My HP Photosmart Plus B210e printer won't print black ink, only gray/color.

[yelercorvette]

My faithful HP Photoshop Plus 210e printer stopped printing in black ink last week. It prints color beautifully, but where ever there should be black it only comes out as gray or a blank spot. I've tried two new ink cartridges, cleaned the print heads, reinstalled the driver, all to no avail. I tried to align the printer, but it gave me a fail message. Please help, I desperately need to be able to print for school! I have Mac 10.8, so I couldn't do the online trouble shooting.

[AlwaysNeon · Accepted solution]

Alright, sounds like you might have clogged or dry print-head. What I am going to suggest is that you first use the Tools menu under Setup to clean the print-heads at least three times. If that does not improve your print quality (PQ) or if you have already don that, I would suggest that you remove the print-head and clean the back of the cradle using a lint-free cloth (like a coffee filter) and some water. The section you will want to clean will have raised copper bumps where the printer makes electrical contact with the print-head. 

If that fails, here is a non-conventional way of resolving the problem which has worked in the past : 

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Other-Printing-Questions/HP-6500-Office-jet-E709a-Black-printer-cartrid...

Let me know how that goes and respond back here! 

I hope you are having a wonderful week, and I hope that the weather where you are located is as beautiful there as it is here! 

-Spencer 

[yelercorvette]

Thank you so much! Cleaning the print heads multiple times and the coffee filter trick worked wonders! I really appreciate your easy to follow and timely response!

[AlwaysNeon]

That is wonderful to hear, I very much enjoy making sure that the experience that I have with each and every customer is worthwhile, informational and, above all else, helpful. I am glad that you are back up and running and if you ever have any other experience which you might need assistance or if you would like to ask a question for feedback, we on the forum are here nearly 24-7. 

I hope you are having a wonderful week, and I hope that the weather where you are located is as beautiful there as it is here! 

-Spencer 

[k8hobbies]

This has happened to me three times in the last year. The printer is less than two years old.
First time, it magically started printing black again after I tried unplugging and plugging back in all cables. After I spent two hours trying to get it to print black via preferences, un-installing the printer adn re-installing it,  etc.
After unplugging and replugging one more time - it started again.

The second time, it started printing black again one day later (24 hours)  after all of the above was tried unsuccessfully.

This third time, it took five (5!) days - I was ready to go get a non-hp laser printer - when it magically started printing again.
This happened, I believe, all three times when the black ink cartridge got low and I replaced it with a new HP ink cartridge.

My advice? replace your ink cartridge, try printing. Nothing? Let it sit 24 hours to see if will print.

I don't see how soaking the print head would help since it was printing fine before it ran low on black ink.

[SuperMario1]

Hello k8hobbies. I understand you are experiencing horrible ink quality when printing with your printer. I am going to provide you with some troubleshooting that can potentially assist you with this predicament: http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c01770033

The document does mention soaking the print head, however, it is a valid troubleshooting step. Just ensure you soak it in warm water, and immediately dry it with a lint-free cloth or coffee filter.

This issue is a common occurrence for any printer that uses ink cartridges. Some people experience it more than others. Regular printer maintenance is always suggested and helpful.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Mario

[Oakcrum]

Hello.

My printer will not print black ink.  I tried cleaning the printerhead 3 times and took it out and cleaned it as well.  The ink status screen is showing that the black cartidge has ink, but is not printing.  The other colors on the status screen show a "?" but are printing in those colors.  Are there any other troubleshooting tips I can try?

Thanks

Shawn O.

[marleycat25]

just put in a new ink cartridge and it won't print in black.   is there a way to clean something?  could something be clogged?

[rb011]

Hi @marleycat25,

Thanks for reaching out to the HP Support Forums for a solution to your printing issue.

I understand that you have put a new black ink cartridge into your HP Photosmart 7510 e-All-in-One Printer and the printer is not printing black. I would like to help with that.

It is possible that there may be some clogging going on inside the printhead. Here is the support document intended for use with this issue - Color or Black Ink Not Printing.

Please let me know if this resolves the issue, or if you require further assistance.

In fact, if this helps you to reach a solution please click the "Accept as Solution", and the "thumbs up" buttons down below in this message. 🙂

Thanks!

[j-o-e]

Same thing with me and my 2540 Hp printer,I was about to buy a new printer after this happened to me with 3 black cartridges and failing to get any answer or help with this.....then I decided to try one last thing and that was to take out the cartridge then switch the printer off at the mains and clean the electrical part on the cartridge and also the electrical part in the printer were the cartridge makes contact with it ,,, then I put the cartridge back in and switched it on and printed a test page and it printed  perfectly and is still going strong,,,,,,it saved me 50 quid.