HP printer problem
Kent Madsen
Larry McElhiney
Kent Madsen
Kent Madsen kent....@gmail.com
Santa Cruz, California
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Jeff Liebermann
I believe that this might be due to excess ink at the print surface. Have you tried the Cleaning process in the Menu? I do not believe that new hardware would be required.
The cleaning function isn't going to help with the horizontal lines. It only works to unclog the inkjet nozzles where the printing looks faded. In this case, the printing and colors look perfect.
So, where are the extra black lines coming from? My guess(tm) is that there's a piece of paper stuck to the black ink cartridge. If you can find it by inspection, a pair of tweezers should be sufficient to remove the piece of paper. If it's inaccessible, run a "cleaning sheet" through the mechanism. If a dry cleaning sheet isn't fully effective, moisten the sheet with alcohol.
Examples:
https://www.google.com/search?udm=2&q=inkjet%20cleaning%20sheets
Video instructions:
https://www.google.com/search?q=inkjet%20cleaning%20sheet%20&udm=7
General instructions:
https://files.support.epson.com/docid/cpd5/cpd53210/source/printers/source/ink_functions/tasks/pm525/cleaning_paper_path_pm525.html
If you can't find a crumpled piece of paper in the mechanism,
- remove ink cartridges
- remove paper tray
- Place several layers of newspaper and cardboard on a ground (don't do this indoors). The newspaper is to catch any excess ink from the waste ink sponge (under the area where the ink carts are parked).
- Invert the printer and shake. Look for debris. Cat toys are a common problem.
I hate inkjet printers. Think about investing in a color laser printer.
Good luck.
-- Jeff Liebermann je...@cruzio.com PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272 Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
Larry McElhiney
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Wayne
Watch "Office Space". They show how to take care of printers.
On 9/13/25 2:41 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> On 9/13/2025 2:03 PM, Larry McElhiney wrote:
>> I believe that this might be due to excess ink at the print surface. Have you tried the Cleaning process in the Menu? I do not believe that new hardware would be required.
>
> The cleaning function isn't going to help with the horizontal lines. It only works to unclog the inkjet nozzles where the printing looks faded. In this case, the printing and colors look perfect.
>
> So, where are the extra black lines coming from? My guess(tm) is that there's a piece of paper stuck to the black ink cartridge. If you can find it by inspection, a pair of tweezers should be sufficient to remove the piece of paper. If it's inaccessible, run a "cleaning sheet" through the mechanism. If a dry cleaning sheet isn't fully effective, moisten the sheet with alcohol.
>
> Examples:
> https://www.google.com/search?udm=2&q=inkjet%20cleaning%20sheets
>
> Video instructions:
> https://www.google.com/search?q=inkjet%20cleaning%20sheet%20&udm=7
>
> General instructions:
> https://files.support.epson.com/docid/cpd5/cpd53210/source/printers/source/ink_functions/tasks/pm525/cleaning_paper_path_pm525.html
>
> If you can't find a crumpled piece of paper in the mechanism,
>
> 2. remove paper tray
> 3. Place several layers of newspaper and cardboard on a ground (don't do this indoors). The newspaper is to catch any excess ink from the waste ink sponge (under the area where the ink carts are parked).
> 4. Invert the printer and shake. Look for debris. Cat toys are a common problem.
> I hate inkjet printers. Think about investing in a color laser printer.
>
> Good luck.
>
> --
> PO Box 272http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
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Jeff Liebermann
Hi Kent,Several times is often needed…
There are two time/use related items with HP printers: obviously Ink Cartridges and also Print Heads. You can check the usage of the print head within the printer statistics. Print heads are not cheap and if the comparison between print head and printer replacement is balanced the wrong way, then printer replacement is needed.
If the printer used cartridges with integral heads, then I might agree that the problem could be due to a cartridge problem. However, the 6978 uses cartridges that are only an ink reservoir. If one color or black were missing from the sample print, I might consider the cartridge. However, the sample print colors look perfect and only defects are the horizontal black lines. A defective print head is possible, but as you mention, is difficult and expensive to replace.
However it is always worth a call to HP Help Line as they will answer such questions.
Sure, after you search the internet. This took about 2 minutes:
https://www.google.com/search?q=hp%20officejet%20pro%206978%20horizontal%20lines&udm=2
which produced this link:
"Black Horizontal Lines Fixable? - OfficeJet Pro 6978"
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Printer-Ink-Cartridges-Print-Quality/Black-Horizontal-Lines-Fixable-OfficeJet-Pro-6978/td-p/8479342
Notice the characteristic curves at both ends of the horizontal
ends. Unfortunately, the author did not indicate if he had solved
the problem. However, 2 people followed up claiming they have the
same problem.
Here's the same question for a similar HP printer:
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Printer-Ink-Cartridges-Print-Quality/HP-officejet-pro-8139e-dark-horizontal-lines-on-pictures-not/m-p/9420531
The author fixed the problem by cleaning the ink cartridges:
"I ended up removing the ink cartridges one at a time and cleaning
the contacts and discharge areas with tissue paper, then
reinstalling the cartridges. Pictures printed with no problems
then."
I doubt it was a dirty cartridge. Maybe something stuck to the
carrier or the head.
Kent: Did the horizontal lines suddenly appear or did it take several days for the horizontal lines to appear? If it was a sudden appearance, I'll stand on my guess(tm) that there's some debris in the head mechanism. If the lines appeared gradually, then it's probably something else.
Larry
—- Quote from HP Support:
One of two things is happening. Either the printer just needs to be aligned, or the printheads have gone out. You can find the alignment the same place you can find the printhead cleaning. If the alignment fails, or doesn't fix the problem, the the printheads have gone out and need to be replaced. The printheads have their own warranty, so make sure to check the warranty date before you look at buying new printheads. If the printheads are in warranty and need replaced, HP should replace them for free. If both the printer and printheads are out of warranty, it would be cheaper to buy a new printer than it would be to replace both printheads.
That reads like it was produced by an AI. I like the way the AI avoided the question and jumped immediately to purchasing a new printer or printhead assembly.
Note that Kent mentioned that he had tried a head alignment.
"I’ve tried everything mentioned online: printhead cleaning twice,
reseating the ink cartridges, doing an alignment, and shutting
down and unplugging the printer..."
It's not a head alignment problem. Head alignment adjusts the relative position of the 4 ink cartridges and is useful if the colors look "dirty" or blurry.
-- Jeff Liebermann je...@cruzio.com PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com