Officejet Pro 8500: How can you print without color cartridges installed?

[Bob_Headrick]

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lsdisciples wrote:

I also feel totally ripped by HP...  Will ***NEVER*** buy anything from HP

Wrong model?  LOL Who want to buy a printer that empty 3 color ink cartridges after printing 200 pages in black color anyway?!? 

[snip]

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Sorry you feel this way.  Please be aware that if you buy an inkjet printer that uses separate printheads and ink supplies from any manufacturer you will need to have ink in black and all the colors to prevent damage to the printhead.  Printer's with permanent (non-removable) printheads have more of an issue with this than those with replaceable printheads. 

[cbd_cbd]

Not sure it works to others but I tried it yestersay and found that there is a way which can temperory solve my problem.

I had all cartridges installed but the yellow ink was empty. Simply I saved the document into jpg format and stored into the memory chip/network drive. I plug the memory chip into the printer and print it out as photo with A4 size selected. So, I guess the printer itself allows to print the black without the colour ink (all cartidges must be installed even empty ink) but the printer driver control the printing signal while any pack of ink is empty.

[Magebomba]

There is ALWAYS a way around things...  Although it is more cost effective to tell customers "sorry you have to spend more $"

This printer recognizes the that the bladder in the cartrige is empty (even when there is, indeed, more ink left), so the simple workaround that HP is fully aware of but doesn't want to tell you is that if you put a piece of tape over the oblong hole on the ink cartrige, it will continue to print you black only copies, and probably color too, and it will even use what little bit is left in the specific cartrige that it is asking you to replace.

Shame on you HP.

[Bob_Headrick]

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Magebomba wrote:

There is ALWAYS a way around things...  Although it is more cost effective to tell customers "sorry you have to spend more $"

This printer recognizes the that the bladder in the cartrige is empty (even when there is, indeed, more ink left), so the simple workaround that HP is fully aware of but doesn't want to tell you is that if you put a piece of tape over the oblong hole on the ink cartrige, it will continue to print you black only copies, and probably color too, and it will even use what little bit is left in the specific cartrige that it is asking you to replace.

Shame on you HP.

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And if you do this eventually you will run out of ink without the printer realizing it.  At this point you will ingest air into the "plumbing" and then the printhead, causing at the least a severe clogged printhead and in the worst case destroying the printhead.   This would be a  REALLY BAD IDEA.

[lsdisciples]

BOB : The point is printing only in Black without color cartridges check.  The only bad idea I can see here is to buy ANY HP "Printer" (notice the ") to spent 4 x 40$ cartridges just ot print 200 page.   Please HP stop creating printer and start creating sauces if you can match the cost and benefits of the firsts 1970-1980 printers.  

Can you beleive it... in 2011 you need to spent 160$ + tax to print 200 pages in black and white!!   Mediocrity and lack of innovation is laughable.  Shame on HP and a big thumb up to Magebomba for his workaround.

[Bob_Headrick]

Amazon has a set of the 4 XL sized cartridges for <$100 US.  The 940 XL cartridges are rated at 2200 pages black and 1400 for the color.  The standard size are rated at 1000 pages black and 900 color.   Your suggestion of <200 pages for $160 is a bit disingenuous. 

You can certainly find printers that are not suitable for a given application.  If I were printing black only I would probably get a low end laser printer or perhaps an inkjet with integrated printheads such as the Deskjet 6980.  That would allow me to print in color if I needed to, but I could also print with an empty (or even missing) color cartridge.  A black #96 cartridge is rated at 840 pages in the Deskjet 6980 printer and $34 from HP.

I have had enough of this thread and will not be responding further here (unless there are further factual misrepresentations that require comment).

[Rashad]

I am a HP user for many many years. I am sure all the people complaining here have also past experience of using HP printers. We all have practically used this printer HP Officejet Pro 8500 (wireless) and found out that the color cartridges gets finished in maximum of 200 pages of 'Black Ink Only' printings. I used many model of color printers an dofficejets from HP, also my last officejet, still running, was HP Officejet G85. On that one you need only one color cartridge, unlike 3 for this 8500 model. Again, if the color ink gets finished you do not need to replace. That empty color cartridge can still be there and you can continue keep printing black only. For printing black it does not take color inks like in this 8500. I was really really tired and got a very very bad impression about HP using this 8500 printer. You have to agree you had a crooked idea to cheat people in a way so called 'white color crime'. You should be happy to know your consumers are not dumb and deaf. You play with them you lose them!

[jdclark]

Bob,

The fact is the 8500 printer IS a great printer in my opinion... HOWEVER there is a fatal flaw that everyone here is having and that HP should endeavor to fix if they want to keep their customers...

I just bought my printer about 5mo ago... It holds maybe 250 sheets of paper (good amount) but it claims, what was it 1400pgs color and 2200 pgs black? I just opened my paper tray to check because i want to be factual here, and my paper tray is still roughly half full and I had only filled it once (never refilled or added paper since i bought it)...

2 days ago my yellow went "out of ink" according to my printer, while it is also alerting me that all the other colors are as well nearly out with the black right behind .... This is news to me considering i have only printed and copied in only black... never used color at all. (oh by the way i have yet to use the duplex feature) so these cartridges that are supposed to get 1400pgs if you go by the color... have only printed maybe 150 pages at best... and now because one ink is out my printer will not print at all... Can you please explain this problem to us all???

This printer does seem to be cleaning the printheads before and after every print which may be the problem...

I would honestly LOVE this printer (with a good deal of frustration when i have to shell out $100 every refill which is nonsence in and of itself) if it actually gave me the amount of prints it says it will... but it hasnt... $100 for 150pgs is BS and im never going back to HP... unless you can tell me why my printer is wasting so much ink, fix the problem, and replace the ink i have lost due to this flaw...

P.S.     By the way I do hope you notice I am not the same person that claimed 200pgs so he/she and I are obviously not the only ones with this problem...

[Gaelle]

Hi Bob,

I had 2 of my color ink cartridges refilled (I did not buy new ink cartridges), and the printer only recognizes one of them as full. It still says the other is empty and it won't print, when all cartdridges are full. How can I lure the printer into accepting the  fact that all cartridges are full?

Thanks.

Gaelle

[debbyakamom]

I'M WITH YOU ON THIS ONE!!
THE LAST HP EVER FOR ME!!