not printing

[Artsyme]

Its connected to my computer and acts like it is doing what it is supposed to do but there is no ink on the page

[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.

[Artsyme]

I have tried all your suggestions and it is still not working.  My problem now is wondering if it is worth fixing or with the cost of printers or is it just as cheap to get a new one

[Bob_Headrick]

If the steps above did not resolve the issue I would suggest going through them once more just to be sure.  These days it is not economical to repair printers.

If you are looking at a replacement printer you might take a look at the Envy series.  These have printheads integrated into the ink cartridge (known as IPH).  With IPH printers replacing the ink cartridges also replaces the printhead, which would resolve issues like the one you are having now with a clogged printhead.

In a pinch you can select Photo paper in the driver settings (even if actually printing on plain paper), this would force the printer to use only color ink even to print black text. You could also use photo paper and print pictures, this would also allow use of any color ink you have.