HP Officejet 6600 won't print in black and white

[OrganizedIdiots]

Ok, now we are getting somewhere. This is great intellectual conversation.

I do have some questions. I understand that the nozzles could clog from the ink drying. An easy way to fix this would be to do what is currently done. Just pump some color through. What keeps them from drying out when it sits on my desk for months at a time? I would hope there is some functionality to prevent this idle drying. If not, well, I guess we are back to square one and HP might as well just let me print without color huh? And I would suppose that if this is the case then HP would have a word of caution in a manual about the hazards of lack of use?(I haven't read the manual... Too impatient)

Also, 6600 does not have duplex printing.

Most people complaining about this issue have specific needs for text only printing. Personally, I have no use for the graphics. This is what I have been saying. And I don't want grayscale.

I have stated before I don't get warm fuzzy feelings based on the darkness of the black. You're a smart guy Bob, do you think I will be able to read a Journal article without the color under the black ink. Keep in mind I am a young guy.... I don't need bifocals yet.

If I have a need to print on photo paper I will be sure to provide the color ink. I promise.

Ok Bob, the ball is in your court. What say you? Will a complete shutdown of color ink work in my instance? Why or why not?(Like we are in grade school again:smileyhappy:)

[Bob_Headrick]

The printheads are covered with a capping system when not printing, this keeps the printheads from drying out.  

I was surprised about no duplex printing on the Officejet 6600 - I had an Officejet 6500 before I got my current Officejet 8600, and both support automatic duplex printing.  Personally I consider automatic duplexing a "must have" feature.

If you are printing in Normal or Draft modes I do not believe color ink will be used for underprinting black text in non-duplex print modes.  AFAIK underprinting is used in Best mode and when duplex printing, but not otherwise.

A lockout of printing "black only" if color ink is out would depend on the firmware.  I notice there is a firmware update for the Officejet 6600 published October 2014.  It does indicate a fix for "improve the accuracy and reliability of ink level gauge", I do not know if it changed the color requirement.

Unfortunately the Officejet 6600 does not seem to be a good match for your usage....  

The user manual, available here indicates:

Printing with black or color ink only

For regular usage, this product is not designed to print using only the black cartridge when the color cartridges are out of ink.

However, your printer is designed to let you print as long as possible when your cartridges start to run out of ink.

When there is sufficient ink in the printhead, the printer will offer you the use of black ink only when one or more of the color cartridges are out of ink, and the use of color ink only when the black cartridge is out of ink.

• The amount that you can print using black or color ink only is limited, so have replacement ink cartridges available when you are printing with black or color ink only.

• When there is no longer sufficient ink to print, you will get a message that one or more cartridges are depleted, and you will need to replace the depleted cartridges before you resume printing.

[Schwin]

(Content removed by Moderator )with regards to anything to do with this officejet 6600 scam of a printer and any one like it because it just makes you sound very silly defending this piece of crap printer. You know as well as I do a simple firmware update would fix this. This printer is a scam. It would be very easy to add the option "Colour cartarge installed" "Yes" "No".

[OrganizedIdiots]

I have to say while I think (Content removed by Moderator )is drinking a little too much of the HP Koolaid I have had a much more desireable interaction with him than any of the HP employees.

Bob, I am thinking that we are headed toward some sort of common ground.

I am not an engineer(only took a couple years of that). But I am thinking that there is equal probablity of clogging with the time the printer is printing and the extended downtime I experience.

I do think that you are in disagreement with a HP Representative that posted on the locked thread that I referred to earlier. That person stated that:

"High quality grayscale will use less cyan, magenta, and yellow (CMY)  than say normal mode printing, but will not be a drastic reduction. However, the black ink only feature does reduce the CMY usage quite a bit. This setting produces a composite black.

The Black Ink Only feature will limit the color usage to only the amount that goes under the black ink to ensure a long standing printout and the true-black tone that is expected."

It does seem that you suggest that it is possible to have firmware with a complete shutdown of color for the purpose of printing text type documents. It is understood that this type of printing would be a lower quality and probably will not allow for grayscale. Is there any printers that you can think of with this exact hardware and firmware combination?

I know now that this printer(as it is currently) is not a good match. What I have been getting at all along is that HP could make it as good as any other printer with a firmware update. Could they not? I do think that I am not the only one of their customers that would greatly appreciate the firmware update.

[Bob_Headrick]

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@Schwin wrote:
Bob Headrick I think as a volunteer you should stop posting with regards to anything to do with this officejet 6600 scam of a printer and any one like it because it just makes you sound very silly defending this piece of crap printer. You know as well as I do a simple firmware update would fix this. This printer is a scam. It would be very easy to add the option "Colour cartarge installed" "Yes" "No".

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There is no such thing as a "simple firmware update".  That said, if the color cartridges (any of the three of them) were not installed the plumbing and then the printhead would be prone to getting air in the system and then drying out the printhead.  The result would be a damaged printing system that may require service to recover if you ever decided to print color in the future.  You do not understand how the printing system works so I will not expect you to understand why it needs the color inks.

If you do not plan to print color in the future I would suggest you sell the Officejet 6600 and buy a suitable printer for your needs.

You are probably correct about one thing - I should not reply any more in this thread.

[Schwin]

Why was "ALL cartridges need to have a sufficient amount of ink in them in order to print in black only" not printed on the outside of the box? Instead it was only hidden in the manual in the box where the consumer could not see it before they bought the unit and only find out after colour cartridges are depleted without ever even printing in colour. Don't you people get it? Did HP have a deal with Costco or whom ever to scam people in order to sell more ink cartridges. Hmm maybe! It sure sounds like it to me.

[Schwin]

I lmao at your statement "just sell it" for what? lol $5 if I'm lucky.

[OrganizedIdiots]

I am not sure why the moderator edited my post the way they did. Doesn't make sense but what does with HP.

Anyway, Bob I thought that we were having some good conversation. Please don't grab the rip cord quite yet. You didn't address a few of the questions in my last post. If you or one of the other knowledgeable people could do so I would greatly appreciate the input.

I do think the other poster is correct... There is no real market for used printers of this quality. This does not help with our frustrations with HP.

Moderators this would be a very inopportune time to lock this thread. Great knowledge coming through I am sure you feel the same.

Thank you

[NOLALinda]

Hey Schwin!  I noticed you "kudo-ed" my post about George.  Read my longer post about HP inkjet printers in general.  I hope anybody who is having problems with these useless beasts reads it to save them time and frustration.

NOLALinda

[Schwin]

lol So now I get a private message saying I need to " Be respectful" haha you guys are too funny. Be respectful? What about you HP respecting us the customer just a little bit more instead of going all out to cover up the scams you guys have going on with your printers, your expiring printer carts, printers needing color carts to print black, printers using ink without even printing and whatever other scams you guys have going on. This whole forum is nothing but a big scam coverup. What a joke this place is. I do a simple search on Google "HP Printer Scam" and in less then 1 second I get back 403,000 hits, tells me something is fishy with HP. Talk about respect, right! It is not about the money I wasted on your product so Now I dare you to ban me from here....go for it. [Content Removed]