HP Photosmart 5520 printing blank pages

EL13 · ‎02-19-2018

I've had my HP Photosmart 5520 for years, and never had a problem printing or copying.

I recently changed the blank ink, which I ordered from HP, and now blank pages come out when I print or copy.

Of the four ink cartridges, only two have ink in them, but that has been like that for a while, and since I do most of my printing in black, it was never an issue.

The ink cartidges are all in correctly.

I did the diagnostic tests in Tools, and even had the HP online tool run a few tests, but it didn't help.

Any suggestions as to why the printer only prints and copies blank pages?

Thanks!

Dragon-Fur · ‎02-19-2018

@EL13

If, in the years since you purchased the printer, it has not been cleaned -- it may be time to do so.

Improving Copy Quality

Depending on your printer, it might be necessary that you have installed both color AND black ink.
For those printers that require color and black ink, a tiny amount of color ink is used to maintain and manage the printer, the printhead, the ink supply.

Printing with Black Ink Only (Windows)

Please ignore the information if it is not relevant to your particular printer model.

Reference

Printer Homepage – “Things that are your printer”

Drivers and Software, Videos, How-to, Troubleshooting, Manuals, Product Information, and more

HP Photosmart 5520 e-All-in-One Printer series

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Dragon-Fur

Dragon-Fur · ‎02-28-2018

@EL13

Thank you for the Private Message.

As a matter of personal choice and for our mutual benefit, I rarely answer forum questions in the private message arena.

__________________________________________________________________________

From: EL13

Sent: ‎02-28-2018 05:11 AM

Thanks for your response. I tried everything you suggested and still my printer is printing and copying blank pages.
How can I find out if the HP Photosmart 5520 printer is one of those printers that requires all the ink cartridges have ink in them? I’m not going to buy two new cartridges that I wont ever use if it’s not going to work.
I’ve been printing with only the black cartridge being full for years, up until very recently. Why would it stop working now?
Anyway, there is absolutely no way to reach out to HP with this question, so I’m hoping you can help.
Thank you!
EL13

__________________________________________________________________________

I cannot find any information to support printing with only the black cartridge in this model of Photosmart printer.

I could be wrong -- while the data appears to support the idea for all four cartridges (in place and functional), I cannot find explicit wording to confirm.

Printers that can function without the color ink might use just two cartridges: Tri-Color and Black

Interestingly, the same data indicates there should / would be an error message displayed when required cartridges are depleted (require replacement).

NOTE: If this error is indeed showing on the printer panel, you have no choice but to replace / install the depleted cartridge(s).

Reference

HP Inkjet Printers - Printing with Black Ink Only (Windows)

For those reading,

The printers listed in the following document require all ink cartridges to be installed and functional (have ink): HP Printers - Cannot Print When One of the HP Ink Cartridges is Empty

Ordinarily, when a cartridge is changed, (and assuming the printer is functional), an alighnment sheet will print -- the sheet includes instructions for placing the sheet on the printer to complete the alignment tests.

If the printer is dirty, this too, can cause issues with printing.

Black Ink Not Printing and Other Print Quality Issues

@Bob_Headrick

Do you have words of wisdom to share?

Thanks!

Thank you for participating in the HP Community Forum.

We are a community of HP enthusiasts dedicated to supporting HP technology.

Dragon-Fur

Bob_Headrick · ‎02-28-2018

Are there any error messages? The Photosmart 5520 has permanant printheads. All the cartridges need to be installed, although the printer may not complain if some colors are eempty. (Running with empty cartridges can damage the printhead, which could make it difficult to recover the colors that have been printed empty. Likely the colors that have been running empty for some time will not work again.)

The troubleshooting steps in the document here may help resolve black not printing on your Photosmart 5520.

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.

Bob Headrick, HP Expert
I am not an employee of HP, I am a volunteer posting here on my own time.
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