HP DeskJet 950C
After the kids opened and moved the print head it doesn’t return to the home position. It moves most of the way to the right and then stops and clicks without entering the home area.

How to Identify and Fix Common printer Problems ?

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Your printer can become misaligned if there is any paper stuck in the machine, print cartridges are clogged or dirty, improper installation of cartridges and using low quality cartridges. Additionally, a printer can become misaligned after the machine completes a large print job.
Print head stepper motor – A stepper motor moves the print head assembly (print head and ink cartridges) back and forth across the paper. Some printers have another stepper motor to park the print head assembly when the printer is not in use.
In HP Solution Center, click Settings, click Print Settings, and then click Printer Toolbox. The Printer Toolbox opens. Click Align the Print Cartridges. Click Align, and then follow the on-screen instructions.
Right-click the printer icon on the taskbar, and then select the Print Head Alignment. Or access the printer software, click the Maintenance tab, and then click the Print Head Alignment button. The printer prints test patterns that you use to check the print head alignment. Here are sample printouts.
Start > Devices and Printers > Right click your printer > Printer Properties > Preferences > Page Setup and change the Orientation. Another alternative is to use a label design program (i.e. Bartender Ultra Lite – free version) to design the label and change the orientation from the program.
(Windows) Verify that printer features are turned on

Click Advanced. Expand Document Options > Printer Features. Select the desired options and then choose On from the pop-up menu. If you don`t find duplex printing and stapling in the options, then your selected printer doesn`t support those features.

The print head alignment sheet will be printed and the print head position will be adjusted automatically. Do not perform any other operations until the printer completes the printing of the print head alignment sheet. This takes about 2 to 3 minutes.
The printer will not operate properly if it is tilted at an angle. When storing or transporting the printer, do not tilt it, stand it on its side, or turn it upside down. Otherwise, ink may leak.
Warping occurs due to material shrinkage while 3D printing, which causes the corners of the print to lift and detach from the build plate. When plastics are printed, they firstly expand slightly but contract as they cool down. If material contracts too much, this causes the print to bend up from the build plate.
Check the Margin settings under File>Page Setup to make sure that the right margin is OK. Also check the paragraph format to make sure that you do not have a negative right indent which could be causing the text to extend into an area that is unprintable by your printer.
First, find a smooth, flat, and straight stretch of road. Next, drive with a loose grip on the wheel so that you can tell if the car is pulling either way without you steering. While you are driving, listen closely to see if you can hear any scraping, whining, or grinding sounds because those could indicate a problem.
You`ll know fairly quickly if your printhead is causing you problems. If your PC or the LCD screen on your printer is telling you that your ink cartridges are full but no ink is passing through to the paper, then it`s most likely that you are dealing with a clogged printhead.
Wrong Printer Driver

When your output looks slanted, not because it`s skewed on the paper but because the material on the page appears falsely italicized or otherwise distorted, you may be using the wrong driver software for the combination of your computer hardware, operating system and printer.

Open Printers or Printers and Faxes / Devices and Printers. Right-click on the icon for the relevant printer or All-In-One and left-click on Printing Preferences. Click on the Maintenance or Utility tab. Then click on Print Head Alignment.
Make sure paper is loaded in the input tray. Open the HP Smart app, and then click the printer image. Click Print Quality Tools, and then select Align or Align Printheads. If prompted by the software or printer control panel to scan the Alignment Page, follow the instructions on the page to complete the alignment.
The print head alignment sheet will be printed and the print head position will be adjusted automatically. Do not perform any other operations until the printer completes the printing of the print head alignment sheet. This takes about 2 to 3 minutes.

Relevant Questions and Answers :

the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue

My printer feeds through one piece of paper all the way and then a half piece of paper and stops. I pull out the paper to stop the paper jam and then it prints but sounds rough. After printing, it doesn't feed the paper all the way through.
ANSWER : And the first 2 sheets, the full and half sheet that go through first, are blank.

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HP DeskJet 950C

Removing the print head on a Pixma MX 475?
ANSWER : Take out the ink tanks. On the right side there is a plastic release lever. Lift it up and the heads will unlock. Reach in and remove the heads. Take it to the sink and run hot water through the screens on top and then flip it over and run hot water over the heads. Repeat a few times until the water is clear. Reinstall and try again. It might take a couple pages for the print to look good.

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HP DeskJet 950C

print heads
ANSWER : Try this: http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04293162

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HP DeskJet 950C

Paper jam in front of print head. HELP URGENT Please
ANSWER : I am 99% sure you don’t have a problem with a sensor. Having no idea what you do in the cleaning process, and not being able to look at the printer, there is no way to help or advise you.

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HP DeskJet 950C

Epson Artisan 835 print head cleaning question
ANSWER : I had the same problem. After reading the comments, I tried Liquid Wrench spray. 1st try got about sixty percent improvement. Tried again this time I let it set for about 10 min then did a head cleaning. Completely solved the problem. I am a little concerned about its use on plastic. So far so good.

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HP DeskJet 950C

can't align print head horizontally despite running program
ANSWER : Don’t call that number, it’s a phishing scam number as far as I can tell. Last thing you want to do is have them remote into your computer (they may try hacking you in the background to try & steal bank info/saved passwords) or give them a CC number for tech help since they are not directly affiliated with Epson. As far as Epson’s site shows there is no toll free tech line, only 2 800s listed on their site and 1 is presales other is for supply orders.

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HP DeskJet 950C

when printing front and back, the front will print well but the back will fade
ANSWER : It happens because second side voltage is much higher and the board breaks. Are you getting this issue in auto duplex only, or same error you are getting when you print second side manually?

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HP DeskJet 950C

Need help for Epson Stylus color 3000 print head?
ANSWER : I need help changing the print head in my Epson 3000 – I have 2 printers – one will not stay in alignment and the other black ink is plugged and I have soaked it and cannot get it to budge.

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HP DeskJet 950C