The printer prints poorly in black

The problem, when the printer does not print well in black, is faced by many owners of this technique. The reasons for this situation are many, but most of them can be eliminated on their own. Most often, such an error is encountered by owners of printers from HP, Epson, Canon, and some others. The user can solve most problems on his own, but in some cases it is better to take the printer to a service center for professional repair.

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Printhead damage

A printhead breakdown when the printer stops printing with black ink is not easy to detect. To determine such a problem, you must take the device to a service center. Then the masters can recognize the reason why such a failure occurred.

If the damage to the printhead is confirmed, then there are two ways to solve the problem:

• replace the part with a new one;
• purchase a new printer.

Unfortunately, the print head is quite an expensive part, and it is sometimes easier to buy a new printing device than a separate part of it.

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Print head contamination

If the damage was not confirmed, but serious printhead contamination was detected, then you can clean it as follows:

1. Check the ink level in the printer. If there are few or none at all, then add to the required level.
2. Perform a test printout.
3. In case of failure, rinse the head with a special liquid (sold in computer stores), leave for 10-20 minutes.
4. In the printer settings, activate the automatic head cleaning mode.

If the problem was really the contamination of the print head, then after the manipulations the printer will start to print well.

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Clogged nozzles or air vents

If cleaning the print head does not help, then you should pay attention to the nozzles and air vents, which are clogged with paint and dust.

To clean the nozzles, they are gently wiped with cotton wool soaked in alcohol, wait for complete drying and perform a test printout.

The vents are cleaned with a thin needle. To do this, you need:

• Remove the ink bottle to avoid damage.
• Clean the holes carefully with a pin or a needle.
• Wipe them with alcohol.
• Replace the ink bottle and print a test print.

Important! Clean the print head, nozzles, and vents regularly to avoid printing problems.

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Ink of poor quality or incompatible ink

If the inkjet printer prints poorly in black or instead prints in blue (less often gray), then the most likely problem is that the ink is incorrectly selected.

Poor-quality or incompatible with each other ink from different companies can lead to rather unpleasant consequences:

• clogged nozzles;
• software violation of the printer and MFP;
• printing in black and white instead of color, and vice versa.

In this case, it is necessary to remove low-quality consumables from the printing device and purchase suitable ones, preferably from the manufacturer of the printer. All necessary information on ink and printer compatibility is in the user manual for the device.

This problem is most often encountered by users of printers with a continuous ink supply system (CISS):

1. HP Officejet rulers.
2. Pixma models by Canon.
3. Epson Stylus Models.

This is not a minus of such models, but rather an indicator that high-quality equipment is able to work correctly only with high-quality consumables. Having spent on expensive ink, you can forget about problems with the printer for a long time.

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Ink low

If you previously purchased high-quality ink, but black is gone, or instead the printer prints in a different color, then the problem may be that the cartridge is simply not enough material.

Some printers work very poorly if there is little ink left in the tank.

To check you need:

1. Using a special syringe, add some ink to the cartridge.
2. Run a test print.
3. If the result is better, fill the tank to the end.

Important! Sometimes it happens that after refueling, there are still some printing problems. The reason may be the incorrect installation of the cartridge. To exclude this option, the paint tank must be removed and reinserted until it clicks, and tape over the filling hole with tape.

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Ink Level Control

Some modern printer models have a controller that monitors ink levels. The moment the program seems to have run out of ink, it completely blocks the color flow.

Important! The controller works when the ink level is minimal, but they are still enough to print a certain number of sheets of text.

Of course, the best option in this situation is to refill the cartridge. If this is not possible, but you urgently need to print information, then in the printer settings you can disable two-way data transfer. This can only be done if the warranty period has already expired, otherwise, after limiting the exchange of data, a valid guarantee will be automatically reset.

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Software issues

There are situations when the problem is not of a technical nature, but of a software one. For example, if the computer does not see the device, then you must reinstall the necessary software and update the driver.

The desired program can be found on the Internet on the official website of the printer manufacturer. In most cases, you can download it for free.

If none of the above problems fits, then the reason may lie much deeper. Only a professional in a service center can find and fix a serious damage. In some cases, the repair cost may be equal to the cost of the printer, then it makes sense to just purchase a new printing device.

In the video below, you will find a clear step-by-step algorithm of actions if the printer prints poorly in black.