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An HP printer not printing black, or printing it faint, usually comes down to the printhead, the cartridge or alignment, and HP tests them in that order. HP’s guide for the DeskJet 2600, 2700, 4100 and 4800 printers lays out the sequence for missing black ink, wrong colors and other print quality problems. This article follows it and adds the one point people miss after installing a new cartridge: wait a few hours before you judge the result.

One limit first: HP wrote this guide for the DeskJet 2600, 2700, 4100 and 4800 printers. Menus differ on other models, so use it as a map of what HP checks rather than a button-by-button guide for every printer.

Step 1: Clean the printhead from the HP app

Load plain white paper. Open the HP app, click your printer, and under Diagnostics or Tools click Print quality tools, then Clean printhead (or View all print quality tools, OK, then Clean Printhead). A test page prints. If the quality is acceptable you are done. If not, the app offers a second-level and third-level cleaning, which are more thorough and take a few extra minutes. HP says badly clogged printheads might need another cycle, and to wait at least 30 minutes before cleaning again.

Step 2: Clean the ink smears

In the HP app go to Settings, then Advanced Settings (or Settings, View All, Advanced Settings) and look for a Tools menu or Print Quality Toolbox. Click Clean from the Clean Smear tool. HP says this cleans the printhead contacts and can improve print quality issues.

Step 3: Check the cartridges if the HP printer is not printing black

• Genuine HP cartridges. HP says very low ink, non-HP cartridges and rough handling can all cause print quality problems, and that it cannot guarantee the quality of non-HP or refilled cartridges.
• Ink levels. Replace any low or empty cartridge.
• Right after installing a new cartridge. HP says rough handling during transport or installation can cause print quality problems, and to wait a few hours for the printer’s automatic servicing routine to finish before trying again. This can explain a “new cartridge, still no black” case.
• Backup mode. The printer can print with one cartridge if a replacement is not at hand. Remove the low or empty cartridge to continue. Depending on which one you remove, blacks are lighter or color prints come out in grayscale. Whether your cartridge number allows this is covered in our guide to printing with an empty cartridge.

Step 4: Check paper, print settings and the file

HP names plain paper with ColorLok technology for documents and HP Advanced Photo Paper for photos. Use clean, wrinkle-free paper, since wrinkled or curled sheets cause dark horizontal defects. Load the print side up for a rear load tray and down for a front load tray. In the program you print from, open File, Print, then Options, Printer Setup or Preferences (or the Paper Type/Quality or Media & Quality menu) and check the color, paper type, paper size and quality settings. A higher resolution photo or document also prints clearer.

Step 5: Align the printheads

Load plain white paper, open the HP app, click your printer, and under Print quality tools click Align printheads. An alignment page prints. On single-function printers you choose the alignment pattern on screen and click Done. If the page tells you to scan it, follow the instructions to finish.

When to stop

If nothing helps, HP says to service or replace the printer, and to keep a print sample that shows the problem, because the support agent may ask for it if a printer or cartridge is replaced under warranty. Check your warranty status first. If your cartridge is not recognized at all, see our guide to the “Use SETUP cartridges” error.

Questions people ask

Does cleaning the printhead use a lot of ink?

HP does not give an amount in this guide. It only says to wait at least 30 minutes between cleaning cycles, so avoid repeating the cleaning back to back.

Can I print in black with only the color cartridge?

On printers that allow single-cartridge mode, HP says colors print normally and black prints lighter than usual. Which printers allow it depends on the cartridge number.

Source: HP Support, HP DeskJet 2600, 2700, 4100, 4800 printers – No black ink, wrong colors, other print quality issues; HP Support, HP inkjet printers – Print with one or more empty ink cartridges.

When Windows shows User Intervention Required for your HP printer and nothing prints, HP says the cause is usually one of three things: a printer error condition, corrupted print jobs, or a wireless connection problem. HP’s Windows guide for the message lists its fixes in a fixed order, from the quickest to the most involved. This article follows that order, explains what each step does, and says when to stop and ask for service.

What the User Intervention Required message means

User Intervention Required is a status Windows shows for the printer when something needs attention and printing is blocked. HP describes it as a message on the computer while the printer does not print, and it does not tie the message to one cause. It names a printer error condition, corrupted print jobs and wireless connection problems, and its steps cover all three, which is why they are ordered the way they are: the cheap checks that fix the first two come before the network work.

Step 1: Check for blinking lights and messages

Look at the printer’s control panel. If lights are blinking or an error is shown, HP says to follow the instructions on the panel or in the printer software. If the panel gives none, HP says to search its support site for your model plus the blinking lights or the exact error. Also open the HP software or the HP app, because they sometimes show instructions for printer error states that the panel does not.

Step 2: Reset the printer

• If the printer has a rechargeable battery, remove it.
• Turn the printer off with the power button. If it will not turn off, unplug the power cord from the printer.
• Unplug the power cord from the power source and wait 60 seconds.
• Connect the cord directly to a wall outlet and to the printer, then turn the printer on.

Step 3: Run Diagnose & Fix in the HP app

HP points to the Diagnose & Fix tool in the HP app for Windows and macOS. Open the app, click your printer, then click Diagnose & Fix (it can also be in the Printers menu or under Diagnostics). Click Start, wait for the analysis to finish without closing the app, and follow the instructions on the results screen. If you do not have the app yet, HP says to get it from 123.hp.com or your app store; our HP app guide explains the change from HP Smart. The older Print and Scan Doctor is no longer the tool HP points to, as we explain in this article.

Step 4: Reset the Windows printing environment

This clears corrupted print jobs, one of HP’s three causes. HP gives these steps:

1. Turn the printer off and unplug its power cord.
2. In Windows, open Services, right-click Print Spooler and click Stop, then close the window.
3. Open File Explorer and go to C:, Windows, System32, spool, PRINTERS. Delete all the files in the PRINTERS folder, but not the folder itself.
4. Shut down the computer. Reconnect the printer’s power cord and turn the printer on, then turn the computer on.

Step 5: Run the Windows printer troubleshooter

Search for Troubleshoot settings in Windows, click Other troubleshooters, and click Run next to Printer. Select your printer if asked and click Next.

Step 6: Give the printer a manual IP address

This is the wireless connection part of HP’s list. Print a Network Configuration Report (in the HP app under Printer Reports, or from the control panel’s Wireless or Network Settings menu; on printers without a touchscreen HP says to press and hold the Wireless and Information buttons, and the exact buttons vary by model). On the report, check that the wireless status is Connected, and note the IP address, subnet mask, default gateway and the Embedded Web Server URL.

From a computer on the same network, open that URL in a browser, go to the Network (or Networking) tab, open Wireless, then IPv4 Configuration, and choose Manual IP. Click Suggest a Manual IP Address to fill the fields, or type the values from the report, then click Apply and wait for the change to be confirmed.

Step 7: Create a new TCP/IP port in Windows

Open Printers & scanners, click your printer, then Printer properties (on Windows 10 you may need to click Manage first). On the Ports tab click Add Port, choose Standard TCP/IP Port, click New Port, and enter the printer’s IP address with a port name you will recognize. Select the new port, click OK, then on the Device Settings tab set Automatic Configuration to Update Now. HP says the setting switches to Off a few seconds later. Click OK.

HP adds one caution here: do not uninstall duplicate printers with the same model name, because that can cause printing and scanning problems. For a printer that goes offline while Wi-Fi looks fine, our guide on HP printers that show offline covers the related checks.

When to stop and call service

If the message stays after all seven steps, HP says to service or replace the product. Contact HP Customer Support, and check your warranty status first, since repair fees might apply outside warranty.

Questions people ask

Is this a driver problem?

HP does not name the driver as a cause in this guide. Its first two causes are inside the printer and the print queue. If you do need to reinstall software for your model afterwards, our install guide covers the standard route.

Which step usually fixes it?

HP does not say. The order is built so that the quick steps come first, so start at step 1 and stop as soon as the printer prints.

Source: HP Support, HP Printers – ‘User Intervention Required’ Error (Windows).

Whether you can keep printing with an empty HP cartridge depends on the cartridge number, not on the printer family. HP’s guide on printing with one or more empty cartridges sorts its inkjet cartridges into three types: some printers keep printing, some refuse until every cartridge has ink, and two-cartridge printers can run on a single one. Find your cartridge number below and you have HP’s answer.

Type 1: keep printing with an empty HP cartridge, but replace it soon

HP lists these cartridges: 178, 364, 564, 655, 862, 902 to 920, 934 and 935. HP says you can continue to print with one or more empty cartridges, but recommends replacing them as soon as possible to avoid printhead damage.

Type 2: every cartridge needs ink

HP lists: 932, 933, 950, 951 to 959 and 962 to 969. For these, HP says ink is required in all cartridges, both to print and to perform periodic servicing that prevents clogs and other print quality problems. HP states there is no way to bypass this feature.

If one of these messages appears, replace the cartridge it points to in order to print again: “The cartridges above must be replaced to resume printing,” “Cartridges Depleted,” or “Depleted cartridges must be replaced to resume printing.”

Type 3: two-cartridge printers can run on one

HP lists these numbers: 21, 22, 27, 28, 46, 56 to 68, 61/301, 63/302, 64/303, 65/304, 74, 75, 92 to 98, 110, 121 to 125, 129 to 131, 134, 135, 140, 141, 300 to 305, 308, 336 to 339, 342 to 344, 350, 351, 650 to 654, 662, 664, 667, 668, 675, 678, 680, 682, 683, 703, 704, 802 to 805, 818, 851, 852, 855 and 901.

These are the printers with one black and one tri-color cartridge. HP says they can print if one cartridge is empty. To continue, remove the empty cartridge, and select OK if a Single-cartridge mode message appears. With only the black cartridge in, prints are black and white (grayscale). With only the color cartridge in, colors print normally but black prints lighter than usual. HP says you can keep printing until the print quality becomes unacceptable.

What if my number is not on any list?

HP’s guide lists only the numbers above. If yours is missing, check the guide for your exact printer on HP’s support site rather than assuming it behaves like a similar model. Our cartridge compatibility pages show which cartridge numbers belong to which printer family, for example DeskJet, OfficeJet and ENVY printers.

Questions people ask

Will running on one cartridge hurt the printer?

For Type 1 cartridges HP warns about printhead damage and says to replace the empty cartridge as soon as possible. For Type 3 printers HP describes removing the empty cartridge as the way to continue, with the quality trade-off above.

My printer shows a message and will not print at all. Why?

If your cartridges are on the Type 2 list, that is the expected behavior according to HP. If a new cartridge is not recognized instead, see our article on the “Use SETUP cartridges” error, which applies to new printers.

Source: HP Support, HP inkjet printers – Print with one or more empty ink cartridges.