HP Officejet wont print in black and white!

I have had an HP OfficeJet 6600 printer for a couple of years now and it has shocked me how many times I have had to replace color cartridges that I really never use. I am a high school teacher who does a lot of work from home and I only need to print in black and white, yet I am not permitted to do that because everytime a color runs out, I cant use my printer AT ALL. This comes off as a scheme for HP to make more money because everytime this message comes up, I am offered the oppurtunity to buy color cartridges at a high price. I will never be buying another hp product again!

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 Officejet 8040a is an example.
Other printers have separate ink supplies and replaceable printheads. An example would be the Officejet 6600 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 6700 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.
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

Similar Messages

How can i make my officejet 6500a print in black and white only?

I just bought an officejet 6500a and I can't figure out how to make it print in black in white only. I print a lot of stuff that doesn't need color and want to save my ink. On some prints it gives me that option when I print. but for the most part it doesn't allow me to change to black and white on things i am printing off the web

Pages 30-34 of the user manual for the Officejet 6500A covers how to change print preferences for the printer with both Mac and Windows. It covers documents, brochures and photos and covers finding the gray scale option. Here is a link to that manual http://goo.gl/6J61R .
I hope that this helps.
I am a former employee of HP...
How do I give Kudos?| How do I mark a post as Solved?

Setting default printer for Black and White

I have no problem setting up my printer to print black and white only using my pc, but am having difficulty setting the default for the printer on my OSX 10.5.2. I've read the posts and can't locate where this setting is done. I even removed the printer and tried readding it without any success. So, how do I set my HP Officejet to print in black and white as a default and allow me to print in color when needed?

You could use the built-in presets facility to make a b&w setting and a color setting. Then when you print, you simply select the appropriate preset. Also, the last preset that you use will be the default next time you print, so this can also help speed up your printing.
Reply if you need instructions for creating presets.
One final point. Some applications, such as MS Office, have a 'Print One Copy' printer icon in the toolbar. When you use this shortcut, the print dialog is not opened - the file simply prints. For these types of application, the preset is not used so that job will print in color if that is the default printer function. But you can change the toolbar icon function so that it opens the print dialog instead of just printing. Again, if you need instruction then please reply.
Pahu

Hp officejet pro 8500 a910 does not give me the option of printing in black and white

Hello,
My hp officejet pro 8500 a910 does not give me the option of printing in black and white. How do I choose to print in B&W when the option does not show up under properties?
Thank you.
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi,
From the application being used to print, Click File > Print
Click Properties or Preferences to access the Printing Preferences Dialog.
Click the Advanced button at the bottom of the window.
Under Printer Features, Click the Print as Grayscale selection box and set as High Quality Grayscale or Black Ink Only.
Say thanks by clicking the Kudos thumb up in the post.
If my post resolve your problem please mark it as an Accepted Solution

So, my Macbook Pro with retina display only prints in black and white. My printer, officejet 4620 series [555DE4], is not the problem. I want to know how to be able to print in color as well??

So, my Macbook Pro with retina display only prints in black and white. My printer, Officejet 4620 series [555DE4], is not the problem. I want to know how to be able to print in color as well??

In the Print dialog, select the Color Matching tab and then select Vendor Matching.

Printing in black and white only - looking for a definitive solution

Hi
I've been trying to find out once and for all how to make sure my black and white text documents are printing only from the large pigment-based cartridge (525 PGBK), rather than using the smaller black dye-based cartridge (526BK), or from a combination of the dye-based colour cartridges. I've trawled through endless forums, and finally in frustration I recently called Canon's Australian phone support team.
I thought I'd nailed it. The phone support person told me that if the document I'm printing is definitely black only, then all I need to do is print normally, with grayscale DE-selected. He said nothing about also de-selecting duplex. But I've since read online advice that contradicts this in relation to other models (I haven't found any advice based specifically on the MG6150, apart from the phone guy from Canon). Some say you need to SELECT grayscale and DE-select duplex; others say to DE-select both grayscale and duplex; others say to select grayscale, DE-select duplex, and also select dither (on my screen that's under Main > Print Quality > Custom). I'm now wondering whether I've nailed it after all.
If anyone from Canon is reading this, can you please give a definitive answer to these questions:
1. How do I ensure that my black and white text documents print only from the large pigment cartridge?
2. Can I print in automatic duplex using this method, or do I have to do manual duplex?
2. Will this also work for purely black and white NON-text documents as well (e.g., photos that have been converted from colour to B&W)?
3. If not, is there another way of forcing B&W NON-text documents to print from the pigment cartridge? What about a way of forcing colour documents to print from the pigment cartridge?
4. If my smaller black dye cartridge (526BK) isn't being used up at the same rate as the other dye cartridges, is there a way of forcing the printer to use this instead of the pigment cartridge for B&W text documents, but NOT to mix in any of the colour cartridges at the same time?
5. Does this procedure work for all other Canon printer models in addition to the MG6150, or just a limited range?
Many thanks for your patience in reading this -- I'm really trying to get the best out of my printer rather than give up and buy a different brand, and I'm sure others would appreciate a definitive answer to these questions as well.

I have at MG8100 and it seems that there is no solution to this. I have scoured the web for one and it seems that there is no way to print in black and white only. The grayscale option uses all the colours including black to print.
I have gone through a ton of colour ink just printing black and white documents. Its cost me a fortune and I've worked out that I can get it done cheaper by going to the print shop.
As far as I am concerned this unbelievable. A printer that doesn't give you the option to print using black ink only! And its not advertised or made known in any way. You have to buy the product and then find out later that it does not have a black and white print option. It seems there are a lot of people out there that are unhappy about this, and the "problem" seems to go quite far back. Why haven't Canon responded by adding this feature?! I wont say it here, but I think it must be obvious. Brings to mind the story of housecleaning product manufacturers that increase the size of the closures so that consumers will use more of the product, which is actually wasteful, so as to increase the purchase cycle.
This leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. I'm flogging mine now, and I am done with Canon for good!

Why can't I print in black and white only?

Why is the HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus not able to print black and white only if the black cartridge is still not empty?
What I mean is I went into the settings to set the printer to print black and white only as well as print text only in black. Yet I am FORCED to replace the cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges because they are depleted. What does cyan, magenta, and yellow ink have anything to do with printing black considering a SEPARATE black cartridge exists and is still full?
I am aggravated at how the driver for this printer is designed TO FORCE me to purchase nonblack cartridges when I purposefully set the printing to be BLACK ONLY. I am unable to go forward with my printing. This is considered a show stopper and is unacceptable considering that the setting I assigned and the cartridge(s) depleted message contradict each other. If the setting is made to print in black and white only including text, then print black and white since I know the black ink is still available.
Take into consideration that printing can take place at anytime. Not being able to use black as my alternate color (WHICH IS NOT EMPTY AND IS A SEPARATE CARTRIDGE) forces me to stop. I am unable to go forward until the store opens. WalMart is not always an option. That is time lost.
The inability to switch to use the black cartridge only is a time waster.
Let's call it for what it is, a form of ransom. HP wants me to spend money on color cartridges that have nothing to do with printing black and white. When I am ready to print in color, that should be a time of my choosing.
Incidentally, the form I am trying to print is black and white only. No color is on this form. It makes no sense to force color printing of a black and white document.
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi,
To protect itself specially the printheads, many printers NEED other inks even they only print black. During the warming up process, printers require all inks therefore they may stop before we can continue. Some printers allow user to print (specially the ones which have tri-color ink tank) but they may print at a baby snail speed.
Regards.
BH
**Click the KUDOS thumb up on the left to say 'Thanks'**
Make it easier for other people to find solutions by marking a Reply 'Accept as Solution' if it solves your problem.

HP 8500 All-in-one printer - how can I print in black and white only (to save color ink)?

I want to be able to select the option of printing in black and white only to save color ink. How can I do that?

What operating system? You can generally find an option for "Print in grayscale" and "Black ink only" in the Color or Advanced tab of the Printer Settings.
Some color ink will still be used to keep the printheads from clogging, see here for information. (The Officejet 8500 is an IIC printer in the vocabulary of that page.)
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

I can't print in black and white. How do I fix this?

I have a HP Officejet 6400 and I tried printing a PDF from preview and it doesn't give me the option to print in black and white. Why? How do I fix this?

There's a Preview drop-down menu (just says Preview in the Print dialog box) and if you scroll down you should see "Quality & Media with a check box for Grayscale Printing:
See if it works for you.
Clinton

Print only black and white

hi everyone, i have a Officejet Pro 8100 and it print only with black and white colors, i try change the configuration, but have no obtain sucess.
I would like to know if it's possible reset to the default configuration my printer.
PS: i use cartrige original only.
sorry for my bad english.

Hi fgriesang,
I see you are experiencing an issue with the Officejet Pro 8100 only printing in black and white, I can help you with this. Rather than resetting the printer to default, please use the solutions offered in the following document; Troubleshooting Print Quality Issues. The solutions in this document help troubleshoot streaked or faded prints, prints without black or other colors, prints with blurred or fuzzy text, prints with ink streaks or smears, and many other issues with print quality.
I hope this helps.
Please click the Thumbs up icon below to thank me for responding.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Sunshyn2005 - I work on behalf of HP

Set OfficejetPro to print in Black and White

I have a colour officejet x451dw printer and i want to set it to always print black and white by default. When use the print utility on a MAC for the printer there is no colour setting options at all only paper tray stuff etc. You can set the option to print graysacle when printing from some applications for example the Preview app on the mac, but the problem is you need to do set it each time your print. I want it set up as default so i dont waste ink unless i want colour. Please tell me how to do this on a MAC, it is driving me crazy

Hi , Welcome to the HP Forums! I see that your HP Envy 7645 does not have the grayscale option in advanced set up to print in black and white, on Windows 7. I am happy to help! It is possible, that you may only have the basic driver installed, instead of the full feature software and drivers. I would recommend to try our HP Print and Scan Doctor first, to see if ti can resolve the issue automatically. Otherwise, please try the following steps: Uninstall the software. Uninstalling the Printer Software.Clean boot the computer. How to perform a clean boot in Windows.Disable any Antivirus programs. Disable Antivirus software.Disable any firewall programs. Turn Windows Firewall on or off.Create a new user account. Managing User Accounts and Logins (Windows 7).Reinstall using the HP Printer Install Wizard for Windows. Hope this helps! “Please click the Thumbs up icon below to thank me for responding.”

HT3669 I have an HP deskjet color printer that only prints in black and white from my mac ... how do I get it to print in color

I have an HP deskjet color printer that only prints in black and white from my mac ... how do I get it to print in color

Check the printer itself. Some printers you need to set the color & B&W settings on the printer itself instead of the Mac. If that is not the case w/your printer, contact HP tech support and/or post in their forums if they have one.

Hoiw do I force my new mf8580cdw to print in black and white only (grey scale)?

First of all I am using windows 7 - 64bit and my printer is the MF8580CDW. I am using the UFRII print driver. I have tried changing one/all of the profiles in the print settings and printer properties to "black and white" printing but the software keeps chainging my selection back to "Auto[Color/B&W]". I have also tried enabling the toner saver option to no avail. When I changed the settings I clicked "Apply". Why is the driver not saving my settings? How do I force the printer to always print in black and white?

Hi,
From the application used to print open the print dialog.
Click Properties / Preferences / Settings to access the Printing Preferences dialog.
Click the Advanced button.
Under Printing Features set the Print in Grayscale value as Black Ink Only.
Say thanks by clicking the Kudos thumb up in the post.
If my post resolve your problem please mark it as an Accepted Solution

How can I print in black and white?

I have asked friends how to print in black and white and they show me how to do it on their computers. They do it by just switching the colorysync profile to black and white or greyscale but when I go to print and go to the same drop down menu for colorsync profiles, there are no other profiles.

First, as print dialog box functions vary with the Mac OS version, we need to know what version of the Mac OS you have. "iOS 5.0.1" in your profile is not a computer OS but rather for iDevices. Do "About this Mac" from the Apple menu to see what version you really have. It should be 10.something
Second: control of the type of printing is int eh hands of the printer software, Please post the both the make and model of printer you are using.

How can I print in black and white only directly from apps on hp screen?

My printer preference from my pc is set to print in black and white from my computer. How do I set the same black and white settings from the HP Photosmart Plus printer, when printing directly from Apps on Home screen?

Hello AdrianaSFleury,
At this time there is not an option or a default to set black and white only from the front panel of the printer. Some applications may give you settings in the Application itself for color or black and white but that would be the only place to change the color of the document/photo for your print jobs.
**Click the KUDOS star on the left to say 'Thanks'**
Make it easier for other people to find solutions by marking a Reply 'Accept as Solution' if it solves your problem.
(Although I am employed by HP, I am speaking for myself and not for HP)

HP Officejet wont print in black and white!

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for