Ok, I tried this on my old printer and at first I didn't think it worked but now there is hope. I just turned it back on and now the printer display isn't flashing anything or any color and it IS showing icons it hasn't shown before and they are: on the left is an ink drop in an ink cartridge icon and the right is an empty cartridge icon. There is an line going up & down between the two. According to the HP support site it is telling me my black cartridge is empty and needs replacing and these were NEW cartridges. If that has been my problem all along, why didn't it just say so instead of flashing error 1,2,3,etc. on the display with the red lights? This is the first time those icons have displayed. I will order a black cartridge and when I get it, I'll let you know if that is the fix. Thanks again!
Hi Cathy, like you I also have a cheap HP printer. Sometimes when an ink cartridge gets empty (usually the black one goes first), if I remove the empty black ink cartridge, I can print. I get a message about the black cartridge not being installed and see flashing about it but the printer prints. Perhaps you like to try that while you wait for the new cartridge to arrive. Printing looks OK if the color cartridge still has plenty ink. Bo
Try the solutions listed here: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/override-empty-hp-ink-cartridges-49567.html . Then see if printer will print a page using black only.
I am glad to help Cathy. By the way, in my experience, prints that require black color, look fine when using only the color cartridge as long as the color cartridge still has plenty ink. Bo
It won't. Now it's saying "Carriage stalled" again so I guess I will have to wait for the black cartridge. Even though it was a new cartridge, it could have been dried up. I have had that experience with some new ones before so if it is, it won't be the first time.
When and if my printer is behaving again, I will try this. The birthday card I printed when all of this mess started, was very pitiful but I mailed it anyway with note on it that said, "This is the best I can do". She knew about the problems I was having with my printer so I knew she would understand.
None of this including the new ink cartridge helped either. I have decided to junk both of them and start with today's new printer. I just hope I can find one that prints good pictures. Thanks everyone for your patience and help!