I'm sorry to hear about the issue you're experiencing. Based on your description, it seems as if the problem may be isolated to the toner cartridge. If you're able to reinstall the original toner cartridge and achieve high quality prints then the lines and shading issues you've encountered seem likely to be caused by the new toner cartridges somehow. Before shopping for a new printer there are definitely some steps you can take to try and resolve the issues that you've reported.
I was able to locate the manual for your specific printer model. One of the first suggestions for troubleshooting print quality issues is to print a series of cleaning pages. It sounds like you've already tried this, but they list some other suggestions as well.
- Check the supplies status page to see if there are any reported issues with the problematic toner cartridge or any of the other replaceable maintenance parts that the printer uses. You can print the supplies status page by navigating to "Setup" and then "Reports" from the LCD screen on your printer.
- Visually inspect the toner cartridge. Remove the problematic cartridge from the printer and ensure that any sealing tape has been removed. Check the memory chip for damage. Examine the surface of the green imaging drum. If you notice any scratches, finger prints, or other abnormalities then you'll likely need a different cartridge.
- Try a different paper type setting. We typically recommend photo, glossy, or labels settings for our weatherproof laser materials. Adjusting to a different paper type setting could potentially offset the minor differences you're seeing with the new toner cartridge.
- Check the EconoMode settings. If EconoMode is currently enabled, then try disabling the option. Make sure you change the setting both from your printer's LCD screen and from the print settings on your computer.
- If you're noticing lines or streaks on the printed pages, the manual says to try removing the cartridge and shaking it to redistribute the toner.
- If you're seeing shading issues, dark print, or a gray background then the manual suggests reducing the toner density setting to a lower level.
If you'd like to review the troubleshooting section of the manual for additional tips, it begins on page 106 at the manual linked below:
http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c06177490.pdfI hope this helps. Please let us know if you need any additional information.
