HP Officejet Pro 9020

[Frustrated1146]

Worst printer ever!! I have only ever used black ink and all my settings are to use black ink only but i have to replace all colours every second time i replace the black ink! And not only that - if a colour cartridge runs out you cannot print at all. All i want to do is print in black it! Then i have problems locating ink cartridges quickly as no one has stock! Not happy and very frustrated! 

[Bob_Headrick]

HP and other printer manufacturers have different printer technologies for different needs.  For inkjet printers:

• Some have printheads built into the ink cartridges.  These printers can typically print with one or more of the colors completely empty, or even with color or black (but not both) cartridges removed. The Officejet 8040a is an example.
• Other printers have separate ink supplies and replaceable printheads.  An example would be the Officejet Pro 9020.  The printhead in these printers can be replaced if they are damaged by running the printhead with colors out.  Some of these printers will allow printing with a color out, others will not.  If the printer is run without ink in one or more colors the printer may be damaged, but the user may be able to recover without having to send the printer for service.   
• Other printers have permanent printheads.  To run these without some ink in all the colors would risk causing damage to the printhead due to clogs, air ingested in the printhead or burned out printhead firing resistors. The Officejet 6700 is an example of this type of printer. For printers with fixed printheads this could require service to get the printer to print properly again when the ink is finally replaced if allowed to run with an empty cartridge.

The document here describes how ink is used.  While the document is written for HP Inkjet printers the same principles apply to inkjet printers from other manufacturers.

[Frustrated1146]

Thanks Bob. I get that some colour may be used when printing black only but this printer is honestly ridiculous. I only ever print in black ink so i dont understand why the cyan and yellow inks run out every second time i replace a black ink cartridge. It just doesnt seem  right.

I have only had the printer for a couple of months.

[Bob_Headrick]

The link I had above was broken (now corrected).  See Ink Usage for HP Inkjet Printers | HP® Official Site for the correct version.  The bottom line is that color ink is used even when printing in "black only" to protect the color printheads, and also in some cases to improve the print quality.  There is also some ink used in all the cartridges whenever a cartridge is changed. Depending on your usage you might find it more economical to purchase the XL version of the black cartridges.  You would get about 3X the pages out of the 959XL compared to the 965 black cartridges.

How many pages do you print per month?  You might consider the HP Instant Ink plan, where you pay a fixed amount per month for a set number of pages per month.  They send ink or toner ahead of time so you should never run out.   

If you never want to print in color you may be much happier with a black-only laser printer.  I currently use an HP Laserjet M234dwe (with the 100 page per month plan) for my black printing and an HP Officejet Pro 8600 for printing that requires color.

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