My Officejet 6500 E709n Wireless won't print "Black"

[allison76]

worked great thank you

[jeannehof]

I tried every solution I could find online, wasted four cartridges of ink "cleaning printhead" aligning cartridges, etc. when all I really had to do was remove the plastic printhead and wipe all the ink buildup off.  Works like new again!  So now I can return the new printer I just ordered!  I did not soak it in water as the printhead has copper elements on it which looked delicate.  Just a paper towel and qtip did the trick!  Hope this saves all of you a lot of time and expense. 

This was the second time that my printer would not print black after installing a new black cartridge.  I hope HP will post this simple solution on their website for everyone's sake since it seems to be such a common problem.

[TpaBayRick]

I soaked my printhead for 10 minutes.. dried it off and reinstalled it.  The status said "printer preparation" forever and then it went into an alignment and then "ink failure, turn on/off".  I've turned it on and off several times, only to go thru the same process again.  The printhead I'm using is a replacement that I got, only a few months ago from HP because I was getting the "failure" error code.  Please.. I have lots to get printed this weekend and have no other machines to use.  What can I do?

[Amy53]

Thank you so much for the unplug and press number 3 and # while plugging back in.  It worked for me.  I was so upset. This has been a wonderful printer and just today it stopped copying or printing anything black!  Now it is working again thank you so much for your post!

[Scootch]

All - I had similar issue - HP6500 E709n stopped printing BLACK out of the 'blue' (no pun intended). Existing cartridges had ink, and they were all genuine HP cartridges.  I tried everything listed to no avail. Then, I popped out, I suppose what they are calling the print head; the item that all four of the cartridges sit in. And rather than soaking as has been suggested here (and by the way, my printer is about 6 years old and I saw quite a bit of 'caking' underneath the black ink jet when I removed the printhead/basket). What I had to do was take boiling water from my electric water pot - do this in a laundry sink or basin you don't mind getting dirty from ink, although does clean up quite well - and I poured this scalding hot water over all four of the ink spigots in the printhead/basket, but especially concentrated on the BLACK. I did this for about 7-10 minutes, wiped/dried it down as best I could with paper towels, then took my hair drier and made sure it was all dried up before reinstalling the basket (print head) along with the four cartridges - and presto/chango - I have a printer again! The print mechanism is like new now.  Trust me when I say, it's more that 'soaking'. You have to get the power of hot, hot water to losen up the clogged, caked in ink in those jets. Hope this helps the next guy from having to trash their printer. I like some, have been quite satisfied with this printer over the years I've owned it. Of course the print cartridges are way overpriced in my opinion, but since I don't own an alternative printer solution (and after-market cartridges suck), they've got me (you-know-what-I-mean-Vern?). -Scootch

[TpaBayRick]

I have tried all suggestions to get my printer to work again, but I think it has died!  I get print errors, please load paper in the tray (and there is paper already there).  My printer has served me well over the years, so now it's time to find a replacement and say good bye to an old friend!

--Rick

[HQpourJFC]

I encounter the same issue as I was printing two copies of the same page. The first page came out fine and the second page had no black. I did the prinhead cleaning several times, then clean the printhead with water, clean the printhead contacts, even installed a new printhead, same issue. Now I get "Ink system failure". I think it's must be the electronic board that failed as it happened quickly and not over time.

So I ordered a new printer, (HP Officejet Pro 8620) after looking at reviews. I figured it was cheaper in the long run that getting the 6500 fixed.

[dfayewood]

Does anyone know what I need to do to get the black cartridge to print?

[FredoWilpon]

Same problem, tried everything,  Called HP and guy ran remote diagnostics.  Said it was a network package conflict (no idea what thay is) and offered to sell full service for $249 since i was out of service.  So what is it? that of a physical problem?  Their are zillions of complaints like mine for several years and yet HP has no answer?

[jonno99]

The # + 3 keys "trick" worked for me.

The above is a "partial" reset according to this link:

http://resetprinters.com/3-different-ways-to-reset-the-hp-officejet-6500-all-in-one-printer/