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Archived This topic has been archived. Information and links in this thread may no longer be available or relevant. If you have a question create a new topic by clicking here and select the appropriate board.
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@chaszz 

 

I have brought your issue to the attention of an appropriate team within HP. They will likely request information from you in order to look up your case details or product serial number. Please look for a private message from an identified HP contact. Additionally, keep in mind not to publicly post ( serial numbers and case details).

If you are unfamiliar with how the Forum's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.

 

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/First-Time-Here-Learn-How-to-Post-and-More/bd-p/Hello

I worked for HP.
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I have tried everything I can to get the HP Officejet 8600 to print in black only. If one of the cartridges is depleted you simply can't do it. This is clearly a feature built in to the unit to create profit. As if the printer itself wasn't expensive enough. A high capacity black cartridge and the color cartridges will set you back about $80. That's excessively high as compared to other printer brands that I've bought in the past. My opinion. Do NOT buy this unit or any other HP printers with this function. I am switching companies after having bought their products for the last 15 years both computers and printers. No more.

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BOTTOM LINE - LESSON LEARNED. DO NOT BUY HP PRINTERS ANYMORE. Profit is all that counts to them.

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This method simply does not work. You cannot print using the grayscale option if one of your cartridges is out. Period. This is very frustrating for us that get stuck on a project and cannot print it out unless we go to the store and spend anywhere from $25 to $40 for a single cartridge just to print a few pages. How would you like it if I could make your cell phone's screen go black where you couldn't see anything if you didn't pay your phone bill on time. You wouldn't? Too bad because I just want my money and don't care what you need or think. That's the type mentality you get with this type of issue.

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This is not a method to sell more ink, it is to protect the printheads.  THe Officejet 8600 has separate ink supplies and printheads.  If the printer were run without ink in one of the supplies the printheads would be waving around in the air during printing.  The color without ink would be in danger of ingesting air into the "plumbing" or clogging the printhead.  When the cartridge was replaced later it may require repair or printhead replacement to restore proper printing.

 

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.
    • Other printers have separate ink supplies and replaceable printheads.  An example would be the Officejet 7110 printer.  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 6700 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.

 

If you never print in color a laser printer would likely be a better choice.  If you occasionally print color but mostly black an IPH printer like those in the first category above may be a good choice.


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.


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All this tech talk does not make up for the following: when I went to the HP website and requested a chat with a technical person BEFORE  buying a printer, I specifically requested the model no. and name of a printer that WOULD print in black when the color cartridges were depleted. I was told the 8600 would do that, NO PROBLEM. THE NEXT DAY, TO BE DOUBLY SURE, I DID THE SAME CHAT WITH ANOTHER TECH. SAME RESULT. So these two people either lied or were incompetent PERIOD. And HP has refused to exchange the printer for one that would do that, as reported to me by a friend who has the other model. 

 

To be fair, they have agreed to supply two sets of color and black artridges for free. But when they are used up, I am cast adrift. NO MORE HP PRODUCTS FOR ME EITHER, EVER.

 

 

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Triadia, see my post on this page about having been given two sets of free cartridges after I complained.

 

[Moderator edited comment and pm will be sent]

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I will. Whoever said this wasn't intentional is delusional. I've had tons of HP inkjet printers over the years that ran out of ink and they would still work (comment made in reference to the fact that the print heads would dry up; sure wasn't a problem before!) I'm already looking at different brands. I didn't realize there were so many other brands to choose from.

 

Thanks.

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@Triadia wrote:

I will. Whoever said this wasn't intentional is delusional. I've had tons of HP inkjet printers over the years that ran out of ink and they would still work (comment made in reference to the fact that the print heads would dry up; sure wasn't a problem before!) I'm already looking at different brands. I didn't realize there were so many other brands to choose from. 

Thanks.


The printers you used before likely did NOT have separate printheads and ink supplies.  Printers such as the Deskjet 500, 600, 700, 800, and 900 series had a black cartridge with an integrated printhead (IPH) and a single tricolor cartridge, again with an integrated printhead.  There are hundreds of HP models that use IPH cartridges.  Printers with IPH cartridges are not prone to damage from running out of ink - when the cartridge is replaced a new printhead is included.

 

Printers with separate printheads and ink supplies (Individual Ink Cartridges, IIC) , with plumbing to connect them, can be more economical on a cost per page basis but can have other disadvantages. If a printer with permanent printheads is allowed to run out of ink there are several failure modes that may be induced:

 

  • Air in the plumbing.  This can cause ink starvation, deprime, and/or air in the printhead.
  • Air in the printhead.  This would lead to deprime and could lead to damaged firing resistors since the ink acts as a cooling fluid.  
  • Clogged nozzles.  The printhead nozzles are kept clear by periodically "spitting" ink that would otherwise dry out and clog the nozzles.  If there is air in the printhead then firing a printhead resistor will not expel the ink.

See my post above for information on different inkjet technologies.  The considerations there apply to HP printers as well as printers from different manufacturers.

 

Some printer companies use piezoelectric technology rather than thermal printheads.  These have different tradeoffs but are still subject to damage if allowed to run dry.  Piezoelectric printheads are less susceptible to damage from thermal effects due to air in the printhead but perhaps more susceptible to clogging due to less energy available to clear clogs.

 

In either case, if the printhead is damaged it can be expensive to recover in the IIC case.  For some printers the printhead is replaceable (but costly), other models have permanent printheads that are not replaceable.  In this case a damaged printhead would require service or replacement of the printer.

 

 

 

 


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.


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@Bob_Headrick wrote:

@Triadia wrote:

I will. Whoever said this wasn't intentional is delusional. I've had tons of HP inkjet printers over the years that ran out of ink and they would still work (comment made in reference to the fact that the print heads would dry up; sure wasn't a problem before!) I'm already looking at different brands. I didn't realize there were so many other brands to choose from.

 

Thanks.


The printers you used before likely did NOT have separate printehads and ink supplies.  Printers such as the Deskjet 500, 600, 700, 800, and 900 series had a black cartridge with an integrated printhead and a single tricolor cartridge, again with an integrated printhead.  There are hundreds of HP models that use IPH cartridges.  Printers with IPH cartridges are not prone to damage from runnong out of ink - when the cartridge is replaced a new printhead is included.

 

Printers with separate printheads and ink supplies (Individual Ink Cartridges, IIC) , with plumbing to connect them, can be more economical on a cost per page basis but can have other disadvantages. If a printer with permanent printheads is allowed to run out of ink there are several failure modes that may be induced:

 

  • Air in the plumbing.  This can cause ink starvation, deprime, and/or air in the printhead.
  • Air in the printhead.  This would lead to deprime and could lead to damaged firing resistors since the ink acts as a cooling fluid.  
  • Clogged nozzles.  The printhead nozzles are kept clear by periodically "spitting" ink that would otherwise dry out and clog the nozzles.  If there is air in the printhead then firing a printhead resistor will not expel the ink.

See my post above for information on different inkjet technologies.  The considerations there apply to HP printers as well as printers from different manufacturers.

 

Some printer companies use piezoelectric technology rather than thermal printheads.  These have different tradeoffs but are still subject to damage if allowed to run dry.  Piezoelectric printheads are less susceptible to damage from thermal effects due to air in the printhead but perhaps more susceptible to clogging due to less energy available to clear clogs.

 

In either case, if the printhead is damaged it can be expensive to recover in the IIC case.  For some printers the printhead is replaceable (but costly), other models have permanant printheads that are not replacable.  In this case a damaged printhead would require service or replacement of the printer.

 

 

 

 


Bob, I exchanged posts with you in February-March 2014 in this thread and quoted the manual I had. I described the manual and you said you would look into it. 

 

Is there a way to send you the PDF of it - somewhere I can upload it for you to see?  I assume you didn't find the one I have and which (I assume) the various sales people were referring to when they told customers it WOULD print with DEPLETED cartridges. 

 

How can I upload the manual here? 

thanks

 

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