Printer won't print in black. What's wrong?

Same issue here. It worked until my black cartridge got low. I did what I always do, changed the black ink cartridge and it didn't print from that point on. I thought it was the cartridge problem but I tried 3 (used an off brand), then went to the store to get a Kodak black cartridge and it still doesn't print in black. I loved this printer until this happened. Don't make me lose my faith in Kodak!

the printer carrier for the black cartridge is burned out, thus it's not communicating with the black cartridge to make it squirt black ink. it can happen either way-color too.

printer carrier must be replaced.

my response to you all, screw inkjet printers because they're too much of a dang headache!!!!!

buy a laser printer, and you will be extremely happy you did! they're very competitively priced these days with inkjet printers, do not have even a fraction of the problems inkjets do because they use what's called a toner cartridge which last many months-i change my toner cartridges about once a year give or take.

yes, literally they're more expensive than inkjet cartridges, but compared to how long they last, you're actually spending less money than if you totaled up the number of times you had to buy inkjet cartridges just to equal the length of time laser toner cartridges last in comparison to inkjet cartridges.

plus, laser printers don't spend a minute or 2 making all that dang irritating noise preparing to print while you're wondering, "ok already, print, %#*!^@!"

i also buy my toner cartridges on ebay for around $100-$120 for all 4 colors!

i have this very good laser printer, the Samsung Xpress model #SL-C460FW i bought practially new on ebay for $130! excellent laser printer, plus it's my second laser printer in since 2003-my other one lasted that long!

I have an ESP 9,and my printer stopped printing black ink. I did a copy function and still no ink so I knew it was the printer and not the driver. I changed both colour and black to no avail and tried cleaning the print head with a damp cloth, also to no avail. Figuring I had nothing to lose I ran the hot tap in the kitchen and allowed the hot water to flow into the print head rinsing out each of the colours and the two blacks. You could literally see the ink residue flowing through into the sink. After a couple of minutes I gave the print head a shake, gentle wipe with paper towel and re-assembled the print head and cartridges. Colour is a bit squiffy but black is now perfect. I have that many documents to print today and tomorrow that I would have had to buy another printer. Interesting to note, our printer is located next to the fireplace and we have had the fire on more than normal. When I get the chance I will relocate the printer to a cooler more ventilated place.

If you copy something on the scan that has black and it prints it fine its a software issue. If it don't then the print head may have dried up. I recommend replacing the print head. You can wet down a paper towel with rubbing alcohol and dab the print head and see if you can get the ink flowing again it worked on mine. I also found if you leave it turned on so that it can run a cleaning cycle once in awile this can be avoided. Hope this helps. Copied from this website...

http://www.fixya.com/support/t1499908-ko...

yes mine wont print black not either, changed cartridge will scan and print ok but not print from pc i know the print head and cartridges are ok must be issue with software or setting

Everyone complaining about the same issue; No solutions! You get, "It's the print tray" or," It's a Windows driver" (without actually specifying which of the umpteen drivers it is, durrrr), and countless other random posts without any real solution. Does anyone actually know what the issue is because I could sure use an explanation. No, it isn't the print tray, it isn't the fact that some of us use "Non Kodak" ink and it isn't something that just decides to happen at will. Kodak DO know what the issue is and it's more than likely a simple fix, but when you are skint it makes sense to encourage people to buy more of your products and services. Really Kodak, what would Paul McCartneys beloved late Missus think of your behaviour? Tut-tut!

The pigment in black ink is thicker and dries much quicker than lighter colours. Kodak print trays in particular i feel, are manufactured without taking this into consideration so the black tends to get bunged up during sporadic use. It suits Kodak though because a replacement print tray costs about as much as a new, low end yet perfectly acceptable printer......WITH INK!!!! Hahahaha, printers - one of the biggest scams on the planet, lol!!!

I have had the same problem - I changed both cartirdges then cleaned the printhead but no success - I have just replaced the printhead and it's now working.

I had the same issue with black ink not working and it was driving me mad. After reading all these comments it gave me an idea of removing the black ink and giving the holder a blast with a can of airduster, it now works perfectly :-) hopefully this will help others out

I've had the same issue - for a couple of years now!! I can print perfect hi-res photos with full colour range including blacks, but if I print a document, the black ink is awful - it is grainy & misses every other line!

What I have to do now is to screenshot my document, import it into Adobe Lightroom, adjust the tones etc & then export as jpeg. When I then print it, the black is rich & almost perfect...

So it seems that 'quick print' fails & photo print works... the fix I will apply tomorrow if I haven't sorted it in 24hrs time is to simply throw it out of the window & buy another brand.

(KODAK customer support is the worst, not even gonna try that avenue again!)

Change the printhead. Dont waste anymore time. Order one from amazon for 17$. It was a risky move considering the printer didnt have much value left as it is old (kodak hero 3.1) but now it works like new!

Im sure buying the cheap ink cartridges isnt the best thing for the printer but hey now i will hopefully get a few more years!

May be its time to replace print-head.

I found a similar Kodak printer that used the same print head. So when I changed it, it worked. The print head is easy to remove, it snaps in just like the ink cartridge.

My printer kodak2500series won't print black since putting new cartridge in please help

tried all the things people have said nothing , my settings are fine. I have the right driver.

Hi there,

After reading all the reviews I tried the following steps.

1) reinstalling software after removing Microsoft installed software.

2) cleaning printer cartridge heads

3) Wiping the print heads.

Finally I got annoyed and took the print head to the sink and ran a tap slowly through the black sponge to clear any debris (this just popped out of the printer like the ink cartride did. I made sure not to get the gold plate wet and then dabbed it dry once the water ran clear.

Popped it back in the printer and ran the calibration and sure enough it prints fine. Must have just been some back ink clogging somewhere due to not using it for 6 months

OK read through all these comments and more on other pages. First off I have had my Kodak All in one printer 3200 series for almost 10 years now and I love it!!!! The picture quality is great and I have printed millions of pictures now for less than a $00.01 a pic. The trick is use Kodak photo paper and Kodak Ink and then if people would take the time to adjust their settings to the Kodak recommendations each time they are printing they would get the most out of their Ink. But that would require people to slow down and take a minuet and Lord knows no one has time for that. Also before you purchase any items for your printing needs take a minuet to look online to see if there are any specials on the items you need. I have found numerous times I can purchase everything I need and pick it up in the store on the same day at a minimum of a 15% discount than just walking into the store and buying it.

Unfortunately the ribbon has come out of the printer head cartridge on my printer now and I am trying desperately to find a quick fix for it but so far no luck. But I will find a cheap way to fix it one way or another because I love my printer! Non WiFi and All! LOL!

I know my post is not a helpful one at first glance, but if you slow down long enough to read it you might get a few helpful hints and not just with printer issues.

God Bless!

You are a lifesaver! I desperately needed to print an application and your quick fix totally did the trick