Will my HP printer print if some cartridges are empty and some are full?

[Jelli23]

I have an HP inkjet printer series 6950 from 2018.  Will It print if some cartridges are empty but others are full?

[Raj2111]

Hi @Jelli23 

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

I understand that you want to know about the single-cartridge mode, I am glad to assist you today.

This is possible in printers using only two cartridges (black and tri-color).

Please refer to this document : https://support.hp.com/lt-en/document/ish_1929982-1413612-16

Hope this helps!

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[Bob_Headrick]

Your HP Officejet 6950 has individual ink supplies and a separate permanent printhead.  To prevent damage to the printhead you will need ink in each cartridge to print.

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 8600.  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 6950 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.  

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.