How do I contact a human being who works for HP?

[bodmin1]

I am trying to contact a human to ask why I have a new black ink cartridge that my printer is telling me is empty. I installed it a week or so ago and printed off the alignment page etc and one item.   Today apparently the cartridge is empty...........

[TEJ1602]

@bodmin1, Welcome to HP Support Community!

Do the cartridges show low ink in the ink level monitor, or are they actually running out of ink as evidenced by deteriorating print quality?

There are a few things to prevent excess ink usage:

• The printer should always be plugged into a live outlet.  If you use an external switch such as an outlet switch then more ink will be used at each startup.
• Do not run cleaning cycles from the computer's toolbox or the printer's front panel.  These are rarely needed (perhaps once for each half dozen cartridges) and will use ink.
• Printing in Draft mode may have acceptable quality while providing about 2x the pages of Normal or Best modes.  

I hope that answers your concern adequately. Let me know!

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

[bodmin1]

I purchased a black ink cartridge 301 for my HP2542 a few weeks ago from an Asda store.  As with previous cartridges I fitted it and the printer went through through the alignment process after printing the test page.   I then used the printer to print off a letter, just one short page.

After 2 weeks I tried to print off another letter, it printed the first 4 or 5 lines then was blank, and have been unable to print anything since. I tried the HP scan doctor app I have on my laptop and also the website, when running a diagnostic check from one or the other I was informed the cartridge was either not genuine or was empty!!  As I say I bought it at Asda and it was in what seemed to be genuine packaging and of course cost me a lot of money.

I removed the cartridge and replaced it back in the printer and tried switching the printer off and then starting again, I tried printing a test page , no black characters were printing, and the check then told me it was out of ink, no warning signs are shown on the printer control panel.

Trying to find an answer on the website is hopeless and there is no way I could find to talk to or contact an actual person who can understand the problem. If this cartridge is indeed empty then I have been duped, I don't have the packaging nor the Asda receipt as once the cartridge seemed to print properly thet were of no further use to me.

I have now borrowed a black cartridge from my friend's printer (the same model of course) to test, the cartridge is of no use to her as she cannot get her printer to work either. She has been trying to uninstall and re install without any luck as the instructions given by yourselves is to connect the printer to the router but the printer does not have a standard network connection!!! so she is ready to throw the thing away. I have great sympathy with her, the printers and the 'assistance' are very frustrating.

Maybe you can assist.

Thanks

[TEJ1602]

@bodmin1

We shall escalate this issue to the concerned team.

Please look for a private message from me requesting additional information. Keep in mind not to publicly post personal information (serial numbers and case details).

If you are unfamiliar with how the Community's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.

Thank you for visiting the HP Support Community.

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!