HP printer printing blank pages once new cartridge installed

[TShank]

HP Officejet Pro 6978

Black ink ran out (all other cartridges have been near empty, I just print in black and white anyways). I replaced the cartridge, like I've done in the past, and now it's printing blank pages. But Everytime I look at the cartridge level from my tests, it seems to be taking the black ink cause it keeps getting lower!

Tried all the troubleshooting I could find!

Unplugged printer from both ends and let it sit

Uninstalled and reinstalled cartridge several times

Blew around cartridge area to remove possible dust

Checked the air vent on the cartridge

Tried doing several print cleanings on the printer

It's the same exact cartridge I had before! I don't get it! Please help!

[Echo_Lake]

@TShank

Thank you for posting on HP Support Community.

Don't worry as I'll be glad to help, I have a few troubleshooting steps we could try to fix the issue:  

Perform a Hard reset on the printer and make sure that the printer is connected directly to the wall outlet and not to the surge protector.
(do not skip any troubleshooting steps if you feel steps are repeating) 

• Remove all the ink cartridges and then try to 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.
• Now insert the ink cartridges and then try to print a test page and check if it works.

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.

Alternatively, you can go through the steps suggested in the support document for - HP OfficeJet Pro 6900 Printers - Fixing Poor Print Quality

If the copy comes out bad, then I would suggest this could be a possible hardware failure with the printer. 

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

(1) Once the support page opens please select the country in which you're located. Next, enter your HP model number on the right.

(2) 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.

(3) Once completed click the 'Show Options' icon on the bottom right.

(4) Lastly, scroll down to the bottom of the page and select 'Get the phone number.' A case number and phone number will now populate for you.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance.
Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.