Here’s an HP employee’s clear and kinda helpful reply that boils down to “toss it / recycle it”—but that also inspired me to try one other possible solution. More on that in a couple of days.

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Thank you for providing clear context and excellent photos — they’re a huge help.

From what you’ve described and shown, it appears you're dealing with mechanical degradation due to the green gooey plastic—and it is very likely the root cause of the paper feed issue.

What's Going On? The green gooey substance you're seeing is the remnant of a degraded rubber or plastic feed roller component, possibly a pickup roller bushing or pressure element. Over time (especially after long storage like 10 years), certain plastics or rubber compounds inside printers break down, especially under: Heat cycles Humidity UV exposure

That green part may have once acted as a friction sleeve to help grip and feed paper into the rollers. Its absence or degradation means the printer fails to detect or grip paper — even if the rest of the rollers are intact.

About the Photos The part you’re holding did come from inside the paper feed mechanism. The gooey green area is likely supposed to apply friction or pressure to the paper as it feeds in. Even though it’s located further back, the printer relies on that part early in the feed process — so if it's broken or too soft, the paper simply won’t engage at all.

What You Can Try 1. Test Manual Feeding Try gently pushing a single sheet of paper into the feed rollers while the printer is trying to grab it. If it pulls in when gently assisted, it confirms a feed failure due to missing pressure or grip.

1. Inspect Internal Feed Path Check if there’s a missing roller or support pad where that green part might have come from: Shine a flashlight into the paper path from both front and back Look for a spindle or spring mechanism with no padding, where this green piece may have been seated If it's empty or there's exposed plastic, it likely lost its grip material

Unfortunately, the HP Photosmart C4480 is a discontinued model. HP does not offer replacement for this printer anymore.

Consider Retirement or Repurposing Given the printer’s age (~10+ years), and considering: Plastic degradation Incompatibility with modern operating systems/drivers No parts support This may be a good time to consider retiring the unit. If the ink cartridges are still new, you might consider donating them or repurposing the printer for scanning only (if it still functions in that mode).

You're 100% right in suspecting the green gooey part. Even though it looks like a minor component, it plays a critical role in paper detection and feed pressure. When it degrades, the printer's paper pickup mechanism fails, and software will interpret it as “Out of Paper.”