HP Deskjet D2320, D2330, D2345, and D2360 Printers - Ink Smears or Streaks in Printouts

• Many papers have printing and non-printing sides. Load the paper with the printing side down.
• Use the correct paper type for the project. For everyday documents, plain paper works well. For documents with dense printing, such as high-contrast graphics or photographs, use HP Advanced paper for the best results.
• If these steps do not help, try a different paper. Ink might not bleed as easily on heavier paper. Paper that does not accept ink well is also prone to bleeding and smearing. HP designs its inks and papers to work together.

1. Open the Printer Toolbox. There are two ways to do this:
   Using HP Director:
   1. Open HP Director (or HP Solution Center).
   2. Select Settings, and then select Print Settings.
   3. Select Printer Toolbox.
   Using Printers and Faxes:
   1. Open Printers and Faxes in the Windows Control Panel.
   2. Right-click your printer icon and choose Properties.
   3. Click on Printing Preferences.
   4. Click the Services tab, then the Service This Device icon.
2. The Printer Toolbox opens. On the Device Services tab, click Clean the Print Cartridges, then follow the on-screen instructions. Up to three levels of cleaning are available. Discard or recycle the page that prints.

note:

Follow the procedure below to clean the area around the cartridge's nozzles ONLY if you have streaks or smudges in your printed output, and you have already performed all the cleaning steps of the Clean Print Cartridges utility.

1. Gather cleaning supplies:

   • Clean distilled, filtered, or bottled water. Tap water may contain contaminants which could damage the cartridge.
   • Clean cotton swabs or any soft, lint-free material that will not stick to the cartridges (coffee filters work well).
   • Sheets of paper or paper towel to rest the cartridges on during cleaning.
2. Remove one of the cartridges and place it on a piece of paper with the nozzle plate facing up.
3. Examine the area around the nozzle plate. If you see any debris or ink buildup, clean the cartridge as follows:

   note:

   If you do not see debris or ink buildup on the print cartridge, do not clean it.

   1. Lightly moisten the lint-free cleaning material with clean water.
   2. Use the swab to wipe clean the faces and edges around the nozzle plate. The area to be cleaned is cross-hatched in the picture below. Replace the cleaning material if it gets dirty.

        caution:

      Do not touch either the nozzle place (in the center of the cross-hatched area below), or the copper-colored contacts. Touching these parts can cause clogs, ink failure, and bad electrical connections.

      Figure : Cleaning the print cartridge
      
      1. Clean in the cross=hatched area only
      2. Do NOT touch the nozzle plate
      3. Do NOT touch the copper-colored contacts
4. Repeat the steps above for the other cartridge. Make sure to examine both cartridges, even if the streaks are only one color (streaks in black ink are commonly caused by fibers and debris stuck to the bottom of the tri-color print cartridge). Only clean the cartridge if you see debris or buildup, however. If you do clean the other cartridge, use fresh cleaning material.
5. Either let the cartridge sit for five minutes or use a new swab to dry the cleaned areas before you reinsert the cartridges.

  caution:

Do not leave the print cartridges outside the printer for longer than 30 minutes. If a cartridge is left outside of the printer for too long, the ink will dry out and the cartridge will become unusable. Also, be careful not to get any ink on your hands or clothes.

1. Turn the printer on. The cartridge cradle will not move if the power is not on.
2. Open the printer cover.
3. Wait until the print cartridge cradle moves to the center of the printer and is idle and quiet.
4. If you are replacing a print cartridge, press down on the print cartridge to be replaced, and then slide it out of the print cartridge cradle. If you are installing print cartridges for the first time, go to the next step.

   note:

   HP recommends using a print cartridge protector to store an opened print cartridge for later use.

5. Remove the new print cartridge from its packaging and carefully remove the plastic tape. Hold the print cartridge so that the copper strips are on the bottom and facing toward the printer.

     caution:

   Do not touch the print cartridge ink nozzles or copper contacts. Touching these parts will result in clogs, ink failure, and bad electrical connections. Do not remove the copper strips. They are required electrical contacts.

6. Slide the print cartridge at a slight upward angle into the cradle until the cartridge snaps into place.
7. Repeat steps 3-4 for the remaining print cartridge.
8. Close the printer cover. The printer automatically prints a calibration page.