What to do When Printer Will Not Print Yellow?

Color printers are useful devices as it allows you to take printouts in black and white and in color. Printers often work without any problems, but sometimes users have reported that they are not able to take printouts with yellow color text. 

This is one of the common printer problems, and this how-to guide is for HP® users. So keep reading if you are using an HP® printer. Other brands may need different troubleshooting steps for the same issue.

This problem is related to the ink level, but it can also happen due to some other reason. If you also face this issue, then try any of the following tips to fix it. If after one step you are not able to print something with the color, and then proceed to the next one in the following order.

Check the Color Ink Level

1. Start with verifying the level of ink in the toner. You can verify the ink level in it by pressing the icon of ink drop on the display of your printer.
2. You have an issue with printing yellow color, so check your Magenta or Yellow level. If the ink level of it does not appear, then it could be a problem with either Magenta or Yellow cartridges.
3. To fix the problem, you can also try performing Clean Printhead. To do it in your HP® printer, just follow the steps mentioned below.
   1. On the display of your printer, just press Setup and navigate to Tools.
   2. Below Tools, choose Clean Printhead.
   3. Then, try printing a document with the yellow text and check to see if the device is printing in the color.
   4. If this fails in the first try, Clean Printhead many times over and check for improvements in printouts.

Fix Print Quality Problems

1. Ensure that you are using authentic cartridges of your printer manufacturer.
2. Let automatic servicing finish if you have replaced and installed a fresh cartridge.
3. Check whether the type and size of paper are appropriate for the print job or printer model.

Verify the Printing Settings

• First, open the software program with which you are trying to take printouts.
• Click on File in the menu bar of that application, and choose the Print option from the drop-down menu. This will open a new Print
• In the new window, click to open Properties.
• Click to select Preferences.
• Then, try setting the Paper Type as per your printing requirements.
• Configure the Print Quality to draft mode or normal
• Configure the Paper Size to the value according to your requirement.
• Click on the OK button to save and apply the changes.

Then, try to take a printout again, and see whether the issue is fixed.

Assign a Print Color Management Profile

To assign this in your HP® printer, just follow the steps mentioned below.

• Click on Start, and choose the Settings
• Click on Devices, and go to Printers and Scanners.
• Select your Printer from Printers and Scanners, and choose Manage.
• Then, click Printer Properties in Manage Your Device.

• Click on the tab named Color Management.
• Then, click on the Add button to open the list of color profiles, which are available in your device.
• The list will then appear on the checkbox named Add Profile Association. Choose Diamond Compatible 9300k G2.2.icm.
• Click once more on Add, and click on the OK button to save the new settings.
• Retry printing the document with the yellow color, and check whether the program prints it and the output is just what you need.

Clean Cartridges

You can run clean cartridges with the HP® Director application. Here are the full steps to perform this task.

• Open HP Director, and click on the Help
• Click on the Contents tab to open it, and select the entry for your HP® all-in-one printer in the list.
• Click Maintain your HP Officejet or Maintain your HP PSC.
• Click the Work with Print Cartridges
• Then, select Clean the Print Contracts.
• Wait for the task to complete.

Check Generic Printer Drivers

Follow the below steps in Windows computer connected to the internet to check whether a printer driver is available.

• Press the Windows and R keys at the same time to open Run.
• In Run, key in devmgmt.msc and press the Enter key or click on the OK button. This will open the Device Manager.
• Find Print Queues just below Network adapters and expand it.
• Right-click on your HP® Printer, and choose the Update Driver option from the pop-up menu.
• Choose Let Windows Search and Download Drivers Automatically.
• That is it. The OS will download a new driver if it is available.
• After that, restart the computer, and check for improvements.

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