Officejet 4622, new printer today. black does not seem to work at all but all the colors do.

Question

I print a test page through diagnostic tool and black square is blank. I cannot tell if the alignment prints properly as I have no example of what it should look like to ensure it is correct since the alignment fails to detect the alignment page. Scans work fine. I tried cleaning the print heads and still don't seem to get black to work correctly. This is a new printer purchased today 9.30.2012.

Answer 1

  just in case anyone else encounters this problem, heres whats really going on and heres how to fix this annoying issue. its relatively easy to do and more efficient than wasting money on a new printer or having it repaired  like most people end up doing.
     whats going on? the ink has clogged the printing heads and has solidified shut. the "clean print heads" feature the printer came with does not have the ability to fix this. that feature is to clean up dirty heads, not clogged heads. why hp decided to make this model without a simple to remove cradle is beyond me, but fortunately the cradle DOES come out and can be cleaned with hot water.
     theres a few items you will need to make this happen the easy way or you could just break out the tree limb loppers, like i did, and vent your frustrations.
     what you will need: a pair of needle nosed pliers, a T9 torx screwdriver head ( auto parts stores sell them for a couple bucks), some paper towels and an area to work (its easiest to do this in a corner of a room, on a small table or the floor).  keep in mind you are dealing with ink, so change out of your good clothes just in case and also grab a paper plate or a few sheets of printing paper to set the ink cartridges on as you work.
     1)  ok. lets get started. !!!FIRST UNPLUG THE PRINTER RIGHT NOW, SO YOU DONT ACCIDENTALLY DIE BY ELECTROCUTION!!!  i forgot and when i began unscrewing the first 6 screws, the chime kept going off and im like **bleep**? i was impressed by the safety measures hp took while engineering this model. 
     2) the printer is now unplugged and then go to your corner work area and place the printer so there is a wall or barrier on its left and also a wall or barrier behind it. do this while facing it as if you were about to use it.
     3) now, what you have to do is open the printer like you are going to change the ink and on the right side there is a plastic guide that prevents the top from opening all the way. look on the side and you will notice it could pop off with your fingers. pop it off and open it all the way open so you could get at the screws the lid would have prevented you from accessing.
     4) lean the scanner portion and top portion against the back wall.
     5) all screws you will be removing are size T9H torx screws. there are ten total. there are 2 black screws in the front top and then 4 black screws in the back top. remove them and put them on your paper plate.
     6) next is 1 short silver colored screw located under the control panel, use your finger and feel around  beneath the  *  button. unscrew it, put it on the paper plate.
     7) next you are going to remove the face/control panel to get at the last 3 screws so locate the little illustrations on the top of the printer, there are 2 on the bottom left and 5 on the bottom right (1 and 2 on the left explain paper jam removals and then 1-5 on the right explain changing ink cartridges). then about half an inch south of the number 5 illustration, on the lip, is a plastic bracket. six inches to the left is another one then 6 more inches to the left, under the illustration number 2 (paper jam removal) is a third bracket. undo them using your fingernails. and just flip it up like car hood and then lay it down on the main top portion of the printer, minding the flat wire which is connected into the circuit board of the control panel (if the flat wire popped out because you got too rowdy on it, then simply insert it back in when you reassemble).
     8) next, unscrew the 3 longer silver screws which are located under the panel you just popped off. there is 1 on the left and 2 on the rightish side. toss em on the paper plate.
     9) now that all the screws are removed, take the face panel and partially pop it back together.
     10) then take the whole top ( the part with the little illustrations and lift it like a car hood, ONLY THIS TIME OPEN IT TO THE LEFT and balance it on the edge of the printer, leaning it towards the wall or barrier on your left. BE CAREFUL NOT TO YANK ON THE FRUIT STRIPE COLORED WIRES ON THE LEFT AND ALSO THE BLACK FLAT WIRE THAT CONNECTS THE SCANNING PORTION TO THE MAIN PORTION OF THE PRINTER. 
    11) next grab the needle nose pliers and remove the 2 silver colored tension springs located behind the printer cartridges. pay attention where they were attached so you remember where they go during assembly. take a pic with your phone if you have to or simply re-figure it out like i did. toss em on the paper plate.
    12) then disconnect the 2 large flat wires and 1 small flatwire attached to the back of the ink carriage. take a picture or remember like i did. i imagine bad things may occur if you reverse them on re-assembly. grab the phone and take a quik pic to be sure. 
    13) now remove the ink carriage, cartridges and all, by lifting the front first.  be careful of the little transparent ribbon in there that moves the carriage left to right and vice versa. you dont want to damage that little guy. now take the carriage to your paper plate. dont drip any ink or accidentally get it on your fingers without knowing or you will make a mess.
    14) remove the ink cartridges and set them on the paper plate, ink side up to avoid a mess, these things sometimes drip. set the plate off to the side. its time to clean the print heads.
    15) then go to the sink, with the empty ink carriage and turn the water on hot and then just let the empty ink carriage sit there with the water mainly going through the screen of the clogged color (inspect and make sure there isnt a little rubber gasket surrounding the little screen if there is dont lose it. i didnt look too closely and i dont think hp has them but i know some other printers do). it wont stain the sink but wash down any ink as it comes out to be sure. also notice there is a small circuit board attached to it. dont bang it up but getting it wet doesnt matter.
    16) keep doing this until the water runs clear. 
    17) then use your finger and rub the screen gently with your finger and then rinse it, washing away the ink until the water runs clear. continue this until there is no more ink and the screens are clean. do it to all the colors just for good measures. the problem color that wouldnt print, you will notice takes longer to clean than the other colors.
    18) now look on the bottom side of the carriage. those wierd looking things are the heads. rinse them with hot water and wipe them with paper towels. then flip it over and blast the screen side again. also in between the screenside and the heads (on the side of the carriage) is an opening that is also probably gunked up. blast it with water too. then flip it over and wipe the heads again. repeat this step until nothing wipes away or until you are sick and tired. 
    19) shake off then use paper towels to dry the entire unit. make sure the unit is dry.  especially inside the female plugs. blow in it or break out the hair dryer and gently dry it. dont sit there and melt it though with the blow dryer. but the sooner it dries the less likely your ink cartridges sitting on the paper plate will dry out. the ink wont dry out fast just dont take a nap or go out on a date until you are reassembled with the ink portion.
    20) now you have completed the cleaning of the heads and probably wont need to do this again for the length of time it was since you bought the printer. and just like a roadtrip you used a map to navigate, you will use these instructions in reverse for re-assembly. but keep in mind when re-inserting the 3 flatwires you disconnected from the back of the ink carriage, make sure you have the little metal contact points on the flatwires (male side) inserted so they touch the little metal contact points on the carriage plugs (female side). ALSO BE EXTRA CAREFUL NOT TO DAMAGE THE BLACK FLATWIRE CONNECTING THE SCANNER PORTION TO THE MAIN PRINTER PORTION. THERE IS A LITTLE GROOVE IN THE PLASTIC WHERE IT CAN BE SEATED TO GUARANTEE NO CRIMPAGE. USE IT. also make sure the 2 hinges of the scanner portion/lid are seated properly before fastening the the top with the 6 black screws.
     now re-assemble the printer and reinstall the ink cartridges. and then plug in the unit, and turn it on.  if you get any notifications on the control panel saying the carriage wont move, then open the hood and take out the ink cartridges, push around and make sure the carriage is seated properly and that the tensioner springs are in place properly. repeat if neccesary until notifications go away or just do a test print and disregard the notification if you messed with it already a few times. thats what happened to me and the notification went away on its own. once its online, open the hp utilities and press the "clean the heads" button. do it 2x in a row and you will be back in style, with extremely rich and bold colors and yes, raven black print.
p.s.  
     you can always take your aggressions out with the tree limb loppers or the tin snips like i did and snip out the center plastic that prevents you from taking the carriage directly out. this eliminates disassembly and re-assembly entirely. just make sure you DO NOT CUT THE TRANSPARENT RIBBON THAT MOVES THE CARRIAGE BACK AND FORTH. this way the next time it happens it only takes you 10 minutes before you are up and printing. 
enjoy!  -  Porf