Ink cartridge empty but it's not

[tryansf]

What a surprise - I'm experiencing the same problem.  There is no way HP is going to solve this problem for us though, it's the only way they make money - printers and inks.  I'll take everyone's suggestion and reluctantly go buy a Canon.  Hopefully everyone else will do a search before they buy an HP printer and find this forum to see how they hold you hostage on the ink cartridges.  Goodbye HP. 

[annoyed_monkey]

I'm having the same problem with a C3180

Have recently replaced the black and tri colour cartridges (with third party compatible ones)

Now the printer is insisting they are empty after very light usage.

I think the problem is because they are 3rd party.

I've read that the printer simply counts down how many prints have been done, this is how it guesses the ink levels. The printer isn't recognising the new cartridge and thinks it's still the "empty" ones in it.

Will try resetting it tomorrow, if that doesnt work I'm going to go all "Office Space" on it.

[Bob_Headrick]

---

annoyed_monkey wrote:

I'm having the same problem with a C3180

Have recently replaced the black and tri colour cartridges (with third party compatible ones)

Now the printer is insisting they are empty after very light usage.

I think the problem is because they are 3rd party.

---

The cartridges are marked as empty when they are used up.  The third party is using cartridges that have been used up (and marked as empty) and then refilled.  There is no reset in the printer for this, you would need to contact your supplier.   If the cartridges they supply are marked as low on ink there is not a workaround.

[Dara444]

I too have an HP Photosmart C6280 and it gives the following error message on the computer.  I have already replaced the Magenta and the same error occurs.

Ink Cartridges Empty

To print in color, install the following cartridges:

Magenta

To print with black ink only, click Black Only.  To begin printing on certain products, press the Resume button on the printer control panel.  The printer will replace colors with grayscale.

To cancel, press the Cancel button on printer.

If empty ink cartridge is not replaced soon, all printing will stop.

I am going to reload the drivers since some have had success with that.  It does not make sense, but why not try it?  Cleaning the heads I have already done.

[driverdriven]

Well, Dara,

Did it work?  I have the very same error message on my all-in-one c7280, except it's the Cyan blue.

I have reloaded drivers, uninstalled and reinstalled software, updated whatever could be updated, cleaned printer heads, hard-booted, re-set, soft booted, cleaned my registry and even defragged.

And I still get the error message even though the printer says all inks are full and ready and my computer'a "Solution Center" says ink levels are good, too.

BUT when I go to print, POP comes the error.   : {

I'm going to try the suggestion by Antix on page 8...

[Redemptore]

What i had to do was go into Printer Properties mess with a couple of things. In device settings i changed photo tray to 10x15cm and look at all my other settings to make sure they were all good. You might have to play around allittle just write down or remember what you did and change it back when done. After i applied the change i printed a test page from the computer Printer Properties and it worked. The other thing i did as well was printed a scanned page so maybe there is a resourve for all the colors that is in the printer as well who knows but this saved me $25. and dealing with tech support.

[stestardi]

Alas my trusty C6180 just suffered the same fate -- I got a Yellow cartridge empty message after just 300 pages were printed with it, I replaced it with a brand-new HP cartridge, and it still says empty.  I've tried all the various reset steps available on the web to no avail.

I called support this evening and they are sending out a new yellow cartridge, but I don't hold out much hope.

Steve

[deebjr]

I’ve a similar problem with a Photosmart D5460.  I’m told it’s about two months “out of warrantee,” which I need to check.  I’ve printed fewer than a dozen photos yet all ink levels are shown as low and I can’t print photos.

I tried cleaning the cartridges and (separately) the print head, then uninstalling and reinstalling the printer…NOTHING worked.  I’m NOT going to invest in new cartridges without assurance they’ll cure the problem.  I’d rather just junk out this printer and buy one from Epson or Cannon.  Nor will I ever be a customer for an HP computer.

I also have an old HP Deskjet.  I’ll just buy Office Depot “replacement” inks for that for my printing.

[lindygee]

This problem happened when I replace the Magenta (dark one) cartridge on my Photosmart C8180 All-in-one.  It was a brand new HP cartridge and was recognized in the HP Solution Center, but when I sent a document to print, I had to choose black only or it would not print because it did not recognize the new cartridge. I tried reinstallling the cartridge, cleaning the connections, unplugging the printer, nothing worked. I then went on the HP site to upgrade any drivers. I found and installed the latest HP diagnostic utility tool and it fixed the problem.   Hope this helps someone.

[stestardi]

lindygee , can you be more specific about the diagnostic utility you found?  Can you post a link, tell the exact name of the program, or describe how you found it?

Thanks.

Steve