Inkjet printer won’t print in black even with a new cartridge
Anonymous information on a computer forum:
Black cartridge won’t work without the colour cartridge(s)
1. – “I have a Canon MP360 and recently got the message ‘black ink low’. I was able to continue printing for a while but then put in a new PC World cartridge. I could not print in black so changed it to a Canon cartridge. Still no black printing.
Did the usual cleaning and deep cleaning but still can’t get it to print in black. The colours are OK. I’ve done a test page and where I get the horizontal lines there is no black but the colours are there. Then when I do the check that gives the little blocks the black looks better than the colours. Any ideas please? …
[The poster found his own solution to the problem.] I did all the usual things and I took out the cartridge and reinserted it. Still no go. Then I went on the Canon FAQs and found that the black cartridge won’t work without the colour cartridge(s), so although I wasn’t getting a ‘low ink’ message for the colours, I changed it anyway and lo and behold I got black printing back. Very strange!”
Ink had dried and blocked the cartridge
2. – “I had a similar problem with a Lexmark cart. I found that as it had not been used, the ink had dried and blocked the cartridge. I left it on a damp tissue until I could see an ink stain. The problem sometimes recurs if I don’t use the printer for a while, but is easy to clear. It’s worth a try!”