HP 6500a Plus Does Not Print Black Text

wizardphoto · ‎02-26-2017

all of a sudden the printer won't print black text .. but pictures with black words print fine .. tried 2 new cartridges .. utility shows "Full" black .. full colors, too .. tried 3 different computers .. was fine yesterday

Bob_Headrick · ‎02-26-2017

The troubleshooting steps in the document here may help resolve black not printing on your Officejet 6500a. Go through all the steps in order.

Bob Headrick, HP Expert
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wizardphoto · ‎02-26-2017

I did all this "normal" stuff .. I'm not an expert, but not a novice either.

It happened virtually from printing one document to another!!

The 6500a Plus prints black fine if it's words in an image, and selected text when printing a web page .. both of which I discovered during diagnosis.

Seems like a firmware hit or driver hit ...

going to throw it out and never buy HP again ...

wizardphoto · ‎02-26-2017

and I think I saw your post before while going through all the posts seeking a solution

wizardphoto · ‎02-26-2017

How can it be a lack of ink issue or a printhead issue when it prints words within an image fine .. ??

Bob_Headrick · ‎02-26-2017

@wizardphoto wrote:
I did all this "normal" stuff .. I'm not an expert, but not a novice either.
It happened virtually from printing one document to another!!
The 6500a Plus prints black fine if it's words in an image, and selected text when printing a web page .. both of which I discovered during diagnosis.
Seems like a firmware hit or driver hit ...
going to throw it out and never buy HP again ...

That would be one response, but it would hardly resolve the issue.

Images are generally printed with the color ink for quality reasons - the dropletss of color ink are much smaller than the black ones so color is used for graphics, even text in graphics. You could force this by selecting Photo paper as the paper type, this would force all printing to be done with the color cartridge.

Did you check the vents on the black cartridge? Did you soak the printhead? If you thoroughly went through each step in order there would be one more thing to check: remove the black cartridge and dribble a few drops of water in the ink inlet port on the printer. Turn the black cartridge over and look at the plastic surrounding the ink port. There will be four orange dots, left over from the cap that protected the cartridge during shipment. Make sure these do not protrude from the body of the ink cartridge. If they do trim them flush to allow the cartridge to seat properly. Reinsert the cartridge and run up to three cleaning cycles.

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.

wizardphoto · ‎02-27-2017

Black prints fine within an image .. does not print the text from MS Word or Excel

Bob_Headrick · ‎02-27-2017

I mentioned above that black is not printing in the image - what looks like black is actually made up of a mixture of color that appears black. You could verify black is not printing by going to the driver and selecting "print in grayscale" and "Black ink only", the pages printed will be blank. Same result for a B&W copy from the front panel.

It appears I cannot help you.

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.

wizardphoto · ‎02-27-2017

thank you for taking the time and all the suggestions .. I'll try cleaning again

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