hp photosmart 6510 won't print black.

[peb55]

 I have done all the troubleshooting many times, still nothing.  

When I print the printer status report, there are black brackets around each color, but no black rectangle in the black space.  I have tried copying a printed document (no color) and the page is blank.  I have cleaned the black cartridge screen gently with a paper towel, still nothing.  I've tried 2 new black cartridges.  Printer was working fine, then this.

[Bob_Headrick]

The black brackets in the test page are actually printed with the color inks, mixing to appear black.  For the printer not printing black the troubleshooting steps in this page may help resolve the issue.

[peb55]

I have done all of the trouble shooting except the service part.  I have only had the printer a little over a year, so I was hoping that I could fix it myself.  Is there anything that I can clean?

[Bob_Headrick]

There are a few things folks have suggested worked for them.  One of these may help:

• Turn on the printer.  Open the lid as if you were going to change a cartridge.  Remove all the ink supplies and set them aside.  Disconnect the power (and USB cable if applicable) from the printer for a minute. Close the printer cover. Plug the power cord back in and when prompted to replace the cartridges and then reconnect the USB cable if you are connected by USB.  

• Turn on the printer.  Open the lid as if you were going to change a cartridge.  Use a damp cotton swab to gently clean the underside of the printhead.  A flashlight may help.  

• Leave the printer on overnight and try printing the next day.  Some users have reported the printer recovers after some time.

• Remove the black cartridge and use an eyedropper to drip water into the screen where the ink supply meets the printhead.

• Request a reset procedure as described in this thread.  (This may not be available for this model, but worth a try.)  Reading the entire thread may turn up other suggestions.

I am sorry I do not have a better answer.

[gro933]

Hi, similar problem w/photosmart 309g-m; tried most of what you did and then again. Just took a dry q-tip and tried to clean the screen for the black cartridge; better and will probably try again to clear it more. Ran the clean printhead and alignment and seems to be better. Good luck

[Bob_Headrick]

To troubleshoot issues with the c309g not printing black see the document here.  If that does not resolve the issue the post here may help.

[pman474]

Help!!! I am having the SAME problem as You are, after changing my ink cartridge tonight. Our printers are the same age as well. How did you get this issue fixed?? Thnx...

[Bob_Headrick]

---

@pman474 wrote:

Help!!! I am having the SAME problem as You are, after changing my ink cartridge tonight. Our printers are the same age as well. How did you get this issue fixed?? Thnx...

---

What printer model? If it is the Photosmart 6510 see the post here. 

[amp36 · Accepted solution]

I found a fix! My printer was also not printing black, but I knew it wasn't an ink problem because it was a new cartridge, I cleaned the printhead using every suggestion I could find, and on the test pages it was printing black brackets around the colored lines. It was a software problem.  Another post suggested using alternate drivers for a paper size error. Please see the link below on how to choose alternate drivers....

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Printer-All-in-One-Software-Drivers/How-to-Assign-Alternate-Print-Drive...

I chose HP Photosmart 3300 drivers because that printer had similar features including wireless printing. It worked! Hope this helps!

[pman474]

Thanks a lot for the response!!! What I ended up doing was taking the cartridge I had installed (it WAS new) back to the store, and exchanging it for another New cartridge. Well, it printed fine after that! So, maybe it was really a cartridge issue??!