Can anybody help with a printer issue?

[Sue]

Finally sorted, hooray!

I did have to uninstall and reinstall the printer, but in a different way to that suggested above.

It was all a bit complicated but hey, I now know there is a pause/break key on my keyboard!

Thanks so much to everybody on this thread :)

[seemster]

Hi sue, glad it?s sorted! If you can bear to share what you ended up doing that could be v useful for others (including me!)

[Sue]

These are the instructions I got from HP, but I had to Google some of it, and some of it wasn't for Windows 10, but I struggled through it somehow :))

My printer wasn't actually listed under Devices and Printers, so I didn't need to delete it there.

It was some of the steps in the HP support link that I had to google, eg to find out where the pause/break key was, DUH :))

We might be able to resolve the issue by removing the existing printer software and drivers and then installing a compatible driver. Here is how to do it:

1.) In Windows, search for and open Control Panel

2.) Open Programs and Feature, Select your HP Printer

3.) Select Uninstall

4.) In Windows, search for and open Devices and printers

5.) In the Devices and Printers windows look for your HP printer. If you see it listed right-click on it and choose 'Delete' or 'Remove Device'

6.) Open up the run command with the "Windows key + R" key combo.

7.) Type printui.exe /s and click Ok. (Note: there is a space in between ?printui.exe? and ?/s?)

8.) Click on the "Drivers" tab

9.) Look for HP Printer driver. If you see it Click on it and click Remove at the bottom

10.) Select Ok

11.) Select Apply and Ok on the Print Server Properties windows

12.) Close Devices and Printers

13.) Open up the run command with the "Windows key + R" key combo.

14.) Type c:/programdata and click Ok. Go to Hewlett Packard folder, remove any printer related folders & files.

15.) Restart the computer.

Once the drivers are removed, use the steps available here: https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c01796879 to add a Windows built-in print driver.

ETA: Although the rest of the HP support was dismal (they still haven't returned my call), the Facebook messaging was excellent, and amazingly quick to respond even over the weekend.

I had some other queries as well, which they answered promptly.

The printer was ?25 and I get two months' free ink based on pages rather than ink used. I went for the 300 pages a month option given that it's free (I now intend to make use of it for printing out photos in the free months :)) though I suspect there may be something in the small print which stops me doing that somehow :)) )

I can cancel at the end of the two months and just buy ink as I need it, or go onto another plan. Or stay on the 300 page one.

I worked out what I had spent on ink per month on average over the last two years, and this compares well with that, plus I was buying compatible inks and these are HP ink.

This printer didn't get great reviews, but so far the quality of printing seems fine to me (my last two printers were very expensive, and both died, and Epson haven't exactly endeared themselves to me with all the palaver over the faulty printer I had to return).

[diable rouge]

Sue Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I can cancel at the end of the two months and just

> buy ink as I need it, or go onto another plan. Or

> stay on the 300 page one.

My HP printer is a bit older than yours, I don't have to print stuff regularly as I can PDF most work related docs, so this may not hold true in your case, but my printer used to allow me to print as and when until the ink(s) had run out, but I've noticed that recent HP replacement inks now 'expire' regardless whether the ink has been used up or not. I've no idea how long this 'expiry' period is for, can't remember seeing anything glaringly obvious on the packaging, and the onscreen ink levels doesn't say anything either. Really annoying when I haven't used my printer for a while then want to print something only to be told to replace the cartridge, even though the cartridge is full of ink. It's also typical of our throwaway culture that it's now cheaper to buy a new printer rather than replacement inks...

[Sue]

diable rouge Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Sue Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

>

> > I can cancel at the end of the two months and

> just

> > buy ink as I need it, or go onto another plan.

> Or

> > stay on the 300 page one.

>

> My HP printer is a bit older than yours, I don't

> have to print stuff regularly as I can PDF most

> work related docs, so this may not hold true in

> your case, but my printer used to allow me to

> print as and when until the ink(s) had run out,

> but I've noticed that recent HP replacement inks

> now 'expire' regardless whether the ink has been

> used up or not. I've no idea how long this

> 'expiry' period is for, can't remember seeing

> anything glaringly obvious on the packaging, and

> the onscreen ink levels doesn't say anything

> either. Really annoying when I haven't used my

> printer for a while then want to print something

> only to be told to replace the cartridge, even

> though the cartridge is full of ink. It's also

> typical of our throwaway culture that it's now

> cheaper to buy a new printer rather than

> replacement inks...

I'm using their Instant Ink - they monitor your ink levels online and post you ink before your cartridges run out.

You pay by page rather than the amount of ink, so whether this would be good for you would depend on the sort of stuff you printed, I guess.

But if your printer is old it may not support Instant Ink?

You could ask/complain via the Facebook Messenger I used - they seem very helpful?

[diable rouge]

I'm an infrequent printer so the Instant Ink plan is no good for me, I can quite often go several months not needing to print out anything. It's annoying that unlike the original ink cartridges, the latest ink cartridges now 'expire' even if they have ink in them, since when did ink start having a sell by date like a pint of milk, it just comes across as another money making scam by the manufacturers. Once my current cartridges run out I'll get a new printer and look at the best options for me then...

[ianr]

I'm still using a monochrome laser printer. No more ink problems for me. Presumably that applies to colour laser printers too.

Thanks for revealing printui.exe/dll (owned byTrustedInstaller) to me. It's the semi-obscurity of Windows that's so galling, especially to anyone with *n*x experience.

[feefifofum]

I've got the Instant Ink plan too. A couple of things to watch out for - despite what it says, it does charge by the amount of ink used and not by the page. If you are printing text from Word, say, you are fine, but if you print out a page that has pictures or boxes, that will use up much more ink, so is classed as several pages. That means that printing out a report with lots if graphs and detail can quickly eat up your entire monthly ration of pages.

Also, I found I was always running out of ink at first. New cartridges are automatically posted out to you when the ink is running low but they weren't being sent early enough and then when they did arrive, they'd be too big for the letter box and so I'd have to go to the sorting office to pick them up. HP sent me a few to have in reserve, so that is all OK now.

On the plus side, colour printing is no more expensive than black & white and the plan has saved me money overall (especially now that I think twice before printing out reports).

[Sue]

I've found it's a bit like having a water meter. I think twice before printing things out.

It's good that unused pages roll over to the next month (indefinitely I think).

I haven't run out of ink yet. I've found I get new cartridges from HP in good time. I always have a couple ready to be installed.

I haven't found pictures being classed as several pages. The first couple of months I printed out a load of A4 photos.

However what I have found is that there can be a lag between pages being printed out and them being counted by HP, so that you think you've got more pages left in your allowance than you actually have.

I did start keeping a count, to compare, but it got too tedious .....

Have HP told you that they charge by ink not page in some cases, feefifofum? Because if so, that is pretty sharp practice as it's not what they clearly say they do.

[feefifofum]

Hi Sue

I didn't ask HP but when I got through my 300-page allowance in a flash, Googling suggested HP classed a page as having 5% ink coverage, which seemed to make sense.

That was a year ago and I've been really careful since. Perhaps it's time to let rip and print out some photos and see how I get on! If I can do it without wiping out my allowance, it will be brilliant.

[Sue]

I did mine in the first couple of months, as it was free via an offer. So 600 pages free!

HP have a Facebook page, and are extremely helpful via private messaging through that

You could ask them what counts as a "page"?

I assumed that it was, in fact, a page. Even if it only has one word on it.

If they are going on ink usage, they should say so.