Cannot Print Black for HP OfficeJet 5740

[YayaVa]

Hello,

My printer is not printing black. I did purchase the XL size black cartridge instead of my usual standard size. The standard color cartridge is new, but the printing issue existed before that.

I have searched the forums and followed instructions from the thread below:

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Inkjet-Printing/HP-5740-Cannot-print-black-ink/td-p/6954882

It appears that my OfficeJet 5740 is out of warranty and does not allow me to contact HP for help, per the last suggestion from that thread. Any advice???

I also found a store that sells parts. If this requires a new part, which one should I buy???
http://www.partshere.com/hppartslist/hpparts.asp?part=B9S76A

Overall, I am disappointed by the longevity of this printer compared to all other HP printers I've purchased. I prefer to fix the printer instead of adding more plastic to the landfills. Any guidance is helpful. I've been known to open up a smart TV for repairs and imagine that a printer is of similar skillset.

Thanks!

[Nils_K]

Hi @YayaVa ,

Welcome to the HP Support-Community.

Don't worry, we'll find the problem. 😊

First of all, please do these steps:

Take a handkerchief and the black cartridge. Now press the cartridge like a stamp on the handkerchief for about 2-3 seconds. You should see a strong, black strip. Is that so?
If there is no or very little ink on the handkerchief, moisten the handkerchief slightly and press the cartridge again, this time for about 30 seconds on it, until more ink comes out.
Afterwards, re-insert the cartridge and run a cartridge clean, if necessary.

What is the result?

Does the printer show you the estimated ink-levels for the black cartridge?

Cheers!

Nils

[YayaVa]

@Nils_K, 

I  very much appreciate your help and such a quick response to my question. 

1) After stamping 2-3 seconds, no result. 7-8 seconds gives me a 1 cm broken line. I did the 30-second test and found a decent stamp. So, I printed a test and at least it was better than what I had earlier.
After 30-second test and 1 cleaning

A 2nd cleaning made it worse (below).
After 2nd cleaning
I did not attempt a 3rd cleaning, because I did that earlier today and the color cartridge is showing only 75% full.

2) INK LEVELS:
I have a little less than 1/2 of a XL size cartridge in black.    I just received that color cartridge via HP.com shipping and opened it today; the one that's at 75% now. The color is working nicely.

[Nils_K · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Thanks for the pictures!

Here we have a faulty, black cartridge. Please turn the cartridge upside down for about an hour. After that time, re-insert the cartrdige and run an automatic cartrdige clean (You can also remove the tri-color cartridge from the printer when running that cartridge clean to save ink 😉). If this doesn't help, you can complain the faulty cartridge directly at HP.

You'll find the phone number on this hyperlink:

Contact HP

I would love to hear a feedback from you!

Cheers!

Nils

[YayaVa]

@Nils_K,

Looks like the ink cartridge is a dud. The 1-hour trick did not work in this case, so I'm contacting customer support. You saved me tons of time trying to determine if it's a printer part or the actual cartridge. 

Cheers!
Mary