hp officejet pro 6970 not printing black

[Paul19768]

It wont print black....

How do i do a hard factory reset. (Only thing thats fixed HP printers with this error in the past) 

[DavidSMP]

@Paul19768,

Thanks for stopping by the Hp community and a very good day to you. I will be delighted to assist you here. Great description of the issue. It is amply appreciated.

• Did this happen after power outage or surge?
• Did you replace ink cartridges and check again?
• Did you check the ink levels of the cartridges?
• DId you try making photocopies in black directly from the printer and check if it copies in black correctly?
• Does it give you any error messages?

For now, try these steps:

• Please perform a hard reset on the printer from this link: https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-deskjet-f4500-all-in-one-printer-series/3944755/model/394475... and follow instructions from the section “Step 1: Reset the printer”
• Then update the printer’s firmware by following instructions from this link: https://support.hp.com/hk-en/document/ish_1776648-1643972-16
• Use a USB cable to update the printer’s firmware.

Now check if the issue gets fixed by making 2 copies in black directly from the printer without any communication from the computer.

If it fails to copy in black then perform all the prescribed steps from this link: https://support.hp.com/ph-en/document/ish_8586650-8598286-16 (HP OfficeJet 6900 Printers - Black or Color Ink Not Printing, Other Print Quality Issues )

• Step 1: Reinstall the print driver (Windows only)
• Step 2: Clean the printhead
• Step 3: Use genuine HP cartridges
• Step 4: Check for ink smears on the back of printouts
• Step 5: Make sure you are using the appropriate paper for your print job
• Step 6: Check the print settings
• Step 7: Check the estimated ink levels
• Step 8: Replace any low or empty cartridges
• Step 9: Make sure the ink cartridges are properly vented and seated correctly
• Step 10: Print a Print Quality Diagnostic Page
• Step 11: Examine Test Pattern 1
• Step 12: Align the printhead
• Step 13: Print another Print Quality Diagnostic Page
• Step 14: Examine Test Pattern 2
• Step 15: Clean the printhead
• Step 16: Print another Print Quality Diagnostic Page
• Step 17: Examine Test Pattern 3
• Step 18: Align the printhead
• Step 19: Print another Print Quality Diagnostic Page

These steps are critical to fixing the issue. Hence, perform these steps patiently. It should get fixed if the printer has no hardware issues.

Evaluating, the print quality diagnostics report for faded or missing colors and identifying the faulty cartridge is important. Then if the faulty cartridge is replaced the issue should get resolved as long as the printer has no hardware issues.

If this does not work, then the printer needs to be replaced. I am being honest about it here by keeping your best interest in mind. If the issue continues, I will send you a private message to assist you with the next course of action. Check your forum private message box in the upper right corner next to the bell icon. 

Good luck and keep me posted about the developments. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue and give the post a Kudos for my efforts to help. Thank you and have a great week ahead. 🙂