The cradle is stuck

Push something thicker than a plain sheet of paper through. Cut a side of a manilla folder into a 8.5"x11" and let the printer try to grab it during a copy. After doing it's normal "grab the right side until it's skewed and stop", continue to try to push it through.

Hi KHphoto, you can see this steps to fix your printer jam,

1. Disconnect the USB cable.
2. Press the printer power button to turn off the printer.
3. Disconnect the power cord from the back of the printer.
4. Open the top cover of the printer.
5. Remove the print cartridges from the printer.
6. Slide the cradle to the right side of the printer.
7. Locate the clutch on the left side of the printer.
   NOTE: The clutch is a flat, white, plastic component that rests just above the white roller gear wheel. In the HP Photosmart P1000 and P1100 printers, the clutch is black metal. Figure 1: Printer clutch
8. Remove the rear access door from the back of the printer.
9. Press the clutch firmly towards the back of the printer, while rolling the wheels in the back of the printer upward two full rotations.
10. Release the clutch and roll the wheels up two more rotations.
11. Reinstall the rear access door.
12. Reinstall the print cartridges and secure the latches in place.
13. Close the top cover and reconnect the power cord.
14. Turn on the printer.
15. Print a test page.

original post*
If you are still having problems let me know.

If there's a carriage jam. While the printer is turned on, Open the access door of you printer.
If the carriage is stuck at the left side, try moving it manually by hand to the right most part of the window. If it's stuck on the right, try moving it by hand to the left.
If you've already done that. While the printer is turned on, unplug the power cord from the back. Close the access door. And then plug it back in.
Make sure you restart the computer first just to avoid documents getting stuck in the print queue. Try printing again. Usually it does the trick.

unplug the printer and try to move carriage by hand, if it does not move, the carriage mechanism is broken, if it does move, plug the unit back in, if same error occurrs, it is an issue with the printer carriage mech.

Please try this solution :

1. Turn the printer off and open the access cover.
2. Look for any obstructions in the paper path and remove them if necessary. (It is possible to move the carrier assembly with the power off.)
3. Turn the printer on, load some paper, and press the Form Feed button.
4. Watch the paper as it feeds through and try to determine where the jam is occurring.
5. Check to see if all the rollers are turning.

If all the rollers are turning, there may be something in the feed path that you can't see. Go to step 6.
If not, there is probably a feed motor or a gear problem and the printer may require service.
6. If the paper is jamming under the carrier assembly, you may be able to fix it using the manual feed slot.
7. Turn the printer off.
8. Take a #10 envelope and feed it through the left side of the manual feed slot until it comes right through the printer to the back of the exit rollers.
9. Move it up and down first, and then slowly move it over to the right side. If something is stuck under the black guide plate, this may work it loose.

Carriage system is broken. Uneconomical to repair. Sorry

This might help . . . Mine finished printing one doc & then made a terrible noise & sent a message to my screen that "print cartridge cradle is stuck." When i opened door, i could see it was stuck off to the left side so left cartridge was obscured. I could not get it to budge, although i kept turning it off, gently pushing & turning it back on. Finally, i got my hand inside & determined that the little door to the left-side cartridge had popped open & was causing it to remain stuck. After some struggles (turn off printer first!) i was able to maneuver it around & close it tight. Now, all is well . . .

I was having same problem but it was a paper jam all the time and then it started to state Cairrage Jam. And what was happening was the unit the cartridges sit in was not going all the way to the right. A little nudge and you could feel it move. Closed lid and sometimes it would print but eventually it would fail. Just replaced but I suspect if you can get to the cairrage you could clean/repair whatever was keeping it from going all the way to the right.

Hope that helps!

I have had this problem with my 7550 for a while now and I finally found this on the HP website and it seems to have fixed my problem, I also replaced all of the cartridges:

Issue While printing from an HP Photosmart printer, the printer screen displays Print cartridge cradle is stuck / clear jam and then press OK . The printer may also make grinding sounds. This can occur after a paper jam when another printer part blocks the cradle. Solution Follow these instructions to adjust the clutch on the printer.

1. Disconnect the USB cable.
2. Press the printer power button to turn off the printer.
3. Disconnect the power cord from the back of the printer.
4. Open the top cover of the printer.
5. Remove the print cartridges from the printer.
6. Slide the cradle to the right side of the printer.
7. Locate the clutch on the left side of the printer.
   NOTE: The clutch is a flat, white, plastic component that rests just above the white roller gear wheel. In the HP Photosmart P1000 and P1100 printers, the clutch is black metal. Figure 1: Printer clutch
8. Remove the rear access door from the back of the printer.
9. Press the clutch firmly towards the back of the printer, while rolling the wheels in the back of the printer upward two full rotations.
10. Release the clutch and roll the wheels up two more rotations.
11. Reinstall the rear access door.
12. Reinstall the print cartridges and secure the latches in place.
13. Close the top cover and reconnect the power cord.
14. Turn on the printer.
15. Print a test page.

Hey chips 53 Very simple, Go to the market and purchase a set of screw driver of long sleek neck (for star screw). and open the four screw present four different side in the printer. After open the screw, open that door, from where you insert the cartridge. insert your hand into the printer and lift the portion upside. Remember you have to lift equally (but slowly-slowly) if you see that the upper body is separating, you have to concentrate to lift the portion from right side because wires has been attached left side. After removing the upper portion you can easily move the carriage. And do what you want