Hp Printer Problem

[tjansen]

Hello,

I have an HP 2610 Printer / Scanner / Copier.

1) The color cartridge has been out of ink for a long time. As a result, when i try to COPY, I get a three beep alarm with a message to replace the color cartridge, and it will not COPY. This I understand and am living with.

2) When I try to PRINT, I get the same three beep alarm and the same message, to replace the color cartridge, BUT then it goes ahead and prints, which is why i am willing to live with not being able to copy.

3) A couple of days ago, when I turned it on in the morning to print something, it went through all of the motions of printing, including the alarm and the cartridges traveling across the page, but no ink came out. I checked the black cartridge for ink, and it has ink.

Any ideas or suggestions on fixing the problem?

Also, is there any way to make the machine COPY in spite of being out of colored ink? Somehow it is willing to PRINT but not copy.

By the way, I figured out if I really need a quick copy I can SCAN a document, then PRINT it, although I haven't actually done it yet.

Thanks in advance for any help. Right now the printer is at the local computer repair shop, but I am not optimistic about a forthcoming solution.

[newtronbom]

I've had similar probs with my HP C6280 All-inOne. The way I got round it, was to change the settings. Print, copy and scan, all in Black cartridge only. Mine has a choice of buttons on the front to copy/scan in black or color, but even if I copy in black, I still have to click "ok" before it will print. It's an intended fault with their programming I think, to get us to replace the color.........

[tjansen]

I've had similar probs with my HP C6280 All-inOne. The way I got round it, was to change the settings. Print, copy and scan, all in Black cartridge only. Mine has a choice of buttons on the front to copy/scan in black or color, but even if I copy in black, I still have to click "ok" before it will print. It's an intended fault with their programming I think, to get us to replace the color.........

Two Things:

1) How do I change the settings, exactly? I have Windows XP.

2) I believe I have a problem that changing the settings won't hep, since, on the Print option, the Printer still goes through the motions but no ink comes out. I believe this is a separate problem. Any help on this one in particular while I go about changing settings on the Copy option?

Thanks for the help thus far?

Tom

[Digitalbanana]

One thing I don't understand is why don't you just buy some color ink? Won't that solve the problem?

[tjansen]

One thing I don't understand is why don't you just buy some color ink? Won't that solve the problem?

Well, I've done it to myself by providing superfluous, confusing information. If it is not too late, let me start again.

One day my HP2610 was printing fine in black. The next day, when I turned it on and tried to print in black, it went through all of the same motions as before, but no ink came out of the black cartridge. I got blank pieces of paper. Anyone have this problem before?

Thanks,

Tom

[JohnnyFeelIt]

This is one of HP's tricks to make u replace the colour ink, I had a HP before that even if it had a brand new black cartrige and was selected to print using the black only it still would not print unless the colour was replaced..

[tjansen]

Problem Solved. I went to the HP forum and got a recommendation on how to clean the cartridge. There is actually a cleaning function in the printer program. After running the cleaning program a few times and taking out the cartridge and wiping off the nozzle area a few times, the print got better and better and is now printing a perfect copy, even on the fast draft setting.

Interestingly, I read a precaution someplace that said clean everything except the nozzle area, but I couldn't get it to print until I did clean the nozzle area.

(By the way, I don't have a color ink cartridge in the printer at all. I still get the beeping and message to install a color cartridge, and it still goes ahead and prints in black. During this whole cleaning process I put in an old color cartridge I found lying around, and I got a message that it was the wrong cartridge. With the cartridge IN, it would not go ahead and print, so I just took the color cartridge back out.)

Tom