6600 Won't print in black without full complement of color cartidges

Just experiencing this inability to print balck or greyscale without all the color cartridges, which I don't use. This is one of the sleaziest practices I have encountered in the industry. Both the software and the manual contain outright lies. Instead of fooling around with these apparently useless and deceptive responses from HP, as a recently retired attorney with a lot of time on my hands I'll pursue my own solution - I'm filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission for unfair trade practice.

Page 72 of the Officejet 6600 user manual says the following: Printing with black or color ink only
For regular usage, this product is not designed to print using only the black cartridge when the color cartridges are out of ink. However, your printer is designed to let you print as long as possible when your cartridges start to run out of ink.
When there is sufficient ink in the printhead, the printer will offer you the use of black
ink only when one or more of the color cartridges are out of ink, and the use of color ink
only when the black cartridge is out of ink.
• The amount that you can print using black or color ink only is limited, so have replacement ink cartridges available when you are printing with black or color ink only.
• When there is no longer sufficient ink to print, you will get a message that one or more cartridges are depleted, and you will need to replace the depleted cartridges before you resume printing. -------- HP and other printer manufacturers have different printer technologies for different needs. For inkjet printers: Some have printheads built into the ink cartridges. These printers can typically print with one or more of the colors completely empty, or even with color or black (but not both) cartridges removed. The Deskjet 6980 series is an example, or for an all-in-one see the Officejet 8040a.Other printers have separate ink supplies and replaceable printheads. An example would be the Officejet 7110 printer. The printhead in these printers can be replaced if they are damaged by running the printhead with colors out. Some of these printers will allow printing with a color out, other will not. If the printer is run without ink in one or more colors the printer may be damaged, but the user may be able to recover without having to send the printer for service.Other printers have permanent printheads. To run these without some ink in all the colors would risk causing damage to the printhead due to clogs, air ingested in the printhead or burned out printhead firing resistors. The Officejet 6600 is an example of this type of printer. For printers with fixed printheads this could require service to get the printer to print properly again when the ink is finally replaced. The document here describes how ink is used. While the document is written for HP Inkjet printers the same principles apply to inkjet printers from other manufacturers. If you never print in color a laser printer would likely be a better choice. If you occasionally print color but mostly black an IPH printer like those in the first category above may be a good choice.

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Hp 6600 won't print in black ink only

Two of my color cartridges are supposedly empty (but I rather doubt it) so I decided I'd print in black ink only. I followed the directions as directed in the hp software and changed preferences to black ink only. Still, when I try to print I get a message that I need to replace the two colored ink cartridges that are empty. I'm very frustrated. Why won't this work?

I went to the link suggested and the answer was what I already knew. Shame on HP for selling a product without including that you need all cartridges full to use black and white In LARGE BOLD print. The following is not helpful. It only tells me what I already know. I will NEVER buy an HP product again. HP Officejet Printers - Printing with Depleted CartridgesIssueCan the printer operate for an extended period of time with depleted cartridges?SolutionFor regular usage, this product is not designed to print using only the black cartridge when the color cartridges are out of ink.However, your printer is designed to let you print as long as possible when your cartridges start to run out of ink. When there is sufficient ink in the printhead, the printer will offer you the use of black ink only when one or more of the color cartridges are out of ink, and the use of color ink only when the black cartridge is out of ink.The amount that you can print using black or color ink only is limited, so have replacement ink cartridges available when you are printing with black or color ink only.When there is no longer sufficient ink to print you will get a message that one or more cartridges are depleted, and you will need to replace the depleted cartridges before you resume printing.

HP Officejet 6600 won't print in black and white

So I have a HP Officejet 6600 which recently ran out of it's magenta cartridge. I knew I wouldn't be able to print in color, but when I went to the printer and set preferences to print black only it still tells me I need to replace the magenta cartridge before I can resume printing. This is extremely annoying because I start school monday and have syllabi and things I need to print out. Please don't tell me to order or go out and buy a magenta cartridge. I just need to know how to get this specific printer to work using only black ink when the color cartidges are depleted.

There are a few reasons color ink is used, even when printing black only: Some ink is used to keep the nozzles from drying out. When printing (even black only) the color printhead, attached to the same structure as the black printhead, is waving around in the air and the nozzles would clog if there were no servicing.When automatic duplex printing the front page typically has a thin underprint of color ink under the black to "set" the black ink. It is not intuitive, but this causes the black ink to dry faster, reducing the chances of smearing the ink as the page is pulled back into the printer to print the back side.Graphics are typically printed with a mixture of color ink rather than black. The color droplets are much smaller than the black droplets. The composite black (made from colors) gives visibly better grayscale graphics results. (For some drivers there is an option for printing in grayscale as "black ink only" or "High quality grayscale".) Printing in "Best" quality typically underprints balck with color to give a darker black.The pigmented black ink is not compatible with photo apper. If photo paper is detected or selected in the driver the printer will mix color ink to make black.Depending on the driver the option for "black ink only" may not be available when color ink will be needed, for example in the duplex printing case. See the document here for information on how ink is used in the printing process. In the language of that document the Officejet 6600 is an IIC printer. If you want a printer that can print with no color ink at all I would suggest something like a monochrome Laserjet, or an IPH printer such as the Deskjet 6980 or Officejet 8040a that would allow printing with the color cartridge removed compeltely.

HP Office jet 6600 Need to print in black ink only

One of the color cartridges is empty and the printer won't print in Black in only which is a full cartridge. I turned Gray scale on and enabled print black ink only but it still won't print. Is there anything else I can do?
thanks,

Hello GilbertSimi, and welcome to the HP Forums.
I understand you are looking to print without full colour cartridges installed. Due to the ink system design, this model of printer requires the colour ink to be installed to print. Using it without colour ink could cause damage to the ink system.
If you have any questions about ink you can check out this document on Ink Usage in Inkjet Printers, and this document on How HP measures inkjet page yields.
Thank you for posting on the HP Forums.
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Jamieson
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HP officejet 6600 won't print

HP officejet 6600 won't resume. Msg says "paused" but cant get it to resume. I've shut it down and replugged both the computer to which it is attached by wire, and stop/started the computer. No luck. Ideas?

It won't print in black and white and HP WILL NOT ANSWER any of these requests because it's their way of stealing you money without really telling you they are. Imagine that???

6500 All in One - Won't print in black, no error message

Twice now I've returned a black cartridge to Staples, thinking there was something wrong with it because the printer would print fine for the first 20-40 copies, then just stop. When it happened a third time, I started thinking maybe it's not the ink cartridges. The printer just won't print in black. I can change the font color to blue and all's well. When I try to print something in black, the printer ACTS like it's printing but nothing shows up except any color items. The diagnostics don't show any problem, the printer has no error message, even shows the ink cartridge full (which it is) ... but it just won't print in black.
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Try soaking the printheads as described in this post.
Bob Headrick, HP Expert
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My printer won't print in black

My printer won't print in black. Went thru every step possible to fix. Still doesn't work. Printer not that old and i use it infrequently.

Hey @zufritto,
Because the Semi-Full Reset failed to resolve this issue I would have to recommend that you contact our Technical Support queue by phone to explore additional options.
HP Technical Support can be reached at: 800-474-6836.
If you live outside the US/Canada Region, please click the link below to get the support number for your region.
HP Worldwide Contact
It has been a pleasure working with you. I wish you luck going forward with this!
Hey @drodg,
I understand that you are also experiencing issues printing in black. I actually worked with you on the following thread: Photosmart will not print from the black cartridge.
I see that you also worked with my colleague @MissTeriLynn on this thread: New black ink cartridges [HP] will not work.
Because this issue is unresolved I would highly recommend that you take the advice to contact our Technical Support queue by phone to explore additional options. Unfortunately, there are no further support options available over the HP Support Forums.
I wish you luck going forward with this!
X-23
I work on behalf of HP
Please click "Accept as Solution" if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the "Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the right to say "Thanks" for helping!

C 84 won't print in black

My printer now won't print in black ink-have a Wacom graphire tablet with Painter Essentials 2 and was learning how to use it and now can't get my old trusty Epson c 84 to print in black- ran all the alignment test, cleaned print heads etc. Checked Pen settings etc - can print dark navy etc so black in seems to be feeding in. Any web page or document is invisible when it comes out of the printer. I installed Tiger a few days ago per the apple reps suggestion that my pen tablet would be easier to install etc

Thanks and yes and it did not help. What WORKED though was to ditch the Epson and I bought a new Canon cheapo ip1600 and it does fine. It seems to be the most compatible of all of the Canons as it and one other ( per the 800 Canon store) are the only ones so far as Tiger is so new and some of the printer companies could not produce fast enough or fine tune their drivers etc.
Anyway so far no complaints and thanks for the suggestion!

My 6510 won't print in black.

My 6510 won't print in black. The ink cartridge is not empty and all of the other colors work.

Hi MichelleLiggett,
Were you able to try the recommendations? If you are still unable to print in black ink, I suspect the issue may be the printer and not the cartridge. Please let me know which Country/Region you are in as well as the Warranty status.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks,
HevnLgh
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Mx860 won't print in black

Hi,
I have a MX860 printer and just in the last few days it won't print in black. I checked all my preference settings, did a deep nozzle clean, changed the large black print cartridge, did the test page and the black grid at the top didn't come in at all even though the rest of the colors did and did an alignment also. I'm thinking it's the print head but thought I would ask before purchasing a new one. Any help would greatly be appreciated.
Bubba888

Hi Bubba888,
If the black doesn't print after a few additional deep cleanings, you probably are dealing with a printhead issue. I recommend contacting us for all your available service options.
Did this answer your question? Please click the Accept as Solution button so that others may find the answer as well.

C6150 Won't Print in Black

My c6150 all in one will not print in black. I put new black carts in, did two printhead cleanings and still it won't print in black. Any suggestions?
Thanks a bunch,
KegBag

You may have already performed some of the steps in the following document. But there are more there that might help in this case.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00722932&tmp_track_link=ot_recdoc/c00721052/en_...
Hopefully this document will help solve your problem.
Our advice is strictly limited to the question(s) asked and is based on the information provided to us. HP does not assume any responsibility or liability for the advice given.
007OHMSS
I was a support engineer for HP.
If the advice resolved the situation, please mark it as a solution. Thank you.

HP Officejet Pro 8600 - Now won't print in Black Ink Only!

Hi! After previously owning the Hp Officejet 8500a pro and experiencing numerous issues related to the 'Black Only' printing! We then decided to scrap the HP Officejet 8500a and move on to a new printer! We did a LOT of research into the new printer and at the time of purchasing the 8600 around August 2012 last year, we found no online content of similar issues relating to the 8500. We even contacted Live HP support to check if the 8600 would print in Black Ink Only with the colours cartridges levels at empty. The HP live chat representative informed us the printer WOULD indeed print in black only with all COLOUR cartridges installed and empty. Since we bought the new 8600, we have replaced just the Black setup cartridge with a Genuine HP Black 950xl. A few days ago all colours where at about 10% levels, apart from the yellow which then ran empty. We have been printing in Black Ink Only with the following message appearing, since the yellow ran out: "Yellow Cartridge out of ink, click continue to print in Black Ink only" As of this morning, the below message appeared with no option to print ink black only! "Depleted cartridges must be replaced to resume printing" The Yellow and now Magenta where out of ink, with no option but to purchase both cartridges, we replaced them and ran off 8 order sheets in Black Ink Only. Both cartridges where replaced with Genuine HP. Directly after printing these 8 pages, the current Ink Levels are now: Magenta - 100% fullCyan - Has now ran out with a Red X (Annoying!!!)Yellow - Is showing a 10% Ink level with a brand new cartridge installed!!!Black - 40% full 1. Why am I no longer able to print in Black Ink Only with the empty colour cartridges installed?2. Why is the Yellow showing 10% full with a brand new ink cartridge installed full of ink? Does anyone have any advice on how to resolve this, I would very much appreciate some imput. Kind RegardsKev Challis

I know it won't print without a cartrige. I was trying to explain that this "problem" is one that needs to be prepared for in advance by not having empty cartriges installed. I am not trying to find a way around the way the printer is made to function. My printer came with the color cartriges that I plan on having for a long time because I rarely need to print anything in color. The link Jason posted clearly states that this printer, being a IIC, needs all cartriges installed in order for it to print. Here is the section: For example, a driver color setting (by selecting "print in grayscale with the black cartridge only" in printing preferences) specifies printing using only black ink. In addition, many IPH printers can operate in "reserve mode," which allows the user to continue to print with just the black cartridge when the color cartridge is removed or not installed. In HP IIC systems, all supplies are required to be installed in the printer for the printer to function. (empahsis mine) Why it needs all supplies installed to function? I don't know and don't care. Why does it not print with empty color cartriges installed (the first question of the person that started this thread)? I don't know and it doesn't really matter. Have one set of color cartriges on reserve in case one of the ones you have runs out of ink. Don't want to hassle with this "problem"? Own another printer that is not an IIC inkjet printer.

My New Printer Won't Print in Black

So my dad just bought me this all in one printer for Christmas. It appears to print in color fine, but it won't print anything in black. And when I check to see if the black ink on the printer is full, it says it is almost all the way full. It will print black and white pictures, but no documents that I type on. If i try to print a page from the internet, it won't print if i say print in black and white. If i print in color it prints okay but the words have a red or pink tint to them, like the black color ink isn't being used. Someone please help.

Hello,
Please click HERE to access the steps that should resolve the issue .
Regards,
Jabzi
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Won't print in black

My B209a All-in-One printer will not print in black. Have changed cartridge, have cleaned and aligned heads. Will not print in black from Excel, Word, Firefox. Not even when used as copier.

I have this similar problem recently with my HP Photosmart Premium C309g-m. It will not print nor copy black. I have put in two new black 564 HP genuine ink cartridges. It still won't copy or print black text. The colors still print. The black photo ink seems to prints very light, very faint gray. I've spent a week of troubleshooting this all-in-one without success. The HP Scan and Print Doctor is not helping. It even said it wouldn't detect the drivers at one point. I've had this all-in-one for 2 years and still have new unopened ink that I don't want to waste. Any ideas on how to get the blank ink to work again?

HP Deskjet 812C won't print in black unless color is on the page

My mom's printer stopped printing in black unless some of the text is turned from black into a color (we picked red) anywhere on the page.
I removed the black cartridge and put the same one back in.
It printed one page of only black ink. Then no more pages if they only had black text.
We replaced both the black and color cartridges with new cartridges.
Still refused to print in black unless some of the text on the page was in color.
Seems extremely odd to us.
Please help. Any ideas?
HP DeskJet 812C
Microsoft Windows XP - Home Edition - Version 2002 - Service Pack 3
Connected using Parallel Cable
No error messages

danacassese wrote:
I have the same problem. I put in a new black cartridge and it prints fine for a while but then it stops printing all together. I thenk have to copy and paste whatever i want to print if it is an email and put it in a word doc and then change the color.
The cartridge has been replaced 4 times and each time it is more than 1/2 full when i replace it. I shake it and you hear the liquid. They are ALLL BRAND NEW CARTRIDGES THAT I GET FROM STAPLES never refurbished or refilled.
Please help
Are your cartridges Staples brand or HP? All the Staples branded cartridges are remanufactured and suffer the same quality issues as many reman cartridges.
As above: Check the warranty date or "install by" date on the package if still available or check the cartrdige warranty as shown here. A cartridge that is very old (or one that has been remanufactured or refilled) may exhibit the symptoms you describe. Replacing the cartridge with a fresh HP replacement would be the best option. You may be able to recover your cartridge by soaking the cartridge with the nozzles down in about 1" of very hot (but not boiling) water for five minutes or so.
Bob Headrick, HP Expert
I am not an employee of HP, I am a volunteer posting here on my own time.
If your problem is solved please click the "Accept as Solution" button ------------V
If my answer was helpful please click the "Thumbs Up" to say "Thank You"--V

6600 Won't print in black without full complement of color cartidges

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