I have HP Officejet Pro 8620. Requiring at least 3 ink cartridges all at same time

[Vicki7]

I have the Officejet Pro 8620. Mac Computer OS X  10.7.5.

 I print all different documents, many of them black only, some in various colors in all different colors and different amounts of each color, many just one color - pink, purple and burgundy more often than any other colors.  NO consistency in color usage AT ALL.  

I was printing an ebook, mostly black, but with titles and other small details in various colors, and it stopped printing and displayed a message saying to replace the CYAN cartridge to continue printing.  I did.  And I pressed OK to continue printing.  It immediately came up with a message to replace MAGENTA cartridge.  I thought it very odd that they both could have run out at EXACTLY the same time since I don't use the colors at the same time or in the same amounts EVER.  But I had no choice but to replace it.  I pressed OK to continue printing, and it came up with a message saying to replace the BLACK cartridge. Now I knew something wasn't right.  It would be impossible for 3 cartridges to run out on the exact same page, when I use all different colors in different amounts every time I print.  

I clicked on the HP icon on my computer and on the Supply Levels icon.  It shows CYAN one-fourth full even though I just replaced it. It shows yellow over half full, black almost EXACTLY half full.  It says "Magenta Unknown" even though Magenta is full because I just replaced it.  

I have a feeling if I replace the black cartridge, it will immediately tell me to replace the yellow.  This is wasting ink, and ink for these printers isn't cheap, so I don't want to keep putting new cartridges in it one after the other.  And if I DO put in all 4 new cartridges, what's to say it won't start over and say to replace CYAN?

I just noticed that at the bottom of the Supply Level window on my computer it says "Supply Levels shown are approximate.  Last updated 4/19/16."  Why would it not have been updated since 2016?  I use the printer every week and always from this computer.

Next I looked on the printer screen itself to see if there was a place to see ink supply.  Yes.  It does show a full CYAN and full MAGENTA, an empty black and an almost empty yellow.  Is this possible?  The last time I replaced cartridges it was not all at the same time.  Every cartridge was put in at an entirely different time. I do a lot of printing in pink, purple and burgundy.  Almost nothing in yellow, green or orange.  Is it possible for three cartridges to run out on exactly the same page of printing, and the fourth one to be almost empty? Or is something most likely malfunctioning?  And how do I fix it?

Thank you!

Vicki 

[MKazi]

@Vicki7

Let me take a moment to thank you for posting on the HP Support Forums. 

I understand that you have an HP Officejet Pro 8620 e-All-in-One Printer and prompted you to replace one ink cartridge after the other. I read that you still haven't replaced the black and yellow cartridges yet. Also, the ink levels shown are not correct. The Cyan and Magenta are new full ink cartridges. When you checked the ink levels from the printer screen, it shows that the Cyan and Magenta are full. And black is empty and yellow is almost empty. Not to worry, I'll do my best to help you.

To provide an accurate resolution, I need a few more details: 

• If you press the OK button then it allows you to continue. 

It could be a printhead issue as it might not be reading the ink levels correctly. 

Meanwhile, I recommend you to perform the following steps to isolate the issue and arrive at a fix: 

• Disconnect the power cable from the printer while the printer is still ON.
• Disconnect any other cables if connected the printer.
• Press and hold the printer’s power button for 15 seconds.
• The printer should be directly connected to the wall outlet and not to a surge protector. Reconnect the power cable to print and the printer should power ON by itself. If the printer doesn’t power ON then please manually power it ON.

If the issue persists then I suggest you to perform the steps as described in detail in this link. Though the suggested steps help to fix ink system failure errors, they will still help in fixing other printhead-related issues.

NOTE: You may skip "step2" and continue with the remaining steps.

I sincerely hope this fixes the issue. Let me know. Good luck! 🙂