HP ENVY 5540 ink cartridge problem

[ldome]

I recently installed an HP 74XL ink cartridge and I get an error message to remove and reinstall the cartridge. A regular sized cartridge works, but not the XL. I also noticed that the printer had HP 74 black and color cartridges installed when I purchased it, but a sticker on the inside shows it uses HP 62 ink. However, ink cartridge compatibility tables show these two inks are interchangeable. Should I go back to using only a regular sized cartridge; or try using HP 62 ink; or is there some way to get the HP 74XL cartridge to work? Does the printer need a new driver--I purchased this printer in Feb., 2016. Thanks.

[sandytechy20]

@ldome

Welcome to HP support community.

 Clean the electrical contacts

1. Gather the following materials:

   • Dry foam-rubber swabs, lint-free cloth, or any soft material that does not come apart or leave fibers (coffee filters work well)

   • Distilled, filtered, or bottled water (tap water might contain contaminants that can damage the ink cartridges)

        CAUTION: 

     Do not use platen cleaners or alcohol to clean the ink cartridge contacts. These can damage the ink cartridge or the printer.

2. Turn on the printer.

3. Open the ink cartridge access door by placing two fingers under one or both of the small handles on the sides of the ink cartridge access door and then lifting it up.

   Figure : Opening the ink cartridge access door

   

   The Door Open screen displays on the printer control panel with the message, The ink cartridge access door is open. Close the door to continue.

4. Disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer.

      WARNING: 

   To avoid the risk of injuries or electric shock, you must disconnect the power cord before reaching inside the printer.

5. Disconnect the USB cable, if the printer is connected to your computer with a USB connection.

6. Lightly press down on one of the ink cartridges to release it, and then pull the ink cartridge toward you out of its slot.

   Figure : Pressing down to remove the cartridge

   

      CAUTION: 

   Do not remove both ink cartridges at the same time. Remove and clean each ink cartridge one at a time. Do not leave an ink cartridge outside the printer for more than 30 minutes.

7. Hold the ink cartridge by its sides.

   Figure : Holding the ink cartridge by its sides

   

8. Inspect the ink cartridge contacts for ink and debris buildup.

      CAUTION: 

   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 : Avoiding touching the contacts or nozzles

   

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

10. Clean only the copper-colored contacts on the ink cartridge, and then allow the ink cartridge to dry for about 10 minutes.

    Figure : Clean the ink cartridge contacts

    

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

12. Use the swab or cloth to clean the electrical contacts in the ink cartridge slots, located inside the carriage in the printer.

    Figure : Cleaning the electrical contacts in the ink cartridge slots

    

13. Allow the carriage contacts to dry for about 10 minutes.

14. Reinsert the ink cartridge by sliding it into the empty slot, then gently pushing up on the ink cartridge until it snaps into place.

    Figure : Reinserting the ink cartridge

    

    • Reinsert the tri-color ink cartridge into the left slot.

    • Reinsert the black ink cartridge into the right slot.

15. Repeat these steps to clean the contacts for the other ink cartridge.

16. Close the ink cartridge access door.

    Figure : Closing the ink cartridge access door

    

17. Reconnect the power cord to the rear of the printer.

18. Reconnect the USB cable, if the printer is connected to your computer with a USB connection.

19. Turn on the printer, if it does not turn on automatically.

20. Try to scan again.

You can refer this HP document for more assistance:- Click here

Let me know how it goes.

To thank me for my efforts to help you, please mark my post as an accepted solution so that it benefits several others.

Cheers.

[ldome]

Hi,

I was away on vacation for several weeks, so now I'm back to trying to solve my printer problem. I thank you for your response, which I have tried with no success, so now I'm thinking somewhere along the line I made a mistake, or a salesman made a mistake in suggesting I use HP 74 ink, when the printer has an internal tag saying it uses HP 62 ink. The problem is the HP Photosmart C5540 uses HP 74 ink,(which was my previous printer) but the HP Envy 5540 uses HP 62 ink. Because the regular size HP 74 cartridges worked for the last 3 years, I thought they were interchangeable, but in checking the HP printer/ink tables, it only shows the HP Envy 5540 using the HP 62 ink. So when I tried installing an HP 74XL cartridge, the printer sent a defective message. If you agree with my logic, my next step is to buy an HP 62 ink cartridge and see if that works. Thanks again.

[Raj1788]

@ldome

Keep me posted on how it goes!

Note: using different ink cartridge might damage the ink system of the printer.

Have a great day!

Cheers 🙂