My OfficeJet 5258 has black ink but isn't printing black text.

[RM2020]

My OfficeJet 5258 has black ink but isn't consistently printing black text. On the test page, color portions print fine but black text and black lines are only slightly visible.  A pdf with only black text printed fine, but other pdfs with black text and color headers only printed the color headers.

[sandytechy20]

@RM2020

Welcome to HP support community.

Manually clean the area around the ink nozzles

1. Gather the following materials:

   • A clean, lint-free cloth or a clean, dry cotton swab

   • Distilled or bottled water

       caution:

     Do not use tap water because it might contain contaminants that can damage the printhead.

2. Gently grasp the handles on either side of the printer, and then raise the ink cartridge access door until it locks into place.

   The carriage moves to the center of the printer.

   

3. Wait until the printer is idle and silent before you continue.

4. Lift up the lid on the ink cartridge slot, and then pull up on the ink cartridge to remove it from the slot.

   

5. Hold the ink cartridge by its sides.

   

6. Lightly dampen a clean, lint-free cloth or swab with bottled or distilled water.

7. Clean the face and edges around the ink nozzle with the cloth or swab.

     caution:

   Do not clean the ink nozzle plate.

   

   1. Nozzle plate - Do not clean

   2. Area surrounding ink nozzle - Do clean

   3. Ink cartridge contacts - Do not clean

8. Wait for the cleaned area to dry before you continue (approximately 10 minutes).

9. With the nozzles toward the printer, insert the ink cartridge into its slot until it snaps into place.

   note:

   Install the color ink cartridge on the left and the black ink cartridge on the right.

   

10. Close the lid on the ink cartridge slot to secure the ink cartridge into place.

11. Repeat these steps to clean around the nozzles on the other ink cartridge.

12. Close the ink cartridge access door.

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

I hope that helps.

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

Cheers.

[RM2020]

Thanks, but the suggested solution didn't fix the problem.  As noted in the initial post, a pdf with only black text printed fine, but other pdfs with black text and color headers only printed the color headers.

[TEJ1602]

@RM2020

If you have already performed the steps from the document Black or Color Ink Not Printing, Other Print Quality Issues and the issue persists, it could be a hardware failure.

Please reach out to the HP Support in your region regarding the service options for your printer.

Hope this helps!

Please click “Accept as 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!