Photosmart C410a fails to print black

[deepwater]

C410a  stopped printing in black. No error messages appeared. Ink supplies indicator showed somewhat low level for black, but not empty. Went thru test prints and head cleaning which showed clear color swatches, but no black. Replaced with new, full black 564XL cartridge, but printer failure continued in black. Repeated printhead cleaning without success. Have repeated cartridge removal and reinsertion to ensure correct fit.

[Bob_Headrick]

The document here may help resolve black not printing with your Photosmart c410a.  Be sure to check the vents as shown in solution six.  If the above does not resolve the issue the post here may help.

[deepwater]

The vents appear to be more than clean. In the process of unwrapping the orange Pull strip, the entire covering of the top vent was stripped off. I did scrape some areas of the serpentine shaped channel to ensure this, but to no avail.

[Ciara_B]

@deepwater 

Have you tried Bob's suggestion of soaking the printhead in hot water? It's worth a shot if the printer is out of warranty

[deepwater · Accepted solution]

Ciara_B, thank you for the caring post. Yes, I did try Bob's suggestion. It was quite an adventure! As expected, considerable ink washed off the framework. At the end, no joy. After some fuming and strong drink, I abandoned all hope for the weekend. During the Tuesday following, I took a shot at printing, and miraculously, the black print worked OK. 

At this point, I'm puzzled as to how or what might have effected the cure, having changed black ink cartridges twice before the "soaking" procedure. Given the little effect on HP revenue, I'me reluctant to consider this as a company plot to sell more cartridges. However, I'm open to suggestion.

Thank you again. 

Deepwater

[392883footsalor]

I have tried everything in the book and then some - but still no printing in black from the C410a printer.

The garbage bin is next for this instrument . /

[marshrain]

Thanks Bob - Followed your instructions for my C410, removed and cleaned the printhead with bottled water and a coffee filter.  Pleased to say the black is flowing once again.  Much appreciated.