How do I get this thing to print in B&amp;W if i'm out of color cartridges?
493950
There is an answer to this question. No. The 8550 does not allow for solo Black printing without the "color ink Cartridges". According to HP there is nothing that can be done. But owners of the HP8550A have experimented. See http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Other-Printing-Questions/Officejet-Pro-8500-How-can-you-print-without-color/td-p/124181/page/5
339208
I have a great suggestion, know that this feature has been disabled by Lexmark, they will send you a "Firmware update" that will make your printer completely useless. No longer will you be able to print without it drinking up your color ink and then you have to replace the color before it will print in black again. I hope for a class action suit that will help the consumer recover some of their losses from this sabotage!
1301771
You don't . This printer is notorious for NOT working when printing black. I was sent new printing heads& new cartridges, neither of which solved the problem
1505040
You can set your printer to just print in black and white only, this possibly would cut down on using the color inks.
1830533
I don't know if it will print in black and white if the color cartridge is empty as I just got the printer and haven't emptied the cartridges yet. I assume it will continue to do black and white if you leave the empty cartridges in.
1315153
My yellow ran out and I tried to print in black and white but it would not let me do it. There may still be another way to but I couldn't figure it out. I still love thos printer and its the best printer I've ever had.
394114
No, I think you have to scan it to your desktop or whatever and send as an attachment... It prints only in black/white, but is so fast and the cartridges last forever.
2008526
If you are specifying "grayscale" or "black & White" in the print command, you have right to expect the printer to print it so. If you leave it to s/w to decide whether you need yellow, it won't.
1472879
I have not run across this problem yet, but I believe if you print in black you should still be able to print without replacing the color that has run out. Hope this helps.
799214
You can change the Color or B&W; settings on any printer.Cntl+PSelect a printer you wish to use and click PreferenceClick the Paper/Quality tab and there will be the color option.Selected Black and White and clicked OKAnother window may pop out say Incapable Printing Settings, just select "Resolve all conflicts for me automatically." and click OK.If a color ink cartage is out of ink and didn't set it to B&W;, it will still try to print it in color and end up with a discolored and faded image on the sheet.
1562438
just remove the color cartridge and answer ok ok ok, ignore warning signs of color out and print on.
1220366
If the black is not empty, it will print in black even with one of the colors is empty. It seems all ink is expensive. Sell the printer cheap, and make your money off the ink.
1302345
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.
1562439
Go into Devices and Printers, right click on your printer and then click on "Printing Preferences". There is a tab entitled "Features" and under Color Options click the "print in greyscale". You should also be given an option to choose color, B&W;, or greyscale when you print and the prompt comes up asking how many copies you want. If you go into properties, you should be able to select the color or B&W; choice then as well.
1157468
if you tell your printer to print in black and white the black cartrdge is all it will use
999433
If you are asking will the printer work without a color cartridge in place in the printer to print B&W; the answer is no. The printer has to detect both ink cartridges to work. However, the printer comes with both Black and color ink cartridges and when the color runs out the printer will still print in B&W; as long as you leave the empty cartridge in place (until the black ink runs out).
2035747
I've had this issue with numerous colors. Many times I go to "Paint" and create a solid black image. Close paint and title it "Black". Then go to a program like "Wordpad". Open wordpad and drop and drag the "Black picture onto it. Stretch the image out as much as you can.Now just keep printing this over and over until the color comes back. You may get the "Black cartage is empty" message, so hit the rest. If this fails, unplug the printer and let it sit for a while. This removes any of Epson's built in "Fake errors". These fake errors are designed to get you to buy more cartridges, even though you have plenty of ink. I've had this issue with numerous colors. Many times I go to "Paint" and create a solid black image. Close paint and title it "Black". Then go to a program like "Wordpad". Open wordpad and drop and drag the "Black picture onto it. Stretch the image out as much as you can.Now just keep printing this over and over until the color comes back. You may get the "Black cartage is empty" message, so hit the rest. If this fails, unplug the printer and let it sit for a while. This removes any of Epson's built in "Fake errors". These fake... » Read More I've had this issue with numerous colors. Many times I go to "Paint" and create a solid black image. Close paint and title it "Black". Then go to a program like "Wordpad". Open wordpad and drop and drag the "Black picture onto it. Stretch the image out as much as you can.Now just keep printing this over and over until the color comes back. You may get the "Black cartage is empty" message, so hit the rest. If this fails, unplug the printer and let it sit for a while. This removes any of Epson's built in "Fake errors". These fake errors are designed to get you to buy more cartridges, even though you have plenty of ink. « Show Less