HP Photosmart 5515 Not Printing Black

[Perry27]

Printer won't print in black ink.

I have tried cleaning the print heads, replacing the black cartridge, manual cleaning the print heads using a folder paper towel beneath the print heads, and doing a hard reset on the printer without success.

I have seen other posts related to this topic and it seems that the black print head is known for failing.

How does one clean a "clogged" printhead?  (If there is such a procedure.)

A previous posting mentioned that there was one more thing to try that requires a certain kind of reset on the printer but the instructions from the HP representative indicated that they would have to be sent in a private message.

This is a very nice multi-function printer and I would hate to have to throw it away because I was unable to print in black.

Perry 

[Jeet_singh]

Hi @Perry27,

Thank you for showing your interest in HP Support Forums. It is a great place to find the help you need, from other users, HP experts, and other support personnel. For you to have the best experience on the HP forum, you could also visit our HP Forums Guide for the First Time Here? Learn How to Post and More.

I understand you are having printing issues on your HP Photosmart printer. I'll be really glad to help you with this,

Please make sure that the printer is connected directly to the wall outlet and not to the surge protector.

Remove all the ink cartridges and then try to perform a Hard Reset on the printer.

* With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer and also unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.

* Remove USB cable, if present.

* Wait for 2-3 minutes, press and hold the power button on your printer for about 30 seconds to remove any additional charge.

* Now plug back the power cable straight to a wall outlet without any surge protector or an extension cord and then plug back the power cord to the printer.

* Turn on the printer and wait till warm-up period finishes and the printer is idle.

* Now insert the ink cartridges and then try to print a test document and check if it works.

Let’s first try and make a “photocopy” to determine whether the issue is with the printer or not. Place a document on the scanner glass and choose “Copy” option. If the printer is making a good copy, then the printer hardware is fine.

Check the print settings to make sure that they are appropriate for your print job. First, select your operating system.

Follow these steps to check the print settings for your print job.

1. In the program, you are trying to print from, click File, and then click Print. The Print dialogue box opens.

2. Select your printer, and then click the button that opens the Properties dialogue box. Depending on the software program, the button might be Properties, Options, Printer Setup, Printer, or Preferences.

3. Click the Paper/Quality tab.

4. From the Media drop-down, select the paper type that matches the paper loaded in the input tray and then select the desired print quality.

5. Click OK to apply the settings, and then click Print.

For more details, please follow the steps suggested in the support document - Click here

If the issue persists, I could try to send the steps to perform an Advanced reset on the printer through private message. 

Please check your Private message icon on the upper right corner of your HP Forums profile,

Next, to your profile Name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it.

Please reply back on the public post as this Private message box is not monitored.

I hope this helps resolve this issue completely,

Regards,

[sandytechy20]

@Perry27

Thanks for the super quick reply.

Superb job on trying the different steps to isolate the issue.

It seems to be the hardware issue.

I request you to contact HP phone support for assistance.

Cheers.

[Perry27]

Thank you for getting back to me.  Since my warranty is expired, your website does not provide me with a HP contact phone number.  Do you have a contact phone number that I can use to follow up on your suggestion to call HP Support?  I agree with you that the problem is most likely a hardware issue.  If this printer cannot be repaired, do you have any suggestions for a new mutli-function printer and is it possible to receive a credit towards a new HP printer?

Thank you.

Perry Figliotti 

[Riddle_Decipher]

@Perry27

It looks like you were interacting with @sandytechy20, but he's out for the day 

And I'll be glad to help you out.

Since the link shared by the last tech didn't do the trick,

You can utilize my link to get the job done 😉

Please check your Private message icon on the upper right corner of your HP Forums profile,

Next to your profile Name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it.

Please reply back on the public post as this Private message box is not monitored.

Keep me posted,

If the information I've provided was helpful, 

Give us some reinforcement by clicking the solution and kudos buttons, 

That'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Good Luck.

[Perry27]

Printer won't print in black.  Have tried multiple troubleshooting tips (hard reset, partial reset, manually cleaning the print heads per video instructions) to no avail.  Printer is out of warranty.  Do you have an estimated cost to replace print heads?  (Most likely not cost effective.)  Can you recommend a multi-function printer to buy if this one cannot be repaired for a reasonable cost?

I was hoping to be able to contact HP via the phone but no phone numbers are provided.  The link you provided was useless as I still do not have a phone number to contact HP and the "contact form" only allows me to contact HP via Twitter (which I do not use) since my printer is out of warranty. 

Thank you.

Perry

[Riddle_Decipher]

@Perry27

Thank you for the update,

I appreciate your time and efforts,

I understand your concern and to help you out, I have shared the direct contact number via the same private message, please check the same.

For your other queries its best you give them a call so that they may re-direct you to the right team and answer your questions.

I'm afraid I don't have an estimated cost or any other recommendation with me as off now.

Feel free to post your query for any other assistance as well,

It's been a pleasure interacting with you and I hope you have a good day ahead.

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, 

Mark my post as Accepted Solution.

And click on the Purple Thumbs up icon at the bottom of my comment.

Regards,

[Articblond]

I am experiencing the same problem.

After an exhaustive cleaning, the black was printing to about 80% of ideal. But, within 16 hours, and numerous "Clean Printhead" commands, I'm back to 1% black showing up.

I have performed all the indicated remedies.

May I also get the next level troubleshooting?

Thanks