HP is a famous IT company which manufactures a wide range of computers and other peripheral devices. HP printers are very reliable and robust. You can get a good HP printer for a very reasonable price. HP manufactures a wide range of printers for personal and business use. The print quality and printing speed of HP printers is also very good. Whenever you get the faded printouts, check for the ink immediately. If your ink cartridge is about to get empty then you should replace it for taking quality printouts. 

Finding the correct cartridge and loading it on HP printer

  1. Check your HP printer and jot down the model number
  2. Go to the store and check for the cartridge of your HP printer model number
  3. Shake the cartridge for better print quality
  4. Remove all the plastic packaging from the cartridge
  5. Open the access door of your HP printer
  6. Remove the empty cartridge 
  7. Insert the new ink cartridge carefully
  8. Check for the connecting pins

Close the access door and check the ink level. Now open your PC and take quality printouts easily. If you are facing printing errors after installing a new cartridge then check for the reasons and seek appropriate solutions.

Check for the protective tapes

If your printer is not showing the cartridge then check for the protective tapes. You need to remove all the plastic tapes before installing it on the printer. Don’t forget to remove the clips from the cartridge. People often forget to remove the orange tapes from the cartridge before installing it. Check your cartridge and reinsert it carefully.

Check the connecting pins

If you get the HP printer offline message then check the contact pins. The pins of the cartridge should touch the contacts for installation. Remove your cartridge and reinstall it carefully. Now check the status of your printer. If your printer is still showing the error then ask for technical help.

Install original cartridge on HP printer

Sometimes the installation error can appear when you are installing third-party cartridges on an HP printer. If the third-party cartridge doesn’t fit correctly then also you can get the error. These cartridges not only show the installation error but can also reduce the print quality. Cheap cartridges can also damage the printhead. Always purchase an original ink cartridge for the HP printer. In case you can’t afford the original cartridge then go for cartridge refilling. This is a good alternative to your query. Purchase good quality ink for the cartridge and refill it. Remove the cartridge and open the lid. Refill the cartridge drums carefully and close the lid. Now shake the drums and make sure the lid is tightly closed. Insert the cartridge on your printer and take a test printout. 

Check the printhead

If you are getting faded printouts after installing a good cartridge on your printer then you should check the printhead. Your printhead can also cause the quality issues. The printhead gets clogged if not used for a long time. You need to clean the printhead for troubleshooting your error. You can clean the printhead via control panel:

  1. Load the pages on the input tray
  2. Press and hold the power button of HP printer
  3. Now press the Cancel button for two times

Hit the Resume button once and finally release the power button. Repeat the steps several times for cleaning the printhead properly.

Cleaning printhead via HP Solution Center

  1. Open your Windows PC and click on All Programs
  2. Navigate to HP and choose HP Solution Center
  3. Go to the Settings option

Click on Printer Toolbox and choose the Device Services tab. Select the Clean Printheads option and follow the on-screen commands. Once complete, give a print command on your PC and check for the error. You can also clean the printhead of your HP printer manually. If you are facing any error on your HP printer then ask the technical team for help.