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Never Buy Anything From Hewlett Packard

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yorksrob

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Bought a printer from these clowns.

Everytime I try to print something, it prints out the background of the document and leaves off the text.

I should have put it straight in the tip.
 
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AlterEgo

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Suspect the problem is between the monitor and the chair.

The printer will only print what the computer (and by extension the user) tells it to. A quick Google will show you how you might try to resolve this.
 

yorksrob

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Suspect the problem is between the monitor and the chair.

The printer will only print what the computer (and by extension the user) tells it to. A quick Google will show you how you might try to resolve this.

It comes up with a print page and I press print. I'm not sure what else there is to do.

There certainly doesn't appear to be a "print everything on the page except the text" option to select.
 

Bevan Price

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Did it come with any printer/driver software on a CD. If so, did that instal correctly ?
 

yorksrob

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Did it come with any printer/driver software on a CD. If so, did that instal correctly ?

There was a CD that I think I played.

About ten years ago, everything was "plug and play". Now its plug and despair.
 

D365

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That definitely sounds like a software error rather than the printer hardware being at fault. More information would be needed to diagnose.


I can think of far worse corporations.
 

Essan

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Are you filling in a pdf form? Is it printing just the form, without the fields you have completed? If so, try saving the form first and then print the saved form. This is a not uncommon problem with pdfs (nothing to do with the printer)
 

yorksrob

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Well, it seems to be the same with pdf's and website print screens. The only way I can get it to print the text is to take a screenshot and print as a picture - which is a bit of a faff.
 

SteveP29

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Just curious as to why you want to print the internet, when you can save most websites as offline pages, pdf's can also be saved and then access them from your phone or a tablet or suchlike
 

yorksrob

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Just curious as to why you want to print the internet, when you can save most websites as offline pages, pdf's can also be saved and then access them from your phone or a tablet or suchlike

For example, my hotel reservation details.

And don't get me started on mobile phones !
 

AM9

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There was a CD that I think I played.

About ten years ago, everything was "plug and play". Now its plug and despair.

Ten years ago, - assuming the printer was a current model then, the accompanying software on CD would probably have drivers intended for Windows Vista. There would have been online drivers for Windows 7 available from 2009, 8.0 in 2012, 8.1 in late 2013 and windows 10 in 2015. You haven't said which version of Windows you are using but the driver interface with the operating system changed fundamentally after windows 7. If the printer is a popular model, it is likely that Windows installed a Microsoft driver for it but those drivers are often generic for a number of models and may not work corrently on all models that it covers. The best way to proceed, (and continue with any perceived peripheral hardware issue) is to download and install the latest driver from HP. HP are very big in the business market and in my experience have generally provided support for their products - both business and domestic, beyond a reasonable expectation of their working life.
 

yorksrob

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I'm on Windows 8.1, which its fair to say, I don't like as much as previous versions.
 

Bletchleyite

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I'm on Windows 8.1, which its fair to say, I don't like as much as previous versions.

8 is a bit weird. Install Classic Shell and you can get the start menu back (I will never understand why they got rid of one of Windows' most popular and best designed features). Or upgrade to 10 which also reinstates it.
 

tsr

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From a personal ownership perspective, I have owned two HP printers (one which I binned a while ago from about 2000ish, and a 2011 model which came free with an iMac), a Chromebook and a wireless mouse. Probably amongst other things which I forget.

I certainly never had the problems described, but in terms of build quality and reliability, everything they sold me was pretty grim. The first printer basically could never understand different paper sizes, the second one ended up printing everything wonky due to a design flaw with some rollers in the mechanism which couldn’t be adjusted, the Chromebook developed a fan fault and screen cable issue within 18 months, and the mouse scroll wheel seized up within about a year.

Amongst my many talents (ha! :lol:) I am a qualified computer scientist who studied interaction and interface issues extensively at uni level, so I should really know what I am doing when it comes to interpreting domestic IT. Sadly, I had no choice but to interpret my HP equipment as junk. It’s a pity because some of it is actually quite nice-looking, a lot of their stuff is theoretically very able and compatible kit, and their pricing seems “reasonable” if you know where to look.
 

D365

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I'm on Windows 8.1, which its fair to say, I don't like as much as previous versions.

Ah, in that case you might be experiencing issues with drivers. How comes you haven't updated to 10?
 

Bletchleyite

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tsr - funny you say all that as I generally find HP kit to be at the quality end compared with many others.

I also like the way many of their printers have the printhead on the cartridge. They have a tendency to clog up over time, and on the printers where it is not on the cartridge that means the bin as a replacement costs more than the printer, while if they are on the cartridge you can save money by using refills but just bin it when it clogs up.
 

DarloRich

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Clarification: What if i buy a second hand Hewlett Packard item. Is that OK? See, my new lap top is second hand from my brother.
 

tony_mac

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Well, it seems to be the same with pdf's and website print screens. The only way I can get it to print the text is to take a screenshot and print as a picture - which is a bit of a faff.
I think there is probably nothing wrong with the printer, but I guess it could possibly be failing to print fonts. If you can print a test page, that would be helpful.
 

yorksrob

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Ah, in that case you might be experiencing issues with drivers. How comes you haven't updated to 10?

They all seem to be getting progressively worse, so I'm loath to upgrade anything until I have to.
 

Howardh

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I ditched HP. Used to drink ink, wouldn't accept recycled cartridges and the print quality was ropey anyhow. Threw in the towel and as I print quite a bit (say 5-10 pages a day) a cartridge wouldn't last a month so got the Epson ET 2500 which comes with it's own four ink tanks holding 75ml each. Although the initial cost was steep around £150, had it 12 months now and those tanks are still over 80% full (the ink came with the printer) so I reckon I'm £90 up already minimum, based on the cheapest HP cartridges available. And the print quality's excellent.
 

Crossover

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As others have said, it sounds software related. I have used HP printers, both inkjets and lasers, since the late 90's without too much issue (certainly found them better than the likes of Epson on the inkjet front). Most of my recent experience has been lasers

There was a CD that I think I played.

About ten years ago, everything was "plug and play". Now its plug and despair.

We like to call it 'Plug and Pray' :D (though generally this isn't the case now, but it certainly used to be)
 

yorksrob

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As others have said, it sounds software related. I have used HP printers, both inkjets and lasers, since the late 90's without too much issue (certainly found them better than the likes of Epson on the inkjet front). Most of my recent experience has been lasers



We like to call it 'Plug and Pray' :D (though generally this isn't the case now, but it certainly used to be)

I wish I'd thought of that phrase !
 

Class172

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8 is a bit weird. Install Classic Shell and you can get the start menu back (I will never understand why they got rid of one of Windows' most popular and best designed features). Or upgrade to 10 which also reinstates it.
I use Classic Shell on Windows 10, as I really dislike the new style start menu and I love the extensive range of customisation available in the program (my desktop looks more like vista at quick glance now!).

Returning to the topic at hand, I have an HP laptop that I have owned for over three years now and have never had any problems. It is a business model however (Probook 640), which suits me as it has easy maintenance and ability to upgrade.

If you're a user of Linux, personally I think HP printers are the best to have, as they freely offer the hplip tool that gives a full graphical interface for connecting to any of their printers (I think pretty much any model they've ever produced) - support is widely unavailable unlike with other manufacturers. I have a Canon printer at university and despite my best attempts it refuses to connect to my laptop when am running Linux (I gave it dual-boot functionality), and seems to be a common issue with the manufacturer's models. I only put up with it because the printer was free and can easily print documents with various workarounds.
 

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Starmill

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Personally I've still got Windows 7, I've been using it since 2010 and I'm as pleased with it now as I was then. I would quite like to try Windows 10 though.
 

jon0844

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Windows 10 is significantly better than 8 or 8.1 in my opinion.

I have been a Mac user at home for some considerable time (I still have two PCs, each with Windows 10, but prefer my iMac for
Personally I've still got Windows 7, I've been using it since 2010 and I'm as pleased with it now as I was then. I would quite like to try Windows 10 though.

There still appear to be - legal - ways to upgrade to Windows 10 and retain support, so I would recommend giving it a go. I liked Windows 7 (hated 8 and disliked 8.1) but 10 is a massive step up. I'd say it's more reliable these days than my Mac, where Apple seems to have become very lazy with quality control.
 
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