Printer does not print a self test

[Vinylpeople]

Printer used to print but not used for a while . Suspect it was faulty . Colour cartridges show as empty . Just added a new HP black cartridge as that showed empty . On ink jtest shows black cartridge with ink . Have gone through all the print head cleaning tests repeatedly but whilst the printer picks up paper and goes through the motions it does not show any black printing on the paper . Do all the cartridges including the colour ones have to have ink or should the printer run through self tests with just a black cartridge ? Does not show any error messages on the led panel and all the messages shown are as they should be . 

[Bob_Headrick]

The troubleshooting steps in the document here may help resolve black not printing on your Deskjet 3070a.  If the color cartrdiges were depleted the printer might block printing, but it would not go through the motions but not print black.

If the standard troubleshooting did not resolve black not printing I would suggest removing the black cartridge.  Turn it over and examine the area around the ink port.  There are four orange plastic spots, left over from the protective cap.  Make sure these are flush with the cartridge body, if not carefully trim them flush.  If the plastic nubs protrude they can prevent the cartridge from seating properly.  Before replacing the cartridge in the printer dribble a few (maybe four) drops of hot water into the ink port in the printer and two drops into the ink port on the cartridge then snap the cartridge back in position.

It may also help to manually clean the printhead as described in the post here.

I have also seen cases where leaving the printer overnight after the cleaning cycles allows black to recover.

If none of the above restores black printing your printer will likely require repair or replacement.