Officejet j5780 all-in-one; print in Black only

[DisgustedOne]

I do not require color print capability on my j5780, I want to print in Black only (I also own a Photosmart 6380 for color needs). 

A new Black cartridge has been installed and the spent tri-color cartridge has been left in-place.

PROBLEM: The printer's LED window now displays the message "Cartridge error: Cartridge on the left [i.e. tri-color] must be replaced." 

Prior to replacing the Black cartridge I was able to print in Black only; now, it appears that capability has been lost. I do not want to install a new tri-color cartridge (particularly at HP's price) just to restore Black-only print capability.

QUESTION: Is it possible to reset, or otherwise over-ride, the printer's color cartridge requirement to in order to achieve Black-only printing?   

[Gordon_H]

Hello DisgustedOne,

What may have happened is that while you were printing in black only, the black ink may have ran out, then the printer started using the tri-color cartridge to create black. When the tri-color cartridge ran out, you replaced the black, but are still getting an error to replace the tri-color cartridge.

Some HP printers allow for what is called backup mode, where the printer only uses one of the two cartridges, an example can be found in the following link:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01625311&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en

There are a couple things you can try:

1. Set the printer to print in black only (can be done in the printer prefs, usually under a grayscale setting)

2. Take out the color cartridge altogether and see if it will print.

If both of those options fail, unfortunately, you will need to replace the color cartridge.