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HP Printer Not Printing Black [Solved For Good]
Always remember to add a genuine Hewlett-Packard cartridge to the printer.
5 min. read
Updated onOctober 4, 2023
updated onOctober 4, 2023
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Hewlett-Packardprinters usually print documents without any hiccups. However, some users have stated on forums that their HP printers don’t print black ink.
Most users will, at first, no doubt assume that theirprintershave run out of ink. However, theprintersdon’t print black, even though the cartridges still include some black ink.
There are some easy methods to fix the HP Printer not printing black issue, so be sure to check them out below. We have solutions for when your printer won’t print in black but has ink.
How can I fix the HP Printer not printing black issue?
1. Clean the printhead
HP printers with clogged printhead nozzles don’t usually print black ink. Thus, cleaning the printhead is a solution discovered by some users whenever their HP Printer won’t print black.
Note that you might need to do that a few times to fully restore print quality. How you clean a printhead can vary slightly between different HP printer models.
You can usually select aDeep CleaningorClean Printheadoption from aPrinterMaintenance menu on an HPprinter’s control panel.
Selecting that option might then print a page showing some pattern output for various colors.
So make sure there is some paper loaded in theprinterbefore selecting to clean the printhead. Check out yourprinter’s manual for more specific details on how to clean its printhead.
2. Open the Printer troubleshooter
Windows includes aPrintertroubleshooter that can come in handy for fixingprinterswhen they don’t print as expected.
So that might provide some fixes for the HP Printer black ink not working issue. Follow the guidelines above to open thePrintertroubleshooter.
3. Fix the printing with HP Print and Scan Doctor
Alternatively, Hewlett-Packard printer users can also utilize the HP Print and Scan Doctor utility to fixprinting.
That’s atroubleshootermore specifically designed for Hewlett-Packard printers. Users can fixprintingwith HP Print and Scan Doctor as follows.
Also, if yourHP Envy printer doesn’t print after Windows 10 upgrade, take a closer look at our guide to fix this issue in no time.
4. Add a genuine Hewlett-Packard cartridge to the printer
Third-partyink cartridgesdon’t always work so well on Hewlett-Packard printers.
As such, replacing a third-party cartridge with a more official Hewlett-Packard cartridge might fix an HP printer that’s not printing black ink.
TheHP websiteincludes a search box where users can enter their printer models in a search box to find compatible ink cartridges for them.
Also note that there are fake, counterfeit HP ink cartridges. This might explain why your HP Printer won’t print in black ink.
So it might be worth checking if your cartridge is a fake.
HP printer users can check for fakes by scanning the QR codes on the cartridges with a QR scanner orSureSupply app.
Alternatively, users can enter serial numbers on the cartridge labels at theHewlett-Packard verification pageto validate them.
5. Replace cartridges that are low on ink
This goes without saying, but, if you experience that your HP Printer is not printing black, it might just be out of ink or low on it.
Most users will probably check the ink levels when aprinterstops printing black ink. However, some users might overlook replacing a cartridge if it’s not completely out of ink.
It would help if you replaced the black ink cartridge when it’s very low on ink, but not necessarily completely out of ink. An exclamation mark on the ink level indicator highlights when a cartridge is running low on ink.
So replace the black ink cartridge if you see an exclamation mark for it on the printer control panel’s ink level indicator.
6. Align the printhead
A printer might not print black ink if it has not been calibrated. Thus, calibrating an Hewlett-Packard printer by aligning its printhead might fix itsprinting.
Most HP printers will include anAlign Printheadoption on their Printer Maintenance or Tools control panel menus that users can calibrate with.
Selecting that option will then calibrate the printer and print an alignment page. HP printer manuals will provide more specific printhead alignment guidelines for their respective models.
The above resolutions will probably fix HP printers so that they print black ink. If the above resolutions still don’t fix theprinting, theprinteritself might need repairing.
One of our readers also pointed out that this issue might be caused by a malfunctioning sensor that wrongly detects that the cartridge still has ink although in reality there is none left.
The solution to this problem is actually to install a new black ink cartridge on the printer.
Users can return HP printers that are still within their warranty periods to the manufacturer for repairs. So check the warranty period of yourprinterto see if you can return it to Hewlett-Packard.
We hope you managed to fix your HP Printer not printing black issue with our methods. Also, for more solutions or other questions, please access the comments section below.
More about the topics:HP printer,Printer
Matthew Adams
Windows Hardware Expert
Matthew is a freelancer who has produced a variety of articles on various topics related to technology. His main focus is the Windows OS and all the things surrounding it.
He is passionate about the tech world, always staying up-to-date with the latest and greatest. With an analytical view, he likes problem-solving, focusing on errors and their causes.
In his free time, he likes to read and write about history and tries to always develop new skills.
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Matthew Adams
Windows Hardware Expert
He is passionate about everything surrounding Microsoft’s OS, focusing on troubleshooting guides & tips for everyday problems.
