Black vs Photo black ink cartridges

I've watched the threads and their respective comments on HP and other websites for years. At some time or another I myself have probably asked someone somewhere all of the questions posted. Clark Howard, of radio/TV fame has said for years that the profit for printer manufacturers is in the ink cartridge, not the device itself. Ridiculously expensive, to the point that I personally could never with a straight face charge the money that HP and others charge for the cartridges. 500% plus profit per cartridge isn't an over statement. Clark Howard actually used to buy two of the cheapest printers he could find, use the cartridges and donate the brand new printers. He would repeat the process whenever he needed new ink. I don't know if he still does that, the corporate greed has probably figured out a way to prevent that by now.
One question I have, that I have not found addressed specifically, if you don't print photos, do you even need a photo black cartridge? Or is that just another gimmick by the corporate greed to put more money in their bank accounts?

Hi Ken
I presume your printer takes HP564 cartridges and has a 5 slot printhead? If so, yes - all cartridges (inc. the photo black) need to be installed for the printer to work.
Ciara
Although I am an HP employee, I am speaking for myself and not for HP.
Twitter: @Ciara_B_HP

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Printer not printing black even with new ink cartridge

Responded to pop-up that ink was low.
After installing new black ink cartridge, attempting to print ink status report. colors show OK but black is not printing at all. Tried second new cartridge to no success.
Tried turning printer off and restarting - no change to problem. still not printing black.

Hi,
Please follow this HP document for this issue
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03946666&cc=us&dlc=en&lang=en&lc=en&product=408...
hope this helps
Although I am an HP employee, I am speaking for myself and not for HP.
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Phonosmart 310a black ink cartridge will not print

Inserted new black (not photo black) cartridge and on test nothing is printed on the paper. ran test and the place where the black should show up, prints a blank. Visual test on printer screed show all colors, including black, full. Ran cleaning twice, no printing. cleaned vent hole. cleaned ink port....pushed down on screen gently and ink puddled around the screen. replaced the cartridge, no print. shook cartridge and got liquid sound indicating ink was inside.

The document here has troubleshooting steps that may help resolve black not printing on your Photosmart c310a. If the above does not resolve the problem the post here may help.
Bob Headrick, HP Expert
I am not an employee of HP, I am a volunteer posting here on my own time.
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Black ink cartridge will not fit into assigned slot.

I cannot insert new black ink (564) into original black in spot (564 setup)on the left side of ink carriage, because new cartridge is wider than original. I already inserted a 564XL black ink into the black ink slot on the far right side of carriage. Printer would not work with only one black cartridge, so I bought a 2nd 564 Black ink cartridge to install on far left side of cartridge (but it won't fit).

Thanks for the model number and additional information.
The cartridge on the far left is called Photo Cartridge. You need to install a replacement photo cartridge in that slot. See the document below to understand the difference between the black and photo cartridges:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c01839024
The two cartridges have different label icons on the packaging and on the cartridge. This will help you identify the correct cartridge in the store.
Alternately, please visit the link below to order the photo cartridge online:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c02944025
If you are in United States, click on the link for HP Home and Home Office Store. Choose the option 'HP 564 Photo Original Ink Cartridge'.
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Although I am an HP employee, I am speaking for myself and not for HP

Photo black cartridge problem

Why does my Photosmart 7510 constantly use up the Photo Black cartridge when I'm not printing photos? I have plenty of black ink, but I am constantly going through photo black cartridges. I have "plain paper" set as default.

AreteOne wrote:
Thanks, but I don't understand
1) how adding yellow to light blue produces black.
2) since the printer has a dedicated black photo cartridge, why doesn't it just use that for black?
3) since I've pretty much only printed DVDs since installing a new black photo cartridge, and since it's now 1/2 full, wouldn't that suggest that it's being used to print the black titles on the DVDs?
See above, cyan+magenta+yellow mixes to black.
Photo black can be used for the blackest areas. For shades of gray color ink is used to provide smoother gradations.
I do not know which inks are used to print DVD's. Whether ink is used or not to print on the printable DVD's, some ink is used for servicing as described here.
Bob Headrick, HP Expert
I am not an employee of HP, I am a volunteer posting here on my own time.
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Ink cartridgesphotosmart eprint 5515

Can anyone tell me what ink cartridges are for HP photosmart 5515. I need to replace black.

The Photo Black cartrdige is the same physical size for the regular or XL cartridge and will work in your printer.
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
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Printing error after replacement of ink cartridges

I just replaced the black and the color ink cartridges in my Deskjet F4800. I have done this successfully many times before. But this time, the tear-drop shaped light under the color ink level guage on the panel is blinking continuously, and the "E" (for error) sign on the fron panel is on. The printer refuses to print anything. I have tried removing and re-inserting the cartridges a couple of times, and resetting the printer, but to no avail. The HP Solution Centre software just reports an error situation and advises to remove and re-insert the cartridges, which I've done a number of times now without being able to solve th eproblem.

Hey @subratabn ,
Thank you for taking the time out of your day to ask that question on the HP Forums today!
I understand you are in an error state with your printer. You are being told to reinstall and remove the cartridges to fix the issue.
I have looked all over the website for the Deskjet F4800. I can not find it, are you sure that this is the model that you are using? If so please attach a picture and some information about it.
Look forward to hearing back from you!
I worked for HP.

Help! Problem with Ink Cartridge Compatibility Photosmart C4383 in my present location

Need your help! I bought my printer in the Middle East almost 2years already Photosmart C4383 with the Ink Cartridges 140(black) & 141(tricolor). Since, I already resides in my country now, the Philippines and I still use the printer. Just this week, I already run out of Ink Supply and decided to buy one. Since, I bought the printer in another country, I decided to check in the site for compatibility for Ink Cartridges. The results stated that the Photosmart C4383 belongs to Photosmart C4380 series and it also states there that HP74 (black) & HP75 (tricolor) are the compatible cartridges for the printer in my region. Since, I still have the tricolor 141 ink cartridge available, I decided to buy only the HP74 (Black) ink cartridge. But when I place the HP74 (Black) Ink Cartridge to my printer, I was surprised to see in the display screen that the Ink Cartridge I bought is not compatible with the printer. I was so disappointed because if I cannot use the product then I just waste of money and and check again and again in the sites for ink compatibility in my region but still stated the same that HP74 (black) is the compatible ink cartridge and also saw a result that states to "reset the printer to work in my current location". Needs your help to enlighten me and give me the right solutions for these problems and the steps how to do it the right way. I need to use my printer so badly. Thanks.
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You will need to Contact HP and request a regionalization reset. This will require you have access to your computer and the printer while on the phone with the HP agent. If the C4383 is a model only sold in certain regions it may not be possible to have the region reset.
Bob Headrick, HP Expert
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Ink cartridge for photosmart can i used

dont remember my model but is a photosmart with touchsmart can I used ink cartridge 61

Hi @tercio7
Not knowing your printer model makes it a little difficult to answer your question with a cut and dry yes or no, but I can help you figure it out!
HP 61 2-pack Black/Tri-color Original Ink Cartridges compatibility;
HP Deskjet 1000 Printer series - J110
HP Deskjet 1050 All-in-One Printer series - J410
HP Deskjet 2000 Printer series - J210
HP Deskjet 2050 All-in-One Printer series - J510
HP Deskjet 3000 Printer series - J310
HP Deskjet 3050 All-in-One Printer series - J610
HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 2010 Printer K010
HP Deskjet Ink Advantage 2060 All-in-One Printer K110
I guess that was easier than I expected. No, the 61 cartridges do not work with any Photosmart printers.
You can use the following to determine which cartridges are compatible with your printer; Shop for HP ink and toner
How Do I Find My Printer Model or Product Number?
I hope this resolves your inquiry. If there is anything else I can do to help feel free to let me know. Thanks.
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Cant load photo black ink cartridge into HP 5520 printer

Hi there,
Cant load photo black ink cartridge into HP 5520 printer.

Hi,
The Photo ink cartridge is not intended for the Photosmart 5520, the printer uses Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow ink cartridges as listed below as an example (The same applies for the US with the 564 ink cartridges):
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c03340400&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&cc=uk&dlc=en...
As you may find below as an example, the Photo Ink Cartridge only intended for printers which use 5 ink cartridges:
ONLY for 5-cartridge printers which use Black, Photo, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow inks
Does NOT replace Black ink cartridge
http://store.hp.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/PDPStdView?catalogId=10051&productId=502407&storeId=10...
Please let me know if I may misunderstood your intention,
Shlomi
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HP Photosmart 7510 will ONLY use photo black ink

I have a photosmart 7510 printer and I'm printing from microsoft word 2010 on a windows 8 computer. I'm printing a word document with no pictures in it. The printer preferences are set to Plain Paper with Normal quality. I cannot get the printer to use the XL black ink cartridge. It only uses the photo black ink. Is there a setting I can choose to get it to use the regular black ink?
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Hi shirsar,
I understand you have a Photosmart 7510 that seems to be using a lot more of the photo black than the regular black ink. I'm sorry to hear this, but believe I can assist you with a solution.
You can set the printer to use black ink only when printing from the PC and that should ensure that it uses that the black ink and not the photo ink. My instructions will be to set it up in the driver so it does it for all programs (if you want it for just the program please let me know and I will advise further). You will want to start with going to your Start screen, and just start typing Devices and Printers and you will want to open that (if that doesn't work type in Control Panel and then proceed to open Devices and Printers). Once Devices and Printers is open, right click on your Photosmart 7510 icon and select Printing Preferences. You will then want to click the Advanced button at the bottom right of the screen. The next page that opens will allow you to set the printer to use Black Ink Only when printing from the PC (please follow the screen shot below for any clarification).
Hope this helps, have a great day!!
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**MissTeriLynn**
I work on behalf of HP

Photosmart C309a black ink cartridge will not print

Hi.
I am having problems with my Photosmart Premium C309a printer. It will not print using the black ink cartridge. I pulled this printer out of storage and the original cartridges had run out. I replaced these with brand new cartridges. When printing a quality report, everything turns out fine except there is no text and no black square from the black ink cartridge (however the photo black cartridge DOES print). Printing a page of text just results in a blank page. However, images and coloured text print out fine.
I have tried a lot of troubleshooting steps listed on these forums and elsewhere. Soaking the pritnhead seems to be the most effective solution for others but this has not worked for me. However I cleaned the printhead very thoroughly and there is no trace of ink anywhere in it. So far I have discovered that it is a hardware issue rather than a software one as there is no black ink on pages I try to photocopy. I have tried the following troubleshooting steps:
Turning both the printer and PC off and on again
Resetting the printer to factory defaults
Reinstalling the ink cartridges
Automatically cleaning the printhead (several times)
Aligning the printhead (fails - probably due to the absence of black ink)
Soaking the printhead in hot water (twice)
Rinsing the printhead under running hot water
Manually scrubbing the printhead with cotton buds
Making sure the cartridges are vented properly
I'm at a loss as to what to do next. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I am having the same problem. I 've soaked the heads, I've put genuine ink in. I've tried everything but cannot get it to print in the Black XL. Prints all other colors and the photo black, but no in text black. So irritated right now !!!
HELP ! ! !
I've even did a hard factory reset.

Stop it from using photo black ink for black text printing and where has the color ink gone?

My HP Photosmart Prem C310 series all in one is using the Black Photo ink cartridge for text printing instead of the XL Black that I put in it for text printing. How can I get it to use the right cartridge for printing? Also, even though I have NOT printed ANY photo's and very few pages of text the new set of color cartridges I put in it a few months ago are almost empty. Why? How could they be almost empty when I have NOT printed anything in color? This is getting ridiculous replacing ink cartridges every few months WHEN I HAVE NOT BEEN PRINTING ANYTHING!!!
The set of ink cartridges that came with it lasted for several months. Since then I've gone through two sets in less than a year. That's 3 sets of ink cartridges when I have only printed 3 photo's when I first set it up. And have only used les than a 1/4 of one package of printing paper. I've only put paper in it twice. Each time it was about a 1/4 inch or 3/8 of an inch thick stack of paper in the tray. I've even tried shutting the printer down when its not being used for a long period of time but the ink is still disapearing. Where is it going? Why is it going there? How do I stop it? This is rediculous. I may as well junk the thing even though it still works because I cant aford to keep feeding it ink when its just sitting there doing nothing most of the time.
Thank you
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I just got another email from HP about this problem wanting to know what I found for a solution to this problem. From all of the suggestions from the HP tec support all of them pretty much kept saying the same thing. That it is my fault that it's using so much ink because I have it on the wrong settings. One tec did slip and say that it doesn't matter what settings you have it on it will always use the Photo Black cartridge for printing plain black text and it doesn't matter if you have a X-Large Black cartridge in it for text printing because it was made to always use the Photo Black for text and even use some of the colors to blend with the black to make it stand out. Why anybody would need this when just printing shipping labels and things like that I don't know.
Any who, The only solution for this problem is,,,, junk the printer and get a different brand & model of printer. Research it before buying to find out how much ink it wants to waste and if it will still print black text if it only has a black cartridge in it. I was going to get rid of mine by giving it to a friend since they don't have a printer. But since I want to keep him as a friend I decided not to give it to him. Since it cant be traded in for a different one even though it still works, Its going to the target shooting range the next time I go out shooting. Maybe I'll take a few video's clips of it getting blasted to pieces with a Ruger 10-22 .22 cal. rifle with 25 shot clips, a Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle shooting .223 cal with a 30 shot clip, a Chinese SKS 7.62 with a 30 shot clip. And maybe use my Ruger P89 9mm pistol and put a couple 15 round clips of 9mm in it. If there's anything left I'll finish it off with a few 3" magnum loads of #2 steel shot with my 20 gauge shotgun. Then I think I'll do the same thing to my Westinghouse 46" flat screen HDTV that just died.
Then maybe I'll come back and post the video's of my "solution to this printers problem". It may not fix the problem, but it will be an entertaining way of getting rid of the problem.

Adapter 6525 black ink cartridge

I have an HP 6525 printer. I purchased a pack of new ink cartridges and all fit fine except the black. The setup black ink cartridge is about twice the width of the one that came with the pack. Is there an adapter for the smaller cartridges? If so where can i get one? ramroc
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Hey @ramroc ,
Thank you for taking the time to post on the HP Forums today! Hope you enjoy the experience.
You are using the HP Photosmart 6525 and you are having trouble with the new ink you purchased because you have a black that is smaller then the slot in the carriage.
What has happened here most likely is you purchased the HP 564 cartridges with the 5th black cartridge that is a photo black intended for the HP Photosmart 7520. The black cartridge you want to be using is the one with a pentagon on the top, not a bowtie.
What your carriage should look like;
What the HP Photosmart 7520 carriage looks like;
You want to make sure you are using the cartridge with the pentagon not the bowtie.
Hope this makes things more understandable for you. Have a good one!
I worked for HP.

Concerning Epson Printer 4880: after changing the Ink from Photo Black to Matte Black I'm not getting the Epson Software in Photoshop and Lightroom. I can not select the paper medium, I don't see my profiles. What is wrong?

Concerning Epson Printer 4880: after changing the Ink from Photo Black to Matte Black I'm not getting the Epson Software in Photoshop and Lightroom. I can not select the paper medium, I don't see my profiles. What is wrong?

That is priceless!!! Thanks! I sure needed a good laugh after spending/wasting hours & days trying to either get my c6280 to give up on its Ink System Failure fixation, or find a decent replacement. Unfortunately I need the Smart Web Printing feature that I guess only HP has, or I'd try a different brand. And now even HP has very few models with that available.
My error msg is a little different from those previously stated, but close: 0xc18a0201. Even tho there were frustrations with my c6280, I did like several of its unique features which are hard to find now under $100. I hate how HP (& I suppose other brands also) are CONSTANTLY changing models & then of course ink cartridges.
Oh heavens, I've had the c6280 a whopping 2 1/2 years! I'm sure they want us poor slobs to have to buy a new one every year & a day! To say nothing of the exorbitant prices for ink. And now if this one is really dead in the water, I have SIX unused #02 ink cartridges which I cannot return---I got them in a combo pack, & for some reason have wound up with THREE lite pink & THREE lite blue cartridges, while having to buy extras of the other colors, that ran out before the others!!! Yeah, & what's with that not being able to print in BLACK if a color runs out????
Anyway I really loved your essay! It's a classic! And says it all! I hate that we have to be 'slaves' to the electronic 'wonders'!!!

Black vs Photo black ink cartridges

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