Changed color cartridge using HP cartridge it was low and not printing red. still not printing red.

[hondo55]

I changed the color ink cartridge on an HP 4650 because it was low and not printing magenta. It still does not print magenta. I have done a series of cleaning the print head from the tools menu. That has not worked.  I suspect it is the new cartridge but would like to perform some manual cleaning before throwing away a $40 dollar cart. What and how do I manually clean the print head?

[Bob_Headrick]

The ink cartridges for the HP Officejet 4650  have the printheads built into the ink cartridge, so if you replace a cartridge you are also replacing the printhead.  

Before replacing the cartridge I would suggest the following:  get a clean teacup and put 1bout 1" of very hot (but not boiling) water in it.  Remove the cartridge from the printer and place it in the water with the nozzles facing downward (this is the same orientation the cartridge would be in the printer).  Do not submerge the cartridge, it should have 1/4" or so of the cartridge top out of the water.  Let the cartridge soak for five minutes.  After soaking the cartridge, remove it from the water and dry the electrical contacts with a lint-free wipe.  Next, gently blot the printhead against a damp tissue.  At this point you should see a strong blot including cyan, magenta and yellow.  If this is the case, put the cartridge back in the printer and run up to three cleaning cycles.  I would expect that at this point the printer will print successfully.  If not you can repeat the process once more.