HP 2600 Black ink stops when not used a few weeks

[jhf9901]

New black ink cartridge works fine.

Walk away a few weeks. Try and print - black ink cartridge doesn't print. Color cartridge still works fine. Levels show all cartridges full.

I tried all the electronic cleaning methods to no avail. Finally bought new black cartridge and it worked fine. Went on trip... a few weeks later tried to print... same issue. No black ink printing. Color fine.

Needless to say this is getting expensive if I end up spending $30 to print a couple of pages.

Any ideas people?

Thanks in advance.

J

[Evan04 · Accepted solution]

Dear jhf9901,

From the issue that you are describing, it seems to be an issue of when the printer tries to seal the cartridge/printhead. The printhead is capped to avoid it from drying up after not using it for a while. If a printer is left for many months unused, then the cartridge may have some problems. However, after just a few weeks, there should be little to no issue. As the cartridges initially worked upon installing them into the printer, then my assumption would be that there is an issue with the capping mechanism in the printer, or the maintenance station that cleans the printhead. If the cartridge is not capped properly by the printer, then that could explain your issues. Another, more unlikely possibly is that the cartridge could be damaged by the maintenance station, or the cartridge cap when the printer attempts to store the cartridge. I would also suggest opening the ink cartridge access door to look if there could be any obstruction or foreign matter inside the printer.  If your printer is currently in warranty, then I would suggest calling HP for further solutions. If your printer is not in warranty, then you could try to manually unclog the printer cartridge. If you fill a bowl with water up to about a quarter of an inch high, and carefully place the cartridge in the water, observe if any ink comes out of the cartridge, let it soak for a few minuets before drying. When drying the cartridge be careful of the electrical contacts and printhead, so they don't get damaged. That could help in solving your issue. 

I hope this is helpful,

Evan

[jhf9901]

Thanks Evan, 

The printer is almost certainly still under warranty but who knows where the receipt is? I'll give the cartridge bath trick a try. Its strange that the color cartridge works fine and I've gone through 2 Black ones with this problem.

Thanks again. I'll let you know how it works out.

J

[jhf9901]

Evan,

The system is saying you posted something on the 6th.. but its not showing in my feed. 

Did you have additional thoughts?

Julian

[jhf9901]

Follow up:

I soaked the black cartridge and dried it - twice. First time a partial black line appeared of ink on the drying paper, I printed and it came out pretty crappy... some lines half printing etc.... soaked again... dried and this time saw full black line of ink on drying paper. After a couple of prints... it came out legible... not sharp like a new cartridge, but good enough for a rough draft. I'm bumming that I can't find the receipt.

Thanks for your help.

Julian