HP Officejet 4680 prints blank pages from word

Hello everyone, I am running Windows 7 OS and have installed a HP Officejet 4680 all in one printer and am having problems. I am able to print from adobe, excel, and Internet Explorer just fine, but when I attempt to print a word document, it spits out blank pages with no text. I have tried to reset the printer, I have deleted the printer drives and reinstalled them too. Nothing seems to work. All of the settings appear to be normal. Any suggestions on a fix would be greatly appreciated. I am using Word 2007. Thank you very much

Are you able to print both color and black and white from other programs?

Yes I can

You better try printing a test page from windows. This sounds like you may have a bad or rempty ink cartridge, probably an empty black ink cartridge. Click Start -> Devices and printers. Right-click your printer, choose printer properties, and then print a test page. See if all four windows colors and black show up. Some programs may try to use a mix of colors to produce black, while some programs may try to print real black. Just do a check first, and then we can go from there.

This sounds like you may have a bad or rempty ink cartridge, probably an empty black ink cartridge.

Note the OP said,

I am able to print from adobe, excel, and Internet Explorer just fine

While I agree 100% that some programs mix all the colors to product black, it seems to me if it prints fine with Excel (unless all text is colored) then I don't see how it could be an ink cartridge. That said, running a test page cannot hurt. You can also type the "Now is the time for all good people…" in Notepad and see if that prints fine in plain, black text. If it does, then the printer is good.

Assuming this is not a Trial version of Word and the trial period has expired, check to ensure "Print only the data from a form" option in the Advanced category in Word Options is not set.

I appreciate all of the help. When I print a test page, all that prints is the header that says Windows Printer Test Page. I was unable to print the text from notepad as well. I also noticed that when I print from the internet, everything except black text prints. It is sounding more and more like a bad black ink cartridge.

Yes, an empty, or bad ink cartridge, or clogged printhead. Looks like they are one and the same on your printer, so just replace the cartridge. Unless there's a problem with the printer, you'll be good to go. If it still doesn't print black, it will likely be time to trash the printer. If you use refilled cartridges, you probably got a bad one. You can confirm its not a software issue by trying to make a "black" copy from the front control panel of your printer. It will come out blank. Take care.

When I print a test page, all that prints is the header that says Windows Printer Test Page. I was unable to print the text from notepad as well. I also noticed that when I print from the internet, everything except black text prints. It is sounding more and more like a bad black ink cartridge.

That still sounds odd. Are not the words "Windows Printer Test Page" in black? Mine are.

What does the printer itself say? Note on page 68 of your manual, to print a Self-Test Report from the printer's control panel: Press Setup, select Print Report, select Self-Test, and then press OK.

I agree. On my system, the words "Windows Printer Test Page" is printed with black. I think the test page from the printer's control panel as recommended will be the final indicator if it is a printer issue or software issue. The only other explanation for this is a font issue. The different between "Windows Printer Test Page" and the rest of the text, is that the "Windows Printer Test Page" is rendered as a graphic image and sent to the printer. The rest of the text is sent to the printer as text with font information. I've read about problems where some programs print and some do not. It involves how they are rendering the printed data. If the computer renders it as a "graphic image" it prints. If the computer sends the font information to the printer and tells it to print "xyz" it doesn't print. That could be related to this. The problem I read about referred to Adobe Reader, and there is actually an option if Adobe Reader to change between the two methods. The render as graphics method is much slower, but you can see why one would work and one would not work.

[The only other explanation for this is a font issue. The different between "Windows Printer Test Page" and the rest of the text, is that the "Windows Printer Test Page" is rendered as a graphic image and sent to the printer.

No, "font issue" and "image" is a contradiction. "Windows Printer Test Page" is not an image, but rather text printed in a larger font. The Windows logo on the other hand, is an image - a color image at that, and should have been printed too - in color.