HP Deskjet 3520 gives error message "One or More Cartridges Appear to be Missing or Damaged.

[Willybill32]

I'm trying to help a 91-year-old friend with his HP DeskJet 3520 printer/scanner/fax/copier.  He has a number of documents he wants to make copies of, but it did not print in black.  A google search yielded a number of YouTube videos that said the problem was likely the printhead being clogged.  I followed the instructions and wound up removing the cartridges and carriage, then cleaning the printheads three times in hot water and one time in isopropyl alcohol.  At this point, I'm convinced the printheads are clean.

I've now reassembled the printer and installed the cartridges.  I'm getting a message "One or more Cartridges appear to be missing or damaged.  Install or replace the affected Cartridges."  I've removed and reinstalled the cartridges multiple times and cleaned the contacts.  I'm convinced they're installed correctly and not damaged.  With this error message, I'm unable to find a way around this issue.  BTW, the cyan and yellow cartridges are empty, which is OK since he only wants to print in black.

[Jay_G24]

Hi @Willybill32,

I'd like to help!

I understand you are unable to print in black and receiving a cartridge error.

Your printer is designed to print only when all ink cartridges have ink. To prevent clogs in the printing mechanism and other print quality issues, some ink must be available in all the cartridges to perform periodic servicing tasks.

If you have already performed the steps from the document Black or Color Ink Not Printing, Other Print Quality Issues and the issue persists, it could be a hardware failure.

Please reach out to HP Support in your region regarding the service options for your printer.

If you are having trouble navigating through the above options, it's most likely because the device is out of warranty. If yes? please send me a private message with the region you are contacting us from. Check next to your profile name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it. 

Hope this helps!

And, Welcome to the HP Support Community. 

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