HP 6500 Office jet E709a - Black printer cartridge HP 920 not working

[windies1968]

I really appreciate all of your input regarding the black ink problem with the all in one 6500 wireless printers.  I am having the same problem.  I did soak the printerhead in hot water and a LOT of black ink came out of the printerhead.  I also cleaned out one small area where the black ink had glopped up in one small space.  I put it back in after drying and this has not helped it one bit.  I also re-started the unit and ran the quality print test, cleaned the printhead while in the unit and ran the align printhead.  All went well, but nothing has gotten any better.  The black print looks grey and is very faint.  All three colors work fine, but there is no black ink anywhere on any of the printouts I have tried.  I also checked the printer toolbox in the HP solutions area and there is NO problems at all with the ink quality or level.   My  unit is almost 1 year 6 months old and I have an extended warranty through Staples for 2 years.  I really don't want to drag the unit down there and I am not sure how long they will keep my printer while it is being worked on.  I have done some research and I am wondering if the printerhead just needs replacing.  I did read somewhere that most printheads need replacing about every year.  I am very comfortable working with electronics and wiring as I have re-wired lamps, installed dimmer switches and I replace all of my ballasts units in my fluorescent fixtures in my home.  So unlike other women, I am not intimated by electronics and I do enjoy fixing them on my own as long as it is not too involved.  In your opinion, do you think that purchasing a new printhead will fix this problem OR do I just need to take it to Staples to avoid purchasing a printhead and to where this does not fix the problem and I still have to take the unit to Staples.

[lisa_hester]

i clean printerhead , and still saying the same thing ?  Please help , Lisa

[bgcarl]

I also tried the hot water fix to no avail. After three tries, I was ready to box the printer (C310) and return it to the store. With nothing to lose, I again removed the print cartridges and print head and flushed with a vigorous stream of hot tap water directly on the screen port that the cartridge contacts as well as the print head. Flushing continued until I saw no more black ink traces while blotting the print head. The soak procedure apparently didn't sufficiently dissolve the ink inside the channel behind the print head as I never really saw much ink while blotting after several soaks. Anyway, the hot water fllushing finally did the trick and the printer works fine - for now. I think I'll have to print or copy some black text once a week or so as this is my second C310 with the same problem (I returned the first one before I tried this forum.) Guess this machine can't stand to be idle for very long with clogging. Never had a similar problem with previous HP printers.

[bgcarl]

I don't know if my previous reply came through - can't find it. Anyway, I tried the hot water soak method three times without success and was ready to box up the C310 printer and return it to the store. I returned a previous one for the same problem before I discovered this forum. With nothing to lose, I again remoced the cartridges and print head and vigorously flushed with hot water under the tap - directly on the little screen where the cartridge contacts and directly on the print head. I saw a lot more black ink washing away than with the soak method and It really did the trick. All is O.K. now. Guess these newer printers need to be exercised regularly to keep the ink from drying out. Never had this problem with previous models of HP printers. Will have to remember to print or copy something once a week.

Good luck,

bgcarl

[Dcamp]

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@Bob_Headrick wrote:

You can gently clean the gobs of ink with a moistened q-tip.  Do not contact the nozzle area.  Clean the contacts on the printhead and dry the assembly before reinstalling the printhead.

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Bob,

I have an HP 6000 (E609n) printer worked fine for a year. Had to change print cartridge twice (black). 2nd black was the large 920XL and it worked fine. Next change i tried another XL and no print. Called HP went thru the dog and pony routine and they finally sent out a new print head. New print head totally bad so went back to old print head with new inks and It worked with the small cartridge sent... I have identified the problem as the XL print cartridges. The small cartridges seem to be fine but the XLs load and show as full and ready but do not supply ink. What's your thoughts on this??? Is there different contacts that run the XL cartridge? Loved the printer utnil This all started. Now out of warranty...

[ojbiii]

I have the same problem with the black ink after only having the printer for a few hours. I've tried reinstalling drivers, cleaning contacts, cleaning the printhead and changing ink cartridges. Any other ideas?

[scottylass]

Hi there - just found this forum.  We bought a HP Photosmart Premium C309a in June 2010.  This was replaced in November 2010 because of squeaking noise.  Now we find the black cartridge will not come into play at all so anything printed in black delivers blank sheets.  Have tried new cartridge, have turned printer and pc off and on again, have tried to align but message says alignment failed.  I have read the recommendations of taking out the printhead and cleaning but I don't think should do this as I may invalidate the warranty.

We previously had an HP All in One and after 20 months had to replace it because the engineer we found to look at it told us the printhead was blocked and could not be replaced.  He said it could have been due to us not using HP cartridges, which we now do use.

If this problem cannot be solved then I shall certainly be looking at another make and model as I have lost all confidence in HP. 

[Bob_Headrick]

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@scottylass wrote:

Hi there - just found this forum.  We bought a HP Photosmart Premium C309a in June 2010.  This was replaced in November 2010 because of squeaking noise.  Now we find the black cartridge will not come into play at all so anything printed in black delivers blank sheets.  Have tried new cartridge, have turned printer and pc off and on again, have tried to align but message says alignment failed.  I have read the recommendations of taking out the printhead and cleaning but I don't think should do this as I may invalidate the warranty.[snip]

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If you do not want to try the method that has worked for many here because you fear voiding your warranty then I would suggest you Contact HP for warranty service.

[Bob_Headrick]

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@Maralana wrote:

I just changed the black ink cartridge for the first time and now it does not print at all.  I have a hp officejet 4500 G510 all in one printer, was very satisfied with it untill now, only had it a month, the ink cartridge are small & pretty expensive so they should still work.

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I suggest you follow the troubleshooting steps here.  Are there any error messages, or does the printer go through the motions of printing but with blank pages?

[dstamps7]

I have a deskjet 5650.  After reading all the above suggestions. I soaked the cartridge etc., couldn't locate printhead, but where I could ink I cleaned (best I could reach) with a cotton and alcohol.  Still no black.  Next solution please.