Black ink won't print on Photosmart Premium C309a

[Shirlzz1]

@ japouw -  I will need a little more information in order to help out.  Are you having the same issue as the original author of this post that you quoted?  Do you have the same printer?  Have you tried the methods listed in the other posts? Here is a link to a HP document that addresses print quality issues for this device.  It will provide you with troubleshooting steps to take in an effort to correct the issue. I hope that this helps.

[Bob_Headrick]

I have noticed many posts in this thread suggesting changing the printer driver settings to resolve the issue of black ink not printing with the c309a.  While it may appear this makes the printer print with the black cartridge it is likely that it does not - it is actually using a print mode that uses color ink to render black print.

You can verify this by printing a diagnostic test page as shown in step four of this document, the black ink will likely not print at all on the test page.  In this case the post here may help resolve the issue.

[shepardstone]

Thank you for sharing the YouTube link and posting. The advice resulted in a successful return to normal function.

It is frustrating that this fix was not readily found on HP's website. I can understand why others were tempted to discard the printer-I was almost there myself!

[HPPSHeadache]

I totally agree.  I've had this printer for 4 years and it's constantly giving me headaches with the black ink.  I've replaced cartridges, the printhead assembly, followed all the alignment, clean printhead solutions and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  Time-consuming and frustrating.  I've usually tried to buy the same brand of printer as my computer, but I've given up on HP printers.  Would never buy another one again.

[SoCal_lady]

Adjusting the color management to application was an excellent fix!!!  

Was about to clean the whole printhead assembly per advice on forum from an HP tech, but this saved me from having to do that. Thanks!  See advice below

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@brownsly wrote:

I too had this problem occur out of nowhere some months ago.  I cannot tell you the "why" but I can tell you what I have been doing as a workaround, which works every time.

Select "Properties" from the Print window.

Select the "Color" tab.

Change "Color Management" to "Application Managed Colors".

I find this annoying, especially since I can't seem to make this change permanently via Printer Management but at least it works without fail every time.

Best of luck to all!

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[kakkak]

I read all these posts and tried changing the ink and cleaning the print head.  Ended up buying a new print head from EBay.  Got a brand new one for about $37.  It now works like a charm.  Cheaper than buying a new printer!

[lumrfixit]

This was successful for me.  http://youtu.be/Ql5CPAvTaOE

This video was not specifically for the C309g-m but the print heads in the printer used were identical to mine. I have a HP Photosmart Premium C309g-m All-In-One printer which had the same issue with the black not printing but colors were printing as normal and the Align and Clean print heads function was failing. In the end this frustrating issue was simply the result of 4 years of printing and probably a bad design that leads to the black ink clogging the print head contacts underneath the print heads.

[FrustratedLLG]

No color option on my HP Computer

[WilbertEshelman]

I was having trouble with black not printing. I saw a articile about how to take the penhead assembly out and decided that was to much word. the article was about taking the pinhead assembly and cleaning it with hot water. I decided to clean it with the penhead assembly intacked and  with cuetip and hot water i cleaned the cloged print head and it worked great after the cleaning.

                                                                     Wilbert B. Eshelman

[JLD-NH]

I had this same problem and attempted to clean the print head automatically and manually (see other posts for instructions for this) with no luck.  I  researched the cost of ordering a new print head and decided it was worth a shot to see if it would fix the problem.  The print head arrived today, I installed it very easily and my printer is working perfectly now.  The print head part number for this model is: CN642A.  I found the part in the HP Parts Store.  They have an exchange option for $34.82 (on 1/29/2015) and with shipping of $12.00, I had a working printer for $46.00.  The return of the old print head was easy, they supplied a label and a padded envelope, I just have to put it into a local FedEx drop box.