All ink cartridges must have ink left. If all else fails, get a DYE BASED ink refill kit (verify first!!!) to refill the carts for testing as needed. This is needed to avoid unnecessary printhead damage. FOR THESE HP PRINTERS, THE PART HAS BEEN EOL FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND CAN NO LONGER BE PURCHASED! (Was ~$80).

If you have a photo printer such as a 5-color model (CMYK+PK), print the test image as a photo program such as Photoshop, Photos (Mac) (or your preferred image viewer), forcing it to print in photo mode.

After replacing the printhead, test the printer. Match the previous settings and check for improvement.