Excessive ink usage

[Sickofallthis]

Even though I print ONLY black text and about 15 pages a week, my color cartridge empties in about 5 weeks.  I print everything on "draft"  and recently also have been printing on "monochrome" but the color cartridge still drains.  How can I correct this.? 

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @Sickofallthis,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.
 

Thank you for posting your query. I will be glad to help you.

If your HP DeskJet 3755 All-in-One Printer's color cartridge is depleting faster than expected, even when printing primarily in black and white, here are some potential reasons and solutions:

FIX 1: Force “Black Cartridge Only” Mode in Linux (CUPS)

The DeskJet 3755 supports a hidden mode where it prints using only the black cartridge.

✔ Step-by-step (Linux / CUPS)

1. Open your browser and go to: http://localhost:631

(This opens the CUPS printer settings.)

1. Go to: Printers → [Your DeskJet 3755] → Administration → Set Default Options
2. Under Color Options, change:

• Color Mode → Black Only or Grayscale (Black Cartridge Only)
• NOT “Monochrome” that still may use color.

1. Save and restart CUPS: sudo systemctl restart cups

Now your printer cannot draw from the color cartridge for text printing.

FIX 2: Disable “Color Ink Backup / Ink Mixing”

Some Linux drivers allow disabling color-mixing:

Under CUPS options:

• Set Print Quality → Normal (not “Best”)
• Set Color Mode → Black Cartridge Only
• Disable Color Correction or Output Color Profile

This forces pure black ink.

FIX 3: Print using the "lp" command with forced B&W

If the GUI ignores your settings, use this: lp -o ColorModel=Gray -o PrintQuality=3 yourfile.pdf

or for true black-only: lp -o ColorModel=KGray yourfile.pdf

This bypasses HP's mixing logic.

FIX 4: Remove the Color Cartridge (Temporary Hack)

Your DeskJet will still print using only the black cartridge if you remove the color one.

BUT:

• It prints slower
• Quality may be lighter
• It may warn about a missing cartridge

However:
This 100% stops color ink consumption.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have an amazing day!
 

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Regards,

VikramTheGreat