C6380 AiO stopped printing black

[rlclesse]

Black cartridge ran out of ink. After successful replacement printer won't print black. All other colors OK. even tried another new cartridge.

[RobertoR · Accepted solution]

H I hope you are doing well & rlclesse welcome to the community; 

 Start by using this utility Assuming are using windows XP of later. 

 Also Clean the contacts of the cartridge  

1. Lift the latch handle on the carriage until it stops.
   Figure 2: Lift the latch handle

   
2. Lift the printhead straight up to remove it.
   Figure 3: Remove the printhead

   

Step two: Clean the printhead

There are three areas of the printhead that need to be cleaned: the plastic ramps on both sides of the ink nozzles, the edge between the ink nozzles and the electrical contacts, and the electrical contacts. Follow these steps to clean the printhead.

Figure 4: Three areas to clean

1 - Plastic ramp on the side of the ink nozzles

2 - The edge between the ink nozzles and the electrical contacts

3 - The electrical contacts

CAUTION:

Do not touch the ink nozzles. Do not touch the electrical contacts with your finger. Use only cleaning materials to touch the electrical contact areas. Figure 5: Do not touch the electrical contacts

1. Gather the following cleaning materials:
   • Several clean, lint-free cloths or papers. Coffee filters and glass-cleaning cloths work well.
   • Distilled or bottled water. Do not use tap water, because it can contain contaminants that can damage the printhead.
2. Lightly dampen a clean, lint-free cloth.
3. Use the damp cloth to wipe the electrical contacts from the bottom to the top. Do not go past the edge between the electrical contacts and the ink nozzles. Repeat this motion until no ink appears on the cloth.
   Figure 6: Clean the electrical contacts

   
4. Use a fresh, lightly dampened, lint-free cloth to wipe any accumulated ink and debris from the edge between the ink nozzles and the electrical contacts.
   Figure 7: Clean the edge between the ink nozzles and the electrical contacts

   
5. Use a fresh, lightly dampened, lint-free cloth to wipe the plastic ramps on both sides of the ink nozzles. Wipe away from the nozzles only.
   Figure 8: Clean the ramps

   
6. Dry the previously cleaned areas with a clean, dry, lint-free cloth before proceeding to the next step.
7. Lightly dampen a fresh, clean, lint-free cloth with bottled or distilled water.
8. Clean the electrical contacts inside the product by wiping them from top to bottom. Repeat this motion until no ink appears on the cloth.
   Figure 9: Clean the electrical contacts inside the product

   
9. Dry the area with a clean, dry, lint-free cloth.

Step three: Reinstall the printhead

1. Make sure that the latch handle is raised, and then reinsert the printhead.
   Figure 10: Insert the printhead

   
2. Carefully lower the latch handle before reinserting the cartridges.

   NOTE:

   Leaving the latch handle raised can result in incorrectly seated cartridges and printing issues. The latch must remain down to correctly install the cartridges.

   Figure 11: Lower the latch handle

   
3. Using the colored shape icons for help, slide the cartridges into their appropriate slots until they snap into place and are seated firmly in the slot.

   Figure 12: Slide the cartridge into its slot	Figure 13: Snap the cartridge into place

4. Close the cartridge access door.

Check the product control panel display to see if the error message has disappeared.

• If the error message has disappeared, the issue is resolved and you do not need to troubleshoot further.
• If the error message has not disappeared, continue with the next step.

Step four: Reset the printer

1. Press the power button ( ) to turn the product off.
2. Unplug the power cord from the back of the product.
3. Wait 30 seconds.
4. Reconnect the power cord to the back of the product.
5. Press the power button ( ) to turn the product on.

Hope this helps 

RobertoR

[kazor]

This did not work for me; even though I removed a lot of ink.  After I followed your instructions, the align printer failed.  I also ran Clean Printheads.  The black ink still does not print.  Do you have any other ideas?  How do I know if I need to purchase new printhead?  The printer is very noise/squeaky when running the tools.

[RobertoR]

Hi Kazor welcome to the forum.;

Hope you are doing well;

What OS are you using?  if you are using Win XP or later you can run this tool  Click here and perhaps this other post will present an alternative option to fix the issue.   Click here Let me know if the tool will find any errors.  

Hope this helps;

RobertoR

[kazor]

I have been using another printer and just now got back to trying this solution again.  First I soaked the print head for 5 minutes in 1/2 inch of hot water per the other suggested you referenced.  Then I cleaned it per your instructions.  The printer now prints all colors just fine.  Thank you very much.

[kazor]

This works.

[johnwerneken]

Same condotuin hp6500, cleaning steps, without the water soak step, plus running the Tools utility from the pronter control panel to clean the printhead, fixed mine.

[printingmaniac]

I have the same problem of the black ink not printing and allignment failing and have tried EVERY suggestion for a solution. NONE have worked!  Also downloaded a newer version of the software driver from 12.0.0 to 13.1.0.  This did not solve the problem either.  Is my only way of contacting HP about this through the service that charges $20.?

[Kyle_W]

If the printer is out of warranty, then that is the only way. I believe that is the charge for the out of warranty service. More than likely you have a bad print head though, which is a hardware issue. With the printer being out of warranty, the most they can do is troubleshoot with you, probably a lot of the same things you have already tried. They can't do any repairs or replacements on the printer if it is a hardware issue and it is out of warranty. 

[printingmaniac]

I was very hopeful your solution of soaking the print head in hot water would work.  Sorry to say it didn't work for me.

I have the Photosmart C6380. Up to this point I had followed all the other solutions.  Nothing has worked.  I hope HP comes up with some official response to this problem as it seems to be very wide-spread.  My printer is about 4 years old.  It makes me wonder if the business philosophy of "built in obsolescence" is at work here to get us all to buy new printers. I have read the contributions made to the forum from HP employees and I appreciate their efforts.