HP 6500-is there a way to print in grayscale when color ink is low? My kids printed colorful pictures and depleted the cyan ink, and now I can't seem to print a black and white document, even though I selected "grayscale". With all my previous printers, I could still print in black and white with low color ink, since the color ink is not necessary for a b HP 6500-is there a way to print in grayscale when color ink is low? My kids printed colorful pictures and depleted the cyan ink, and now I can't seem to print a black and white document, even... » Read More HP 6500-is there a way to print in grayscale when color ink is low? My kids printed colorful pictures and depleted the cyan ink, and now I can't seem to print a black and white document, even though I selected "grayscale". With all my previous printers, I could still print in black and white with low color ink, since the color ink is not necessary for a b « Show Less
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My HP 6500a is less than 3 months old and it just reads "ink error" I tried all the steps on their website, called their "support team" which told me do the same steps as the website. Then he tells me that I need to get it serviced- did I mention it's only 3 months old?? HP SUCKS!! I will NEVER purchase another HP product.
1692863
why won't my hp 6500 print in black? It is a new cartridge that worked previously. I've tried taking out all the cartriges and cleaning them...turning it off and on...unplugging it etc... Any suggestions?
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I have not had any need to print doublesided documents, but I will try to check it out tomorrow and let you know. I do have a Mac, so my printer menus are considerably different than the ones that pop up on a PC. I have never even seen a "black ink only" option, despite searching. I will try to find it.Thanks for a well thought out and relevant response.
1485364
That actually depends on which settings you use. However, on "normal" settings with "normal" white paper, it is quite efficient with ink. What makes this printer exceptional with ink, is each color has its own reservoir. You only need to replace the color that is low. Whereas on other printers you have to replace the entire "color" ink cartridge, which is a waste.
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Actually, if you don't tell your printer to print in black only (for printing black), it will use a combination of color ink to make the black. There should be a setting in your printers preferences wherein you can tell it to print in black only when you want to truly print in black.
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Reading customer elsewhere and on Hp support forum, I discovered that the printer will not print in black if any of the color cartridges is out of ink - all cartridges must have ink for this printer to work. See HP Support Forum response here : http://tinyurl.com/n2f32uy .
445796
Ha! Mine prints black, but colors are sketchy at best. These printers are fatally flawed and HP views them as disposable. I had to pony up for another printer over a year ago.
246821
Sure. Just about any inkjet color printer will allow you to set the printer properties before you print. When you hit print, look next to the printer name. It should say properties. Click on that and set your default to black/white. When you want color, just return and change the properties for that document. I can't speak for all printers, but this is how it worked for the Lexmark pictured above and all of the hp printers I have owned.
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I have to say, a company such as HP disables only black printing hiding behind the fact that they have to use Yellow to give the grayscale tones. Therefore forces you to buy yellow cartridges. I couldn't fix it using the software that came with the HP. Unless I am missing something massively, it is a way for HP to extract money from paying customers such as us who made the mistake of acquiring an HP printer. (in this case a L7580)
1315154
When the printer will not let me print due to color ink (yellow) being low - I am able to change my printer preferences to print in GREYSCALE and it works!!
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After some googling, it seems that printing in black won't use the color toner. However, if ANY of the toner runs out, it won't print. I suppose if you just want to print in black most of the time, use the color toner sparingly.
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Yes, just select black & white when the print selection pops up. Always buy the XXL Ink in B&W; and the color pack. Much cheaper and prints a lot more pages. If U need more on the ink just ask another ?Merry Christmas!Rich
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I called Brother to get this question answered: 1 (877) 276-8437. Yes it will print using only black ink, although it is not automatic. Go to Printer Preferences, Advanced tab, select color: check 'grey scale'. It was really a pleasure to help you with this. I learned something myself.
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My color cartridges always get used up fast even though I only print in grey scale, never in color. I don't understand why. Can anyone give me a clue? Thanks. LG
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I just encountered this same thing last week. Even if using grayscale, Canon has designed the printer to use all 5 inks & print heads for every print. That means that even for b&w text, the printer uses some black from each of the two tanks, AND a little from each of the colors as well! If you try to print with an empty black cartridge anyway, you will get "streaks" where the empty print head passes but deposits no ink.
1315147
No. This printer will ensure you must purchase ink cartridges even if you intend to print greyscale only and even though there is NO COLOR INK needed to print greyscale!
1602715
Yes, but you have to specifically select "Gray scale" in the printer properties. The default behavior is to not print when a cartridge is empty. So when my color cartridges went out I just switched to gray scale to continue printing and I have no plans of replacing the color cartridges.
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The WF-3540 will not allow me to print with black ink if the color cartridges are low. The color cartridges must be replace first. This is awful.
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Nope. That's why I hate this printer. Once you run out of color ink, all functionality eventually ceases - can't print in black, can't copy with black, can't even scan (which is perhaps the most amazing of all). Epson software allegedly lets you print with just black, but eventually all those methods stop working.