It is a known fact that the printer does not always print specific color. But sometimes, it happens that the printer is unable to print or stop printing a specific color mostly black.
This problem is a genuine one. When the printer won’t print black, it does not mean that the printer is damaged. Most of the time, the problem appears due to the black ink cartridges present within the printer. As this issue is not that much a difficult task to perform, therefore, you can easily resolve it all by yourself. So, check out the below section for allowing your printer to print black once again.
How to Fix the Printer Won’t Print Black Issue?
If your printer is not printing black or lacking in colors even after placing a new ink cartridge, then this is a very annoying situation for you, so you should fix the problem. When you encounter this issue, then at first, you need to check the printer’s calibration. Moreover, you should check the ink cartridges. Remove the ink cartridges and then examine the problem.
However, follow these troubleshooting methods to get rid of this situation.
Method 1: Clean the Printhead
If any foreign particles stored on the printhead, then it can be one of the causes of why the printer won’t print black ink. Hence, cleaning the printhead is the best option to get rid of this situation. But there is a question about how to clean the printhead.
To clean the printhead, simply move to the Printer Maintenance menu on the printer’s Control Panel and then select the Deep cleaning or Clean Printhead option. The option might differ in different printer models.
Before selecting the option, you should ensure that there is a sufficient paper loaded in the paper tray. After selecting the option, the printer is printing a page showing some pattern output for different colors.
You can also go through the printer’s manual in order to clean the printhead. After doing so, check whether the problem gets resolved or not.
Method 2: Open the Printer Troubleshooter
In a Windows device, you will find the Printer Troubleshooter tool for resolving printer’s problem, when you find any kind of problems in your printer.
Run the Printer Troubleshooter tool and fix the problem. To run the tool, go through the steps mentioned in the section below.
- At first, press the Start button and then type ‘troubleshoot’ in the search box. Hit the Enter button and launch the Printer Troubleshooter tool on your device.
- Now, select your printer from the list and click on the Run the Troubleshooter option. Therefore, select the Next option.
- The Printer Troubleshooter tool will identify the issue in your printer and resolve it. After that, close all the tabs and try to print a page to test whether the printer is printing black or not.
Method 3: Add a Genuine Ink Cartridges to the Printer
It is noticeable that you might encounter the problem if you use any third-party ink cartridges which are not compatible with the printer.
Hence, it is advisable that you should use the ink cartridges for the respective company which means if you are using an HP printer, then use HP ink cartridges and so on.
After doing so, check if the issue still continues or not.
Method 4: Replace Cartridges that are Low on Ink
Most of the users usually check the ink level when they find that the printer stops printing black. Although, some of the users often overlook replacing the ink cartridges when it is completely out of ink.
In such a situation, you should change the ink cartridges which are running out of black ink. You will find an exclamation mark on the ink level when the ink cartridges are out of black ink.
Hence, change the ink cartridges and check the status of the problem.
Method 5: Update the Printer Driver
After applying all the methods that are described in the above section, if still, you are getting the same issue, then surely the problem is related to the outdated printer driver. Hence, try to update the printer driver and resolve the printer.
There are different ways to update the printer driver. You can do it from the Device Manager section or by visiting the official website of the manufacturer’s website of the printer. Here’s how.
- First of all, press the Start button and then move to the Device Manager section. Here you will find all the drivers installed on your device.
- Locate the printer driver from the list and right-click on it. Then click on the Update the Driver option.
- It will automatically search for the updated version of the printer and then download the latest version of the printer’s driver.
- After that, install the newest printer driver and try to print a page.
We hope after doing so, you will no longer get such kinds of issues again.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. How do I get my HP Printer to Print Black Ink?
For the Windows device, you need to set the grayscale print properties. To do that, go through the steps stated hereunder.
- First, open the software application and then select the Print option. Therefore, choose the printer option from the list.
- Thereafter, launch the Printer Properties option. Then select the Features section. After that, click on the Grayscale option from the drop-down list.
- Finally, tap on the Black Ink only.
2. Can a Printer work with only Black Ink?
In case, if you want the printer prints only black ink, the other ink cartridges also have some amount of ink on them. While printing, the printer uses only the black ink, but at the same time printer still has some amount of ink from the other ink cartridges for occasional uses.
3. Can I replace the color ink cartridge with black?
You cannot replace the black slot with the other colors. The black slot is only for the black ink. However, some of the printer companies allow you to print only black ink when the other ink cartridges are not present within the printer.
