If installing the tri-color ink cartridge, slide it into the left slot.
    • If installing the black ink cartridge, slide it into the right slot.
  7. Insert the ink cartridge into the carriage and push it in until it snaps into place.
    Figure : Insert the ink cartridge
  8. Close the product cover.

Step three: Check the print settings

  1. In the program being used for printing, click File and click Print.
    The Print dialog box appears.
  2. Select the product in the Name drop-down list and click Properties or Preferences.
  3. Click the Features or Services tab and select the Paper Type settings that match the print job.
  4. Try different print-mode settings to select the best one for the print job.
    note:
    Using a high print quality setting with plain paper might cause colors to bleed.
  5. Click OK to save the new settings.
  6. Click Print to send the print job.

Step four: Run the automatic utility to clean the ink cartridges

  1. Double-click the HP Digital Imaging Monitor icon () on the right side of the Windows taskbar. The HP Solution Center dialog box appears.
  2. In HP Solution Center, click Settings and click Printer Toolbox. The Printer Toolbox appears.
  3. Click Clean the Print Cartridges.
  4. Click Clean and follow the on-screen instructions.

Step five: Print a test page

  1. Load U.S. letter or A4 size, unused, plain, white paper in the paper tray.
  2. Double-click the HP Digital Imaging Monitor icon () on the right side of the Windows taskbar. The HP Solution Center dialog box appears.
  3. In HP Solution Center, click Settings and click Printer Toolbox. The Printer Toolbox appears.
  4. On the Device Services tab, click Print a Test Page.
    The Print a Test Page dialog box appears.
  5. Click Print Page. The test page prints.
    Figure : Test page

Step six: Note which cartridges printed which areas of the test page

Identify the ink cartridge that printed each part of the test page. This helps identify the problem ink cartridge if there are defects in the test page.
The right and left ink cartridges always print in the same areas of the page, no matter which ink cartridges are installed.
    Figure : Layout of the test page
  1. Printed by the left ink cartridge
  2. Printed by the right ink cartridge

Step seven: Check for defects on the test page

In general, if the product and ink cartridge are working properly, the patterns (which look like grids of lines) should contain few or no missing lines and none of the colors should be missing.

Missing lines or streaked bars

If a pattern shows more than a few missing lines or a bar is streaked, that ink cartridge is not functioning correctly.
Figure : The magenta color bar is streaked - the left ink cartridge is not functioning correctly
If the test page shows missing lines or streaked bars, click here (c01498346) (in English) to continue troubleshooting.

Colors do not match the color on the cartridge label

If any of the colors of the bars on the test page are very different from the color dots on the ink cartridge label, the ink cartridge is not functioning correctly.
Figure : One of the bar colors is very different from the color dot on the ink cartridge
If the test page shows colors that are very different from the colors on the cartridge label, click here (c01499062) (in English) to continue troubleshooting.

Missing colors

If any of the color patterns or bars are entirely missing, the ink cartridge is not functioning correctly.
note:
If printing in reserve mode without all of the ink cartridges installed, the patterns associated with the missing ink cartridge are also missing.
    Figure : Yellow color bar missing
  1. All colors printed - no missing colors
  2. Yellow missing - the left (tri-color) ink cartridge is not printing correctly
If any of the patterns or bars are entirely missing, click here (c01497780) (in English) to continue troubleshooting.

Ink smears

If the test page shows smeared ink, the ink cartridges might need to be cleaned.
Figure : Smeared ink
If the test page shows smeared ink, click here (c01499075) (in English) to continue troubleshooting.

Step eight: Continued troubleshooting if the test page shows no defects

If no defects are evident on the test page, the ink cartridges and product are working correctly. Click here (c01499101) (in English) to continue troubleshooting.

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