HP Laserjet 200 prints Grey scale only

I have an HP Laserjet 200 colorMFP M276nw printer that only prints in grey scale. Even stuff like the supplies status report prints in grey scale, and the bar for yellow is really light, and cyan is medium grey, so I think they are supposed to print in color. The supplies status report says that all the color is 50%-60% and the black cartridge is empty. The black still prints fine. It's been this way for a couple weeks now.

The question is "what might be the problem and what should I do to try to fix it?"

Here is a scan of the supplies status page. Notice how the title and the level bars are difference shades of grey.

Scanned supplies status page

Arlen Beiler

Posted 2013-06-03T18:32:08.597

Reputation: 1 108

Thanks for posting this. I had the same problem. user453303 gave the correct answer. Please accept it. – Ellen Spertus – 2016-02-15T18:08:43.853

1Great story, not much of a question. :) Does it print it's self-test pages in color? Have you checked the driver setting in your OS to ensure you haven't forced it into Monochrome or Greyscale mode? In trying to fix it, what have you tried already? – Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007 – 2013-06-03T18:34:09.643

Yes, the supplies status report prints in grey-scale, but it appears like it should print in color. – Arlen Beiler – 2013-06-03T18:35:11.017

Is this a brand new printer, that you just unpacked from the box? – Darth Android – 2013-06-03T18:46:27.193

Have you tried all the things on this page? - HP Customer Support, Troubleshooting Print Quality Issues

– CharlieRB – 2013-06-03T18:59:44.680

We got it in February or March, 2013. – Arlen Beiler – 2013-06-03T20:30:01.677

Answers

As the test page is also in grey, the problem is in the printer itself. There are 2 things I would try.

First, check that the printer itself is not set to print greyscale only. I know the driver should override that setting, but check it anyway. I have not been able to find a manual that explains how to, but, if it's there, you should be able to find it under the Setup button on the control panel.

If that does not help, I would reset the printer to factory defaults, as follows (from the User's Guide, pg 150):

From the Home screen on the printer's control panel, touch the Setup button.
Scroll to and touch the Service menu.
Scroll to and touch the Restore Defaults button, and then touch the OK button. The product automatically restarts

Note that this will clear all settings you may have in the printer, including things like IP the address.

If that still does not solve it, call HP to fix it under warranty.

hdhondt

Posted 2013-06-03T18:32:08.597

Reputation: 3 244

In system setup, supply settings, select color and Very Low setting. This is where it's "hidden" that when you color toner gets low the printer will print in black/grayscale. Select Continue and the printer will continue printing in color until the toner is actually gone.

user453303

Posted 2013-06-03T18:32:08.597

Reputation: 11

When one of the color cartridges is low, the screen will ask if you want to continue in color (poor quality) or in black/white. If you select black/white, you're kinda stuck in that mode. I couldn't find a way to reset it, so I reset the printer back to factory defaults. It was faster that way.

TIM

Posted 2013-06-03T18:32:08.597

Reputation: 1