HP Photosmart 6520 printer. Black ink won't print. Others OK. Tried new cartridge and same problem.

[Peterkmeyer]

HP Photosmart 6520 printer. Black ink Cartridge won't print. Others work fine. Tried a second new cartridge and same problem. Had it looked at in a store, no Help.

[Sunshyn2005]

Hi @Peterkmeyer 

I see you are having troubles with your black ink.

Please complete all of the steps in the following document; Printer Does Not Print Black Ink or Color Ink, or Prints Blank Pages. Although I hope this resolves the issue, it might not. As you have a 6520, If the issue persists, I would suggest calling HP Phone Support regardless of whether it is in or out of warranty as you may require a replacement printer.

The number to call HP is 1-800-474-6836 for Canada and US, or you can Contact HP Worldwide.

Please let me know if the document resolves the issue, or if you called HP and the outcome of the call. Thanks.

[jadk]

Black ink doesn't print

[Gemini02]

Welcome @jadk,

Thanks for participating in the forums! I see that you are experiencing issues with the black not printing. I would be happy to help you. 

Are you using Genuine HP Cartridges?

I have provided this document to check the vents and to clean the cartridge contacts to see if that will help: 'Incompatible Ink Cartridge' or 'Indicated Ink Cartridge Must Be Replaced' Displays for HP Deskjet I... Disregard the title.

Feel free to click on the "Accept as Solution" and the "Thumbs Up" if this helped. Please let me know the results. Best Regards,

[mwane]

What did HP do when you called them? I am experiencing the same issue. Brand new ink cartridges in all four spots. Black does not work, but the rest do. Replaced black cartridge, went through every step of their trouble shooting, and it still does not work. Frustrated as EVERY other feature on this machine works except the black ink will not print.

[Riddle_Decipher]

@mwane

Thank you for posting on HP Forums, 

Riddle_Decipher is at your service. 

As I Understand the Black ink won't print

No worries, as I'll be glad to help you, that said, I'll need a few more details to dissect your concern & provide an accurate solution: 

Did you reset the printer, clean the cartridges and replaced them, as well?

While you respond to that, I must let you know that if you've done all of the below: (from the previous link)

Solution five: Restart the All-in-One

1. Press the Power button () to turn on the product.

2. With the product turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the product.

3. Unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.

4. Wait at least 15 seconds.

5. Plug the power cord back into the wall outlet.

6. Reconnect the power cord to the rear of the product.

7. If the product does not turn on by itself, press the Power button () to turn it on.

• If these steps resolved the issue, you do not need to continue troubleshooting.

• If the issue persists, continue to the next solution.

Solution six: Remove and reinsert the cartridges again

Repeat the steps that you performed earlier in this document to remove and reinsert the cartridges identified on the control panel.

• If these steps resolved the issue, you do not need to continue troubleshooting.

• If the issue persists, continue to the next solution.

Solution seven: Clean the cartridge contacts again

Cleaning the cartridge contacts again can help resolve the issue. Repeat the steps that you performed earlier in this document to clean the contacts of the cartridges identified on the control panel.

• If these steps resolved the issue, you do not need to continue troubleshooting.

• If the issue persists, continue to the next solution.

Solution eight: Replace the cartridge

You will need to Contact HP:
 

HP Technical Support can be reached by clicking on the following link: http://h22207.www2.hp.com/us-en/?openCLC=true

(1) Once the support page opens please select the country in which you're located. Next, enter your HP model number on the right.

(2) Next, choose the 'Contact Support' tab at the top and scroll down to the bottom of the 'HP Support- Contact' page to fill out the form provided with your contact information.

(3) Once completed click the 'Show Options' icon on the bottom right.

(4) Lastly, scroll down to the bottom of the page and select 'Get the phone number.' A case number and phone number will now populate for you.

They will be happy to assist you immediately. 

If the unit is under warranty repair services under the manufacturer's warranty will be free of charge.

If I have helped you resolve the issue, 

feel free to give me a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon 

followed by clicking on 'Accepted as Solution' 

And Have a great day Ahead!

[murphette]

Has anyone actually cleaned their print heads with alcohol & did that solve the issue????????

[mohair311]

I have a 6520 Photosmart, and it's been working fine for 4 years. Suddenly it stopped printing black only. All other colors work fine. I changed to a new black 564 ilk cartridge. Same problem. I took out the new black 564 cartridge, shook it, tapped on some  scrap paper, and black ink came out. Its full, its an HP cartridge. 

Then I got 2 paper towels, each dampened with a 50-50 solution of isopropyl alcohol and distilled water. worked one under the print  head, and another squished down into the top ink intakes (with cartridges removed, obviously). I let it soak for 10 min. then used gentle pressure on the dampened paper towels to clean off all all old sticky ink under the cartridge carrier (the actual printhead), and the printer cartridge ports. The dampened paper towels were pretty inky after using them as cleaning towels. Then I removed the dampened paper towels, than used another couple of paper towels to the head soak up the droplets of liquid, and then I used a blow dryer on low heat to dry out everything, including under the printheads. Put it all back together, plugged it back in, powered it up, and ran a clean-heads routine from the printer menu, and finally looked at the output page a minute later, and still NO BLACK INK coming out of that head. ZERO.  All other colors work fine.  Black ink test block is completely empty. 

What could cause such a specific problem all of a sudden?? Two to three days ago when we used it, it worked perfectly, no sign of lighter black  ink or any blotchyness.  Then, a couple of days later, it's failing ONLY with BLACK, which of course make the printer worthless. What other recourse do I have? This seems like there should be a well-known, common symptom with some pretty standard plans A, B, C, and NOT require replacing the printer.

Thanks

Mohairr311

[Betty0610]

@mohair311

Welcome to the HP Support Community.

Are you able to copy in black?

1. Load plain white paper in the tray.

2. On the printer, touch Settings, touch Tools, and then touch Print Quality Report.

Let me know if you're able to see any black on this report.

Let's clean the printhead: Touch Settings, touch Tools, and then touch Clean Printhead. If print quality is unacceptable on the page that prints, touch Clean Again to perform a second cleaning, and then continue to the next step.

Touch Settings, touch Tools, and then touch Align Printer. Continue to the next step after the alignment completes.

Let me know if this helps.

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the Accepted Solution button, that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Thanks!

Have a great day!