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HP 5150 Not printing black
Name: Ikethetyke Date: September 22, 2008 at 15:31:19 Pacific OS: XP Pro SP2 CPU/Ram: AMD 4200/1Gb Product: Self built
Comment:
HP 5150 has stopped printing in black although printer is going throught the motions. If I change document text colour to say blue or red, then it will print in colour. I have tried 3 different black cartridges and it's the same with each.
Name: aegis Date: September 22, 2008 at 15:49:49 Pacific
Reply:
Some (most?) printers have a print head that the ink cartridges plug into. It sounds like the print head black portion might be gummed up.
I had a Canon that did that. I fixed it by running water though it in the sink until the water ran clear. I then let it sit for a day to dry out before reinstalling it.
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Response Number 2
Name: Ikethetyke Date: September 22, 2008 at 15:59:16 Pacific
Reply:
Do you actually mean put the printer under the tap, obviously keeping water off the electrics?
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Response Number 3
Name: StuartS Date: September 22, 2008 at 16:07:37 Pacific
Reply:
No, you take the print head out and run that under the tap.
Cheaper printer have the print head incorporated into the print cartridge. More expensive printers have a removable print head. That may be the case here.
Most ink jet printers have a print head cleaning tool. Have you tried that?
Stuart
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Response Number 4
Name: aegis Date: September 22, 2008 at 16:08:50 Pacific
Reply:
The print head in my Canon was removeable. If your print head is not, you will not have that option to try.
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Response Number 5
Name: Ikethetyke Date: September 22, 2008 at 16:15:50 Pacific
Reply:
I can't take out the print head. I've tried cleaning the cartridges and one of them was new. I can't believe all 3 are blocked.
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Response Number 6
Name: XpUser Date: September 22, 2008 at 16:46:20 Pacific
Reply:
Won't hurt to go HERE to see if this site will finally eliminate the problem.
i_Xp/VistaUser
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Response Number 7
Name: Ikethetyke Date: September 22, 2008 at 17:18:40 Pacific
Reply:
I tried that site but no joy. I eventually sent them the same question. Thanks for the advice guys.
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Response Number 8
Name: Chuck 2 Date: September 23, 2008 at 04:23:56 Pacific
Reply:
Have you tried Print Head cleaning ??
Start, Printers and Faxes, Right click Printer icon, then Properties, then Utilities tab, click Head Cleaning.
Ink in the Print Head dries up when printer is not used for a long time. Head Cleaning consumes alot of ink. No paper needs to be in the printer to do this.
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Response Number 9
Name: Ikethetyke Date: September 23, 2008 at 09:02:29 Pacific
Reply:
As I said above, I tried cleaning them using the cleaning utility, including intermediate clean and priming the cartridges. Only the colour cartridge prints.
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Response Number 10
Name: Ikethetyke Date: September 23, 2008 at 14:52:21 Pacific
Reply:
Thanks for all the help guys, problem solved. The print heads on all 3 cartridges had completely sealed up with dry ink. The local refill shop where I took them to be tested had to soak them in hot water for about 30 mins to clean the heads thoroughly.
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