need new hp c4280 driver for el capitan?

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Level 1

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need new hp c4280 driver for el capitan?

Hello:

obviously not an expert, but willing to try.

We have a v old imac, from 2008. It is running El Capitan, and it mostly seems fine. We also have the hp photosmart c4280 all-in-one we got at the same time, which is not doing nearly as well.

It has had issues on and off for quite a while. Lately, it goes through the motions of printing, but the page comes out blank.

What is the most likely cause? We are using hp cartridges.

It has been ages since I did anything to, or with, the printer software, driver, etc, so I am wondering if that might be the issue.

All suggestions appreciated!! Please speak slowly and use small words. We are just about to chuck it and get a new one. Which I hate to do, if the problem is really human error. Which would not surprise.

Thank you.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on May 13, 2018 6:14 PM

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Answer 1

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den.thed

Level 9

77,158 points

May 13, 2018 7:44 PM in response to Sbsg

Sbsg wrote:

It has had issues on and off for quite a while. Lately, it goes through the motions of printing, but the page comes out blank.

What is the most likely cause? We are using hp cartridges.

Place a piece of paper, a card, something with print on it in the scanner and press the Scan button on top of the printer.

If the scan print a blank page, then there is something wrong with the HP Printer.

(paper jam, clogged heads, dry or empty ink cartages, a mechanical failure, etc...)

If the scan print a good page, then reset the Mac's printing system.

as per > https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21727?locale=en_US

Also note; that MacOS El Capitan should already have the drivers installed for that Printer.

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Answer 2

Sbsg Author

Level 1

8 points

May 15, 2018 8:48 PM in response to den.thed

Thanks so much!!!

I will definitely try this. (Right now it is giving me some lip about how the usb isn’t connected, even though it is. I may try resetting it just to show it who’s boss. First I will unplug it and go for a walk.)

Thanks again, I appreciate you taking the time.

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Answer 3

Sbsg Author

Level 1

8 points

May 17, 2018 11:47 AM in response to Jan Hedlund

Thanks! I just did one. I have been fiddling with it this morning. I turned it back on, it wouldn’t print, I checked for updates - and there was one, then I (tried to) read a bunch of pages about what the problem might be. I tried a different usb cord, since it would try to tell me it wasn’t connected, and that wasn’t the issue.

Finally, I saw how to do a test page, and the result does not look anything like the picture online. Mine is very light, is all black and white, and I can barely read it. So I guess something is really wrong with it.

I’ll see if I can get it scan the test. No, it says the usb’s not connected. So I am back to square one I guess. It’s weird bc when it tries to print, it grabs the right number of pages ... it just doesn’t put ink on them. Weird. Family member has already bought a new one and it’s sitting there in the box, laughing at me. (not really)

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Answer 4

Sbsg Author

Level 1

8 points

May 17, 2018 12:11 PM in response to Sbsg

Not sure what this means, but now the scanner does seem to work. (I found how to go in through the Apple and System prefs... and this morning, that still didn’t work ... but just now, it does. Though I can’t find how to save the scan. And, I don’t know that Apple lets me attach anything here anyway.) I don’t know what this all means. Maybe there are hardware and software issues both.

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Answer 5

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

22,207 points

May 16, 2018 12:46 AM in response to Sbsg

In addition to the scan and print method suggested by den.thed, you may want to try printing a self-test report (http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00897310, pp. 64-65).

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need new hp c4280 driver for el capitan?

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