My Officejet 3830 has starting printing out completely blank pages

[Framptoisolator]

When printing from PC (have tried numerous file types) the pages come out completely blank. The printer appears to be, and sounds like its printing, but the pages are blank. Have ran a self-clean of the cartridges, etc but nothing changed. When running a test page it prints out colours only, doesn't appear to be any alignment issues. Problems started when I recently changed the black ink but haven't seen any error messages come up. It will copy but again, colour only. Both ink cart's showing as full on the App. Have removed the black and inspected, no sign of damage.

[sandytechy20]

@Framptoisolator

Welcome to HP support community.

Manually clean the area around the ink nozzles

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 exterior door, and then grasp the handle and lower the ink cartridge access door to open it.

   The carriage moves to the center of the printer.

   

4. Wait until the carriage is idle and silent before you continue.

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

   

      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.

6. Hold the ink cartridge by its sides.

   

7. 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.

   

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

9. Clean the face and edges around the ink nozzle with the 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

10. Either let the ink cartridge sit for 10 minutes to allow the cleaned area to dry, or use a new swab to dry it.

11. Slide each ink cartridge at a slight upward angle into the empty slot, and then gently push up on each ink cartridge until it locks into place.

    

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

13. Close the ink cartridge access door.

14. Reconnect the power cord, and then turn on the printer.

15. 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.

16. Turn on the printer.

17. Open the exterior door, and then grasp the handle and lower the ink cartridge access door to open it.

    The carriage moves to the center of the printer.

    

18. Wait until the carriage is idle and silent before you continue.

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

    

       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.

20. Hold the ink cartridge by its sides.

    

21. 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.

    

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

23. Clean the face and edges around the ink nozzle with the 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

24. Either let the ink cartridge sit for 10 minutes to allow the cleaned area to dry, or use a new swab to dry it.

25. Slide each ink cartridge at a slight upward angle into the empty slot, and then gently push up on each ink cartridge until it locks into place.

    

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

27. Close the ink cartridge access door.

28. Reconnect the power cord, and then turn on the printer.

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.

[Framptoisolator]

Hi Sandytech, thanks for the advice but this is not the issue. Why would it produce a full colour copy (no black) and yet completely blank when printing?

[Jay_G24]

Try single-cartridge mode 

The printer you own can work in single-cartridge mode, wherein the printer will be able to print with one cartridge in the printer.which will help us identify if its a cartridge issue or a printhead issue 

To try single-cartridge mode follow the below steps:

remove the black ink from the printer, leave the color in and try printing 
then remove the color ink and, insert the black  in and try printing

[Framptoisolator]

Hi Jay,

Thanks for reply, interesting results! Leaving the colour cartridge in meant I got a nice crisp, clean printout with just black and dark blues (which should have been red). With just the black cart in I get rows of black dots vertically across the page, spaced about 1cm apart  

[Jay_G24]

As this is a cartridge issue, I'd suggest you Contact HP in your region regarding the service options for your cartridge/printer.

If you are having trouble navigating through the above options, it's most likely because the device is out of warranty. If yes? please send me a private message with the region you are contacting us from. Check next to your profile name, you should see a little blue envelope, please click on it.  

Have a great day! 

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