HP Photosmart 5520 black ink not printing

[LT-69]

I have just put new cartridges in my printer HP printer 5520 and the black is not working at all, I spent 5 hours trying everything it suggests and still not working, I am at my wits end. The coloured ones are not that good and faint, I have cleaned the heads about 4 times now, why is this happening, ink cost a lot and cannot buy more if this happens again. The ink is not dry, please help. Regards Linda Taylor

[Bob_Headrick]

The troubleshooting steps in the document here may help resolve black not printing on your Photosmart 5520.  

If the standard troubleshooting did not resolve black not printing I would suggest removing the black cartridge.  Turn it over and examine the area around the ink port.  There are four orange plastic spots, left over from the protective cap.  Make sure these are flush with the cartridge body, if not carefully trim them flush.  If the plastic nubs protrude they can prevent the cartridge from seating properly.  Before replacing the cartridge in the printer dribble a few (maybe four) drops of hot water into the ink port in the printer and two drops into the ink port on the cartridge then snap the cartridge back in position.   

It may also help to manually clean the printhead as described in the post here. 

I have also seen cases where leaving the printer overnight after the cleaning cycles allows black to recover. 

If none of the above restores black printing your printer will likely require repair or replacement.

In a pinch you can print by selecting photo paper as the media type.  This will force the printer to use color even for black text.