HP 6978 won't print black ink

[stephcarter]

Help! My printer has stopped printing black ink. The cartridge is showing as almost full. I have cleaned and aligned the print heads, restarted it, checked to see if the cartridge is clogged, run diagnostics and nothing is showing up as wrong. It's just not printing black in  - just the faintest gray in some spots.

The problem started after I replaced the color cartridges. It started gradually with spotty printing, and now virtually nothing is showing up.

I bought the printer in August of 16 so it is still under warranty. I am a teacher and I need to be printing school materials NOW! Please help!!! Thank you!!!

[Jeet_singh]

Hi @stephcarter,

Thank you for showing your interest in HP Support Forums. It is a great place to find the help you need, from other users, HP experts, and other support personnel. For you to have the best experience on the HP forum, you could also visit our HP Forums Guide for First Time Here? Learn How to Post and More.

As I understand you are having printing issues on your HP OfficeJet Pro 6978 printer and I'd be glad to help you with this,

Let's try these steps here:

Please make sure that the printer is connected directly to the wall outlet and not to the surge protector.

First, remove all the ink cartridges and then perform a Hard reset on the printer.

* With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer and also unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.

* Remove USB cable, if present.

* Wait for 2-3 minutes, press and hold the power button on your printer for about 30 seconds to remove any additional charge.

* Now plug back the power cable straight to a wall outlet without any surge protector or an extension cord and then plug back the power cord to the printer.

* Turn on the printer and wait till warm-up period finishes and the printer is idle.

* Insert the cartridges and then try to print a test document.

If you’re running Windows, I would start by checking the installed printer software by downloading and running the HP Print and Scan Doctor. This tool can diagnose and fix many printing and printer software related issues. Please use this link to help you with that information: http://hp.care/2biN2XE 

Let’s first try and make a “photocopy” to determine whether the issue is with the printer or not. Place a document on the scanner glass and choose “Copy” option. If the printer is making a good copy, then the printer hardware is fine.

Please follow the steps listed in the support document - Click here

Keep me posted for further assistance,

If the information I've provided was helpful,

give us some reinforcement by clicking the solution and kudos buttons,

that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Good Luck.

[stephcarter]

Just so you know: it was a defective instant ink cartridge. When I finally got through to customer service, they sent me a replacement cartridge which was the wrong type for my printer. I bought a regular cartridge and now it is working fine. So no more "instant ink" for me.

[Betmajor]

Hi, I replaced my Officejet Pro 6978 cartridges with original HP cartridges (an XL for the black) and now the printer does not print black.  It also does not copy black.  I tried all the steps suggested in the forum, hard reset, etc. but no use.  I am using Apple.  I guess I'll buy another black cartridge and try again, but it is a pain.

[The_Fossette]

Hi @Betmajor

Welcome to the HP Forums!

Thank you for posting your query in this forum, it's a great place to find answers.

I reviewed your post and I understand that the printer is not printing black even with a new black cartridge.

Don’t worry, I’d love to help!

Follow the steps in the below article and check if it helps.

http://hp.care/2fdYivT

Let me know how it goes and you have a great day!

To simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue to get it resolved without hassles.

Take care.

Cheers!

[Betmajor]

Hi The Fossette,

Appreciate your effort but I had already taken all these steps and they do not help.

I'll go buy anothert cartridge and see whether a defective cartridge is the problem.
Should not happen though with a pretty new machine and a new cartridge.  No brownie points for HP.

Jack 

[The_Fossette]

Hi @Betmajor

Thank you for posting back.

Yes, it's a good idea to replace the cartridge and check.

Keep me posted and I hope you have a good day ahead.

Take care.

Cheers!

[gabuckeye88]

This happens every single time I change the ink cartridges.  

[RHONDA-123_piam]

We use this printer strictly as a copier.  I installed a new black ink , the colour ones are installed but never used. (They may be empty).  The copier was not printing and therefore we assumed that the black cartridge was empty and this is why we replaced it.  However even aftr replacing it, The copier still does not print.  I am getting clear white pages, with no hint of any ink.  There are no error messages, nothing to indicate that anything is wrong. I have turned the machine off, I have unpluged it, and have run out of ideas.

If you can help it would be appreciated.

Thank you

Rhonda

[DavidSMP]

Hi @RHONDA-123_piam,

Thanks for stopping by the HP community. A very good day to you. 🙂 I reviewed the post regarding issues with connecting the printer not copying in black even after replacing ink cartridges also. I will be delighted to assist you here. 🙂

Superb description and stupendous diagnosis of the issue before posting. Kudos to you for that. 🙂

For better clarity and to assist you better I would require information regarding this:

• Did this happen after a recent power surge or outage?

For now please try these steps:

Please perform all the prescribed steps from this link:  https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-officejet-pro-6970-all-in-one-printer-series/8289585/model/1... and check if the issue gets corrected. If it does not, then the printer has a hardware issue and needs to be replaced by contacting HP phone support.

HP Technical Support can be reached by clicking on the following link: http://h22207.www2.hp.com/us-en/?openCLC=true

• Once the support page opens please select the country in which you're located. Next, enter your HP model number on the right.
• Next, choose the 'Contact Support' tab at the top and scroll down to the bottom of the 'HP Support- Contact' page to fill out the form provided with your contact information.
• Once completed click the 'Show Options' icon on the bottom right.
• Lastly, scroll down to the bottom of the page and select 'Get phone number.' A case number and phone number will now populate for you.

They will be happy to assist you immediately. If the unit is under warranty repair services is taken care of by the manufacturer’s warranty

Please perform all these steps patiently as it is critical to resolving the issue. The trick is to remain patient, Going by your technical expertise and competence I am sure you will be able to perform these steps without breaking a sweat. 🙂

Hope this helps. Let me know how this goes. I genuinely hope the issue gets resolved without hassles and the unit works great.

To simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue to get it resolved without hassles.

Take care now and have a terrific week ahead. 🙂