HP Photosmart C309a won't print after installing new black ink cartridge.

[Lonecoyote69]

Just as a follow up on this, take the time to reach in and clean the small sponge where the cartridge sits and rests when not in use, you will find there is a lot of build up there of black ink.
Be gentle and pull out the sponge with a long wood skewer, wash it out then dry it and replace it back where you got it from.
Clean as much as you can of excess splattered ink and you should be set.
I had never done this on previous post and thus I had to clean it 2 more times, since I have cleaned the sponge I have not had an issue.
If the sponge is not dealt with you will find yourself cleaning every month or so.
Hope this helps.
Lc

[junegate]

Hi Honor Student

Thanks again for the new info.  The last fix was great, but not perfect.  So I am going to do this other operation now.  I will have another beer later! 

Thank you ....... don't know what I'd do without you. 

Junegate

[Billh0746]

I have used the REAL SOLUTION from UnemployedEGR on this forum multiple times and it works like a charm. Don't be too aggressive with getting the unit dry--i.e., don't use your compressor, but you can use canned air as long as you follow the instructions on the can. I understand there may be some risks with this solution, but the alternative is to buy a new print head or a new printer so I think its well worth the risk. I certainly hope UemployedEGR is employed by now, but I am very happy that he gave us this solution.

[RPG_ash]

Had to do a Clear Print Head 3 times before black would print ok.

All pages were blank untill after the 3rd Clean Print Head option was run.

[littlegator]

help! I can't remove my cartrige-there is no lever or switch i can find. I have a b111-H (photosmart 5510)that takes 564 cartridges.

There is no place i can find on the printer or main ocmputer(mac Lion) where i can type in a clean head command.

[littlegator]

i foudn the clean print head on the touchscreen. now the black is slowly improving after 4 cleans but still pretty bad. the colors were fine at first but now the blue has gone streaky.  replaced the balc yesterday with a new hp cartride. for the colors i meant o do the same but accidentally got a refill kit so i used it, though i would rather have had new cartridges.

it keeps telling me i'm low on magenta, but has never said i am low on black.

[FLJennie]

Thank you, thank you, thank you UnemployedEGR!

---

@UnemployedEGR wrote:

REAL SOLUTION. I had same experience, spent hours pulling my hair out as kids had project do at school and it was 10pm.  Your carriage is clogged! HERE IS THE FIX!! : 1) Remove all ink cartridges. 2) Remove carriage that the ink cartridges ride in by lifting lever on right and lifting the carriage vertically. 3) Wipe off any ink build-up visible on outside with clean rag or paper towel. 4) THIS IS THE KEY: Hold carriage under hot flowing water to flush all ink from the irrigation channels which distribute ink. Keep rinsing until water in clear i.e. no signs of ink. 5) Dry carriage with clean rag and blow into areas you can access to flush water remnants. 6)Let carriage air dry over night. 7) Re-install carriage, then re-install ink cartridges. 😎 ENJOY YOUR PRINTER. 9) I have seen numerous entries on this topic dating back two years, with no real solution offered. I am an unemployed Auto Engineer. If HP (or anyone else) would like to hire an intelligent, hardworking Engineer in Detroit area, please inform. Thank you!

---

You are a genius!  My printer is back up and printing as if it was new!

[NZ6126]

UnemployedEGR is a GENIUS!  It's WORKS BEAUTIFULLY! My husband and I didn't let it dry overnight (executive decision made by us both) but towled it off and shook it a lot until sprinkles of water were no longer coming out.  We were ready to just buy a new printer if it didn't work because printer is already 3 years old.  THANK YOU!

[sfk]

was about to get new printerafter cleaning and new cartridge failed but read a post suggesting a re-install of software. Success.

[Billh0746]

Glad you had success. I finally got to the point where cleaning the printer head didn't work at all. So I broke down and got a new HP Officejet Pro 8600. Wow, what a  difference. The cartridges are bigger and more reliable. And they tell you exactly when to change cartridges. I'm really happy now, and no more print heads to clean.