Solved: Won’t print black - HP Support Community

Em771 · ‎04-11-2022

cleaned ink cartridges three times I get this print out brand new color cartridge black cartridge is half full will not print words for documents. Do I have to throw this thing away?

Bob_Headrick · ‎04-11-2022

It sounds like you have already gone through the steps in the troubleshooting document here to address black not printing on your Envy 5660 printer.

The test page you printed shows that the black ink is not working properly. The few lines in the box that should be black indicate the electronics are working properly but the black cartridge is mostly clogged. (The black lines outlining the color and black test areas are printed with a mixture of the black and color ink, so they will appear to print properly even if black or some of the colors are not printing properly.

The likely cause of the issue you are seeing is that the printer was stored for some time with the power removed before the printer had a chance to properly park the print cartridges, allowing them to dry out. I would suggest the following: get a clean coffee cup and put 1" of hot (but not boiling) water in the cup. Place the black cartridge in the cup in the same orientation it would be in the printer, with the nozzles facing downward. Let the cartridge sit in the water for about fifteen minutes. Remove the cartridge and gently dry the electrical contacts with a lint-free wipe. A clean coffee filter works well for this. Gently blot the printhead on a damp tissue. If the ink is properly slowing there will now be a strong blot of ink on the tissue. If this is the case put the cartridge back in the printer and run a cleaning cycle to verify the cartridge is working properly.

Bob Headrick, HP Expert
I am not an employee of HP, I am a volunteer posting here on my own time.
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View solution in original post

Bob_Headrick · ‎04-11-2022

It sounds like you have already gone through the steps in the troubleshooting document here to address black not printing on your Envy 5660 printer.

The test page you printed shows that the black ink is not working properly. The few lines in the box that should be black indicate the electronics are working properly but the black cartridge is mostly clogged. (The black lines outlining the color and black test areas are printed with a mixture of the black and color ink, so they will appear to print properly even if black or some of the colors are not printing properly.

The likely cause of the issue you are seeing is that the printer was stored for some time with the power removed before the printer had a chance to properly park the print cartridges, allowing them to dry out. I would suggest the following: get a clean coffee cup and put 1" of hot (but not boiling) water in the cup. Place the black cartridge in the cup in the same orientation it would be in the printer, with the nozzles facing downward. Let the cartridge sit in the water for about fifteen minutes. Remove the cartridge and gently dry the electrical contacts with a lint-free wipe. A clean coffee filter works well for this. Gently blot the printhead on a damp tissue. If the ink is properly slowing there will now be a strong blot of ink on the tissue. If this is the case put the cartridge back in the printer and run a cleaning cycle to verify the cartridge is working properly.

Bob Headrick, HP Expert
I am not an employee of HP, I am a volunteer posting here on my own time.
If your problem is solved please click the "Accept as Solution" button
If my answer was helpful please click "Yes" to the "Was this post helpful" question.

Em771 · ‎04-11-2022

This worked perfectly thank you very much you save me from having to buy a new printer I believe. Thank you very much again

Bob_Headrick · ‎04-11-2022

@Em771 wrote:
This worked perfectly thank you very much you save me from having to buy a new printer I believe. Thank you very much again

I am glad I could help.

One thing I should have mentioned - if you ever need to unplug a printer make sure to turn it off from the printer's switch first, and make sure to wait for the printer to park the printheads (all noises stop) before unplugging the printer. While the printer is plugged in it should always be connected to a live outlet, an outlet switch should not be used with printers.

Bob Headrick, HP Expert
I am not an employee of HP, I am a volunteer posting here on my own time.
If your problem is solved please click the "Accept as Solution" button
If my answer was helpful please click "Yes" to the "Was this post helpful" question.

Islandpixie · ‎04-12-2022

Hi

I have a HPEnvy 5020 ,Product no. M2U918.

The black ink cartridge has stopped working. I.ve tried all the cleaning programmes in Tools and also tried leaving the black cartridge in hot water for 15 minutes.

Unfortunately, none of these things have worked. Before I but a new one has anyone any other ideas?

Thanks

Won’t print black

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