HP Photosmart C7280 Black Ink won't print

[nummysmom]

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with this problem.

I too have a HP Photosmart C7280 that won't print black ink.  Like the others, I've gone through all of the troubleshooting suggestions multiple times, with no luck.

I do plan on coming back on the 20th to ask the experts for help, but honestly, I don't have much hope of being helped. 

This whole issue has made me look at other brands besides HPwhen considering a new AIO.

[nummysmom]

I went back and read through all the rest of the posts in this thread.  I decided to try some of the extra suggestions.

I had already gone through all of HPs troubleshooting ideas 3 or 4 times with nothing helping. But with the suggestions I read here, I finally got it printing black!!  *does the dance of joy.....

I got out a long hat pin(the other person used a paperclip). I took the cartridge out, and gently pushed the hat pin into those tiny nozzles on/in the printer.  The pin went in about an inch or so, and I gently moved the pin around to try to remove anything that might be blocking the nozzle.  I then did the same thing on the cartridge......in the two holes.

Then...I shook the cartridge with the holes up....banging it against my hand to really shake things up. Then I put a paper towel down on my desk, and with the cartridge 'holes down', I banged it down on the paper towel a couple of times.

I put everything back together, then cleaned the printheads a few times.  The process lets you do a regular clean, then a more extensive clean.....I did that process twice.  And now it seems to be printing pretty good!

I do hope this helps you other folks...I know how truly frustrating this is!!

Good luck!

[johnehelps]

Another frustrated user.  Black ink failed after having the printer for over 2 years.  I pulled off the black cartridge, straightened out a small safety pin  to gently work into the 2 ink tubes that stick out the back of the the print head and then wrapped the cartridge in a paper towel and shook it gently.  I did not bang the cartridge against anything.   I also put the safety pin into the holes in the cartridge and gently worked it in through the rubber seal that prevents the ink from leaking.  It seems that the ink tubes on the print head can get clogged and may not be long enough to go all the way through the rubber seal on the cartridge.  When I put the cartridge back in, I rocked it side to side a little until I felt it seat firmly on the back of the print head.  Did one more head cleaning cycle and black ink is working, I am also dancing. 

Mileage may vary.

Good Luck

[STartre]

Yes, I've never used anything but original HP cartridges (brand new, never recycled) and my C7280 has stopped printing black.  All other colors work fine.  I've cleaned and reinstalled new cartridges all to no avail.

[nummysmom]

Just get a hat pin or a paper clip.  On the black ink cartridge there are holes where the ink comes out. Stick the pin into the holes and gently work them around.  Do the same thing on the tiny ink tubes(not sure how to describe them..lol) that are in the printer itself....where the cartridge sits.  They are really small but if you use a flashlight you'll see them.  Stick the pin in there and do the same....gently push it is and kind of work it around. The idea is to break up any blockage.

Then put the cartridge back in and run the "clean print head" thing a few times.

It worked for me, and alot of the other folks who have had the same problem.

Hope this helps.

[bartonlewis]

My C7250 would not print black at all. And the Alignment would always fail. Nothing online helped. I fixed it. Here is how.

1) Remove black ink cartridge.

2) Find a very small paperclip and unwind it so it is straight.

3) Repeatdly stick the paperclip into both the holes on the cartridge and the holes in the printer housing (where the cartridge plugs in to)

4) Rinse and repeat a few times

5) Replace ink cartridge

6) Clean  Heads

7) Align

I'm sure this won't work for everyone, but it did magically work for me, and I thought I'd pass it on.

Edit: Just noticed the post above me had the very same info. DOH!

[bartonlewis]

Update: This fix only last for a few prints. I got sick of it and dumped this printer.

[nummysmom]

Sorry to hear that.

SInce I used the hat pin trick, I've printedr over 50 pages and its still working fine.

[ItsJustAndy]

Black ink wont print on plain paper setting, chang it to "hp premium paper" and away you go. "Best" for quality, but thats default for hp premium, changing the setting to "Best" for plain paper makes no difference, it still wont print. Had this problem with 3 different HP printers now.

Let me know if this works for you?

Andy

[Bob_Headrick]

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@ItsJustAndy wrote:

Black ink wont print on plain paper setting, chang it to "hp premium paper" and away you go. "Best" for quality, but thats default for hp premium, changing the setting to "Best" for plain paper makes no difference, it still wont print. Had this problem with 3 different HP printers now.

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If HP Premium photo paper is selected the printer will print black using the color cartridges since pigmented black ink is not compatible with photo paper.  The printer will print much more slowly in photo mode and will put more ink than is intended on the page.

If black is not printing when you print a nozzle pattern from the printer then likely there is an issue with the printhead or the ink delivery system between the ink supplies and the printhead.