Printer 4520 ink problem

[stuck11]

Printer has been idel for 2 months. Went to print, page blank. Ran diganostics, plenty of ink. Cleaned heads 3 times. Now color is OK, black only showing light gray on test page. When try to print document, nothing comes through at all.

[MKazi]

@stuck11

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

I understand that you have an HP ENVY 4520 All-in-One Printer and the cartridges stopped printing after 2 months of being left idle.You have clean the cartridges and now the color ink prints fine. However, the blank cartridges prints light gray. Fabulous analysis. Spectacular diagnosis of the issue before posting. Kudos to you for that.

It is quite possible the ink has dried out. If the cartridges are left unused in the printer then the ink nozzles dry out and thereby the ink flow stops during printing. For additional details on how to store opened cartridges, you may refer to this link: http://hp.care/2kekmHU.

Meanwhile, before you go ahead and replace the black cartridge, please try to clean it manually and then try to print by following the below steps:

Figure: Hold the ink cartridge by its sides

NOTE: Do not touch the copper-colored contacts or the ink nozzles. Touching these parts can result in clogs, ink failure, and bad electrical connections.

Figure: Do not touch the contacts or nozzles

• Lightly moisten a foam-rubber swab or lint-free cloth with distilled water, and then squeeze any excess water from it.

• Clean the face and edges around the ink nozzle with the swab.

NOTE: Do not clean the ink nozzle plate.

Figure: Clean the area around the ink nozzle

• Nozzle plate - Do not clean

• Area surrounding ink nozzle - Do clean

• Ink cartridge contacts - Do not clean

• Either let the ink cartridge sit for 10 minutes to allow the cleaned area to dry, or use a new swab to dry it.

• Hold the ink cartridge by its sides with the nozzles toward the printer, then slide the ink cartridge forward into the slot.

• Close the lid on the ink cartridge slot to secure the ink cartridge into place.

• Repeat these steps to clean, then reinsert the other ink cartridge.

Hope this information helps. Keep me posted. Cheers! 🙂

[stuck11]

No luck. Afraid to use the more drastic options on YouTube. Guess I will have to buy a new cartridge, and that better work!

Thanks

[MKazi]

@stuck11

You are welcome. 🙂 I appreciate you taking your valuable time to troubleshoot.

Feel free to let me know how it goes. All the best! 🙂