my prints are coming out with streaks and faded colors, i just put in new hp 67 ink, is the printer broken?

— asked by Riley

DIAGNOSIS This is almost never a broken printer. It's almost always clogged printhead nozzles. The ink dries out in the tiny holes if the printer isn't used regularly.

FIX Run the printer's built-in cleaning utility. 1) From the control panel, swipe or press to find "Settings" (the gear icon). 2) Go to "Printer Maintenance" or "Tools." 3) Select "Clean Printheads" or "Print Quality." The printer will cycle ink through the nozzles to clear them. This uses a little ink. 4) Print the "Print Quality Report" from the same menu to check if it worked.

IF THAT DIDN'T WORK If the cleaning cycle doesn't fix it, you might have a defective cartridge. Even new ones can be faulty. Re-seat the cartridges by opening the door, pressing them down to release, lifting them out, and firmly clicking them back in place.

HEADS UP Don't run the cleaning cycle more than twice in a row. If two cycles don't fix it, let the printer sit for 12 hours. Sometimes the ink needs time to rehydrate dried clogs. Running it too much just wastes ink.

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