black ink is not printing

[Georgina4]

My black ink cartridge is full however my printer will not print out in black ink. The colour ink is working fine. I have tried re-inserting the catridges and cleaning the cartridges but nothing seems to work. The printer will look and sound like it is printing out but the paper is blank. Please help me with this. I have wondered whether the ink cartridge itself is faulty.

[Jeet_singh]

@Georgina4,

Welcome to the HP Forums 🙂 I would like to take a moment and thank you for using this forum, it is a great place to find answers. For you to have the best experience on the HP forum, you could also visit our HP Forums Guide for First Time Here? Learn How to Post and More. I see from your post that you are having issues with printing in black from your HP Envy Printer. Don't worry we're here to help you.

To provide you with an accurate solution, I'll need a few more details:

Have you recently made any changes before the issue started?

Did you try to update the printer firmware? Have you tried to align the cartridges?

Have you tried to check the print settings?

Have you tried to print the self test page or print quality test report?

In the meantime, let's try these steps here: 

Let's start off by updating the printer firmware. If your printer connected wirelessly, make sure to temporary connect the device with USB and then follow the link to install the latest firmware update on your printer from our HP support website. Alternatively you can also try to update the printer firmware directly from the printer control panel.

For more details on how to update, please use this link: HP Printers - Updating or Upgrading Printer Firmware

If the issue persists, I would suggest here is to do a hard reset on the printer and make sure that the printer is connected directly to the wall outlet and not to the surge protector.

With the printer turned on, disconnect the power cord from the rear of the printer and also unplug the power cord from the wall outlet.

Remove USB cable, if present.

Wait for 2-3 minutes, press and hold the power button on your printer for about 30 seconds to remove any additional charge.

Now plug back the power cable straight to a wall outlet without any surge protector or an extension cord and then plug back the power cord to the printer.

Turn on the printer and wait till warm-up period finishes and the printer is idle.

If you’re running Windows, I would start by checking the installed printer software by downloading and running the HP Print and Scan Doctor. This tool can diagnose and fix many printing and printer software related issues. Please use this link to help you with that information: http://hp.care/2biN2XE 

I would suggest here is to Print the Print Quality Diagnostic Report. 

If the diagnostic report fails then I would suggest you follow the steps once again to clean the ink cartridge contacts 

Alternatively you can try and make a “photocopy” to determine whether the issue is with the printer or not. Place a document on the scanner glass and choose “Copy” option. If the printer is making a good copy, then the printer hardware is fine.

If the copy comes out bad or the Print quality diagnostic report fails, then I would suggest here is to follow the steps suggested in the support document for - HP Printers - Black or Color Ink Not Printing, Other Print Quality Issues

If the copy comes out fine, then I would suggest here is to check the print settings - 

Check the print settings for your print job in Windows 8, Windows 7, or Windows Vista.

1. In the software application you are trying to print from, click File, and then click Print.

   The Print window opens.

2. Open the Properties dialog box.

   Depending on the software application, the button might be Properties, Options, Printer Setup, Printer, or Preferences.

3. Depending on your print job, you might consider modifying the following settings:

   • Paper Type: If you are printing on photo paper, select the type of photo paper you are attempting to print on.

   • Print Quality: If you are dissatisfied with the quality of your printouts, increase the print quality. To print more quickly, decrease the print quality. These options typically include Best, Normal, and Draft modes.

   • Paper Size: If you are printing on a different size of paper than you normally print on, select the correct paper size.

   • Black and White: If you want to print in black and white only, select the grayscale option.

4. After selecting the print settings, click OK to apply the settings, and then click Print.

If this does not help, then I would suggest here is to uninstall the printer drivers and then reinstall the printer software by following the steps below: 

• Press “Windows key” + “r” to get the “Run” window.
• Type "services.msc" to get Services – Go to “Print spooler” – Right-click and “Stop” the service.
• Now again open "Run" - Type “spool” and ok - Go to PRINTERS folder - delete everything in that folder.
• Go to services again - Start the print spooler.
• Now check for issue resolution.
• If the issue persists, also try clean installing the printer drivers. Here are the steps:
• First, unplug the USB cable from the printer if present.
• Go to Control panel – Programs and feature – Select all the HP Envy printer entries and uninstall them.
• Now go to Control panel – Devices and printer – Select all the printer entries and remove the device.
• Press the "windows key" + "r" to get the "Run" window open - Type "printui.exe /s" (There is a space between .exe & /) and press enter.
• Under print server properties, go to drivers - remove any entry there as well.
• Again, go to the Run window, type – “c:/programdata” – Go to Hewlett Packard folder, remove any printer related folders & files.
• Restart your computer.
• Please click here (Please enter the product number and then select the correct Operating system and version of Windows before downloading and installing the printer software).
• Connect the USB cable if prompted and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Could you please respond to this post with the details and with the results of the troubleshooting as this will help me in further assisting you.

Eagerly waiting for your response!

that said, If the information I've provided was helpful, 

give us some reinforcement by clicking the solution and kudos buttons, 

that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Good Luck.