Must you have both cartridges in the printer, even if you only want to print with black ink?
1114272
I have a Canon MP280 and it does not require both cartridges for the printer to function.
1114273
Yes, you must have both cartridges in the printer for it to print. Even if one cartridge is empty of ink, it must be in place.
999432
As far as I know, you need both cartridges for the printer to operate properly.
455735
My cartridges have not run out yet, but I'd bet that if you specify Auto/Color, then it would not work because there is no color available. If you specify (from whatever machine you're printing from) that you want Black, then it should work fine. That's how other printers have worked for me.
1912594
Here's a hint I use. When I am printing something that does not require color ink (such as a plain letter or music) I select black ink only on my printer (HP 8500) and that extends the life of the color ink greatly. Of course I use more black ink, but that's only one cartridge rather than all four. Also, I never use anything but original HP cartridges, no re-built ones - I've had bad luck with them - they're not worth it.
1967795
I think this is a ploy to force customers to buy color cartridges even if you are only printing in black & white. There's no solution that I know of except to buy store brand ink cartridges. I still don't understand why you need cartridges in the printer in order to scan and fax - that still has me stumped, but I think it's a design flaw.
1040563
Check your cartridge holder. If your black one is larger than your colored cartridges you should be okay. There should have been a little color card that came with your printer that states the cartridge to use, ex: hp564/564XL
390664
No you do not. The paper used with this printer is special paper. This printer does not need an ink cartridge. Just use the special paper for the machine.
1315149
no in my case, I only use my printer to print in black and white and my color cartridges get empty in less than a year and I am unable to print in gray scale, I need a printer that I can use to print only black ink but unable to find a good one.
1722461
You need all the color cartridges installed to be able to print in black and white. Also they have to have ink in them. If any of the color cartridges is out you won't be able to print.
298947
probably not. They have software chips in the carts and I don't see them allowing it. If you print black, only the black will be used so nothing lost. you will just have to put another in instead of using two at a time.
1120326
The black color is from a black cartridge and can print black only if necessary
2113998
Beverly~That I am aware of...you can't. Been there, tried just about everything to get it to work, and nothing. From my experience, you HAVE to have cartridges (color and black) that are at least partially full for either one to work. Pretty crummy, and just another reason I couldn't recommend this printer to anyone. :(
1393013
The black and color are separate cartridges so if the color goes empty, you can still print in black, one of the options in the print menu is to print in grayscale if no color ink or if you just want to conserve the color ink.
824305
YesIf colored ink is out it will ask you if you want to print using black onlyThis is based off my printer
1923661
Howdy doody!Yes you can print only in black ink if you wish. You have the option to switch.Hope this helps!!!
66125
No, the cartridges are separate. For many inkjet printers there's a cartridge for black and a cartridge for color. For others (like this printer), there's a cartridge for black and separate cartridges for different colors.
495461
I'm really sorry to break your heart here, but you can't! The design is meant to make customers buy unecessary ink. If you want to print color but dont have black ink, it won't let you either. There is no way to bi-pass. I just recycled this printer and decided to buy a different printer by a different manufacturer. Make sure when you buy a new printer, that it has ability to print black and white or colors independently.