Strange behavior when printing

Try reducing the job complexity, especially on base SKUs of these older HP printers, and see if you have the same issue. Some of these are beginning to struggle today with overly complex jobs, especially the 64-128MB formatter. The issue is that this isn't like the much nicer units where it can be upgraded via SODIMM, so you will need to account for job complexity with a 64MB formatter somewhat.

The fact it prints fine with single pages tells me it's potentially a memory limit issue that isn't reporting an error. My M401n did the same thing, where it would just take time to process the file and drop elements from the job silently. I have since put a used M401dne into service, and it has been fine, so it was the limited formatter board RAM.

If you're in a Windows environment, try using the HP UPD and see if that also helps. I'm beginning to find the original HP drivers for the old models are aging in subtle ways like this, and I have had to replace the print queue multiple times with the stock driver multiple times when you aren't using the HP UPD.

NOTE: You will need to add the printer manually and have the IP address to do this if it isn't done over USB, but if you setup the printer manually in control panel and select "Add a printer using an IP address or hostname". Make sure the option to select the driver automatically is unchecked, otherwise you may have issues overriding the model specific driver.

If you choose to buy something newer, AVOID NEW HP hardware. It's a DRM-ridden mess. Find a pre-2017 model like the CP2025 or the Pro 400 version (M451) for another HP. Anything newer has the HP DS firmware. Canon used to make these bulletproof HP engines in AIO form (mostly), and Canon began selling the HP product that was crippled by the HP DS firmware in ~2017. After the Samsung deal, Canon dug into the market HP held with the Canon engines. Anyone who knows better tends to stick to the Canon engine HPs before 2017. Around the same time, HP ruined their single-function printers with the awful HP DS firmware. Canon built a similar product to the old HPs without the DRM around the same time, but they are chip-locked to Canon supplies and can't use the HP toner.