using officejet 6978 without color cartridges

[Duane55]

I am thinking about buying a officejet 6978. i only print black and white.

can I use this printer without the color cartridges installed ?

[Bob_Headrick · Accepted solution]

Short answer: No, the Officejet 6978 will not operate with only the black cartridge installed.  The color cartridges  must all have ink.

Long answer: 

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.  These printers typically have a tri-color cartridge and a black cartridge.
• 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, other 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 6978 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.

[Duane55]

Sad but I will find one that will. most of the black only printers are out of stock.

I have been running My deskjet 2132 with only the black cartridge and it has performed quite well.

I was hoping to upgrade a little to take advantage of the 2 side copy feature.

I wonder how long it would last if I put in the start up color cartridges and never used them.

thanks for the great answer. that was very helpful.

[Bob_Headrick]

By the way, most Deskjet and Envy printers use integrated printed cartridges and would print with single cartridges.  Most Officejet Pro models use separate ink and printheads.