Photosmart C309 suddenly stopped printing black ink (any solution?)

[danj212]

Re: Printer reset, FYI, the printer goes through a 12 minute initialization process not to mention erasing everything like scan settings, etc.

[E47Amsterdam]

Well, I think the time has arrived that I will try your solution cleaning it with hot water. Who cares about the warnings about damaging this and that. Warranty has expired anyway, and if this does not work out I will be throwing the whole machine away anyway. I'll hope it works. thanks, 

[bevvy68]

Thanks erisso -- this WORKED PERFECTLY!!  The printer did not immediately pick up my wireless connection, but after going into Setup, scrolled down to Network, then scrolled down to Wireless Setup Wizard and followed that, the connection was picked up.  My black ink is back!!

[danjzunitch]

This worked for me as well. Many thanks. I was dreading getting on the telephone with HP customer service, knowing they would take up most of my day pursuing useless troubleshootingsteps only to ultimately not find the answer.

[Susan1]

Didn't work - rats.  I took apart as directed.  Wiped off all the ink I could.  Ran water until there was no color at all to it.  Dried with a hair dryer and then left to dry the rest of the way.  Re-installed.  Same problem.  Everything works but the Black XL

[Susan1]

Didn't work - rats.  Took out the ink cartridges and then the holder.  Wiped all excess ink off.  Held under running water until the water was clear and no color showed.  Dried with a hair dryer then let air dry as instructed.  Re-installed all.  Same problem - all the inks print including the photo black, except the black XL

[Bob_Headrick]

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@Susan1 wrote:

Didn't work - rats.  Took out the ink cartridges and then the holder.  Wiped all excess ink off.  Held under running water until the water was clear and no color showed.  Dried with a hair dryer then let air dry as instructed.  Re-installed all.  Same problem - all the inks print including the photo black, except the black XL

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I would suggest not blowing hot air on the printhead as this is almost guaranteed to clog the printhead.  You might try the steps in this page.

[bob414]

Dude,

You rock!

Just used your advice last night.  Worked perfectly this morning!

[John73]

This solution worked like a charm.  Everything was back to normal in under 15 minutes!  Just blow (with your mouth) and shake dry the printhead.  Don't rub.

[Bob_Headrick]

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@John73 wrote:

This solution worked like a charm.  Everything was back to normal in under 15 minutes!  Just blow (with your mouth) and shake dry the printhead.  Don't rub.

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I am glad this worked for you, but I would not recommend blowing in the printhead as this may cause the delicate layers in the printhead to delaminate.  Shaking the printhead is also not recommended as this can cause air to be ingested in the nozzles.