Officejet 4500 will not print black ink

[srfb]

It seems to me that many users of this printer are having the same problems:

1.  The printer suddenly stops scanning and cannot be made to scan

2.  The printer suddenly stops printing black ink (fairly essential for most of us) and cannot be made to print even if one changes the ink cartridge (which is a waste of money).

What is HP doing about these problems besides offering useless remedies that don't work and waste a lot of time?

[Bob_Headrick]

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@srfb wrote:

[snip] What is HP doing about these problems besides offering useless remedies that don't work and waste a lot of time?

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Please be aware that this forum is a peer to peer support forum, it is not a direct link to HP support.

[mallar]

Officejet 4500 will not print black ink

-I have changed the cartridge to be sure, though at no point has it said low ink. This fixed the problem for a few pages but the problem popped back up. I did align the cartridges after installing the new cartridge.

-I have tried cleaning the contacts on the cartridge itself.

-The scanning function still functions and color ink can be printed.

-Overall printing does seem slower, regardless of the black ink issue. Not sure if related.

-The all in one has been used more frequently in the past few weeks.

[gubbinhimer]

I have spent the last hour and a half exslpaining to costomer support about the same issue.

    My printer will not print black ink

I recieved this 4500 as a replacement for a c4780 model that was also having ink issues.

I did not get a satisfactory response from the support .

  I think the quality of HP has Dimminished considerably over the last ten years .

It is sad that a company that has been known for cutting edge computers and quality has gotten this bad. 

    Supports suggestion was for Me to purchase a new printer from them , and purchase additional warrenty .

My sugestion is not to purchase any more Hp , until they get there quality standards back .

[Mark---]

My 10 month old occasionally  used 4500 wireless stopped printing black ink with a half full hp black 901 cartridge.  I bought it directly from the HP HOME STORE online and REGISTERED the product so it should be in the HP database. Lord knows HP sends me enough spam e-mails so I must be in the system.

Tried the tools cleaning option a dozen times.  Removed 901 - wiped it.  nada.  

Called 800-474-6836 Tech Support.  NOTE to self - have an HOUR of time blocked out prior to calling.  Also have your serial number and model number from the sticker on the back.  So I called. Recoirding says Wait times are long.  So I wait.  get to a human being 15 minutes later and explained that it will print color but not black.  I answer all his questions.  Then he tells me my printer is out of warranty by 2 months - that according to my registration records I bought it 14 months ago.  No I say I think it was 10 months ago.  So he tells me that I must FAX my proof of purchase to 1-866-304-1252.  Then he tells me that my 901 cartridge is probably bad and suggests I buy another one.

I go to the nearby target store and for $16 get another 901 black. blank page again.  Maybe it is printing in invisable ink?

I find my credit card statement and there it is - 10 months ago 6-11-2012 - hp home store.   So I call the home store sales number.  We are only sales.  Let me transfer you to billing...

Wait times are ...

Talk to HP billing.  He finds my records in 10 seconds.  Yep 10 months ago.   Let me send you an e-mail of your transaction right now but it might take a while for it to send.  Thanks bye.

4 hours later no e-mail.  As of this writing no e-mail.

Called Tech Support again. Get thru the phone tree faster as I can say all the answers as the recording asks questions.   Wait times are ...  This time I get a female who cannot speak english.   I figure she would see in the file that I called earlier in the day.  NOOOOOO.  Starting from scratch. What is the problem?  So again I explain that it will not print any black ink. I called before - yada - I called HP billing and verified it was in warranty.  That bought another cartridge.   etc.   So after all this she says - honestly - she says "so is there a problem with your printer?"  Apparently she had left to use the restroom while I explained it.  Yes - it will not print black ink.

She leads me throught the steps in her instructions. 1. Remove black - wipe with lint free cloth - return.  2. while on unplug from back of printer - wait 30 seconds - hold down # key and 6 key - plug in  then let go of both keys.  This does a system reset.  Then printer requires you to do an ailignment which of course does not print black ink. 

she needs time to type in all the tests we performed.  about 10 minutes.

She says my printer is out of warranty.  No I say it was purchased 10 months ago on six eleven twothousandtwelve and verified by HP Home Store billing dept.  She says" November 6th"?  No June 11th.  You see in America when a person says 6 11 the month is before the day.  "oh" she says - well it is out of warranty .   Can you PLEASE call HP billing to verify? No. 

I then ask to speak to a supervisor.  She tell me they will say the same thing.  I repeat my request.  I wait.  I talk to the supervisor.    I go through it again.   I am not going to hang up the phone unti l get to someone who is customer oriented and can speak english.   He agrees that it probably isn't likely that 2 ink carts are both faulty.  He  also is agreeing that 6/11/2012 is 10 months ago.   Making progress.  Agrees that it probably is a defective printer.  WOO HOO.

He transfers me back to the female for more questions /  paperwork. 

She then transfers me to the something  department.  This guy I can understand much better and he is pleasant.   I ask where he is located.  India. 

So they are shipping me a referb 4500 no cost.  They require a credit card.   I have to use all the parts off my current model for the referb - trays, cords, ink, etc.  Then I have to fed ex (at no cost) the POS back to them within 15 days or my credit card will be billed.  I got an e-mail confirming it! 

He also said he would call me after the printer arrives to assure everything is working.   I look forward to the call.

Hope this narrative helps someone else.

[Bob_Headrick]

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@Mark--- wrote:

My 10 month old occasionally  used 4500 wireless stopped printing black ink with a half full hp black 901 cartridge.  I bought it directly from the HP HOME STORE online and REGISTERED the product so it should be in the HP database. Lord knows HP sends me enough spam e-mails so I must be in the system.

Tried the tools cleaning option a dozen times.  Removed 901 - wiped it.  nada.   [snip] 

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I am sorry to hear of your poor experience.

I do have a question about the result when you wiped the black cartridge (presumably on a damp lint-free tissue?) - did this leave a strong black blot on the tissue?  If so then it may be the printer, but if not the problem is likely the cartridge (and a new printer is unlikely to change the result...).

[Mark---]

Yes I wiped BOTH black carts with a damp lint free tissue per the instructions.  Both had some amount of black ink coming off.  The tissue is gone so I can's send you a pic. 

[mallar]

Bob,

Thanks for your response.  The cloth had black streaks,  I cleaned the cartridge contact points, used a cotton swab to clean the contacts in the printer.  This cleaning procedure worked.  The printer is still dropping of the wireless network every couple  3-4  hours - reduced from connecting for a few minutes.  One reason - used 3 different MS Windows versions - now down to 2 and better results.

 This was the 2nd printer within 18 months.  My prior HP all in one - $300 investment - stopped printing Excel after 6 months and nothing could convince it to start again - sold it for $15 in a garage sale. 

Once again, thanks.

[TishN]

In mid April, people with all types of office jet printers suddenly started experiencing cartridge problems right after an HP update was installed.  In our office we have two 7600 series and one 8500 series and one 6500 series that all developed (the same day) an out of yellow ink problem.  Not one of those printers was even low on yellow ink.  But they wouldn't print.  So we went to the store and bought new cartridges.  After installation, printers still think they are out of yellow ink.

It's was pretty obvious that four printers did not develop the problem at the same time unless it had something to do with the HP update.

Went on the consumer support net and sure enough, there are people with a variety of HP printers all having the no yellow ink problem.  And then there are the poor souls who have the 'no black ink' problem.

This is an HP problem and it needs to fix it.