will it print in black if you leave the empty color cartridge in or does the color cartridge have to have ink in it'
1172905
The machine insists on having ink in all cartridges in order to work. Great little machine, though. We work it hard and it keeps on performing well.
1172906
I would NOT recommend this printer. It will not print (even black and white) unless all cartridges are full! Thank g-d I bought it in in costco so I just returned mine and purchased a new printer.
1023608
That depends. If you run out of any color you can't print in black. You have to use Brother ink cartridges or it won't work. I'm very sorry I bought this.
1973069
If you do mean can it print with only a black cartridge only, the answer is no. When it prints grayscale it actually uses some colored ink as well. It's annoying because when a color cartridge has a "replace" status you will no longer be able to print in B&W; until you replace that cartridge.
17958
The inability to print something when any of the color cartridges is empty may be a difficulty with many (most? all?) color printers these days. I know in the past when one color ran out, I would still be able print something that just used black ink, but that's not possible with my current color ink jet printer (a Brother all-in-one). I do very little color printing, and I find it cheaper though space-consuming to own two printers, the color inkjet and a laser printer for documents that only require black ink.
416575
after reading all of this im still confused....will THIS PRINTER IN PARTICULAR print black & white even if the color ink isn't in the printer?
1968042
Yes, there is a setting to print in black only. When you click to print, the window on the printer will ask if you want it in color or black and white. That being said, you still have to have color ink s in the printer to get it to work at all. I have basically given up on printers and take most of my work to places like OfficeMax etc. the quality of these home printers seems to have gone down over the years. It costs a fortune for the ink and it seems to run out very fast. It is touchy too, always saying it is out of paper when it is not. Sorry to be negative, but this machine doesn't impress me at all. Yes, there is a setting to print in black only. When you click to print, the window on the printer will ask if you want it in color or black and white. That being said, you still have to have color ink s in the printer to get it to work at all. I have basically given up on printers and take most of my work to places like OfficeMax etc. the quality of these home printers seems to have gone down over the years. It costs a fortune for the ink and it seems to run out very fast. It is touchy too, always saying it is out of paper when it is not. Sorry to be negative, but this machine doesn't... » Read More Yes, there is a setting to print in black only. When you click to print, the window on the printer will ask if you want it in color or black and white. That being said, you still have to have color ink s in the printer to get it to work at all. I have basically given up on printers and take most of my work to places like OfficeMax etc. the quality of these home printers seems to have gone down over the years. It costs a fortune for the ink and it seems to run out very fast. It is touchy too, always saying it is out of paper when it is not. Sorry to be negative, but this machine doesn't impress me at all. « Show Less
396040
Why won't printer print in black. Cleaned heads several times and nothing helps. All ink cartridges are over half full. Colors print great, but black won't print. Not an answer, the same question as asked before. Can't find answer to question someone else asked.
982829
Printing when one cartridge is empty: I have some experience w/this. If you are printing grayscale (for black) and your black has ink and one other cartridge didn't, doc will print. If you are printing w/color and one of those is empty, you will get a message. Not sure if it would print, never tried that.
692656
I believe the photo black must be replaced for the printer to work; in my experience if any of the colors are empty the printer shuts down. Be sure and match the symbols so you're uing the correct ink cartridge.
2228358
To get around the problem of not printing anything if a color cartridges is empty, you can fool the printer by putting black tape (or I used grey duct tape) over the clear window above the ink nipple.
2229192
No, it doesn't. According to tech support it mixes color in with the black to get a "richer" black. So even if you only print black and white, you are still going to have to buy color cartridges to have it run.
1174053
you need to have some ink in all the cartridges- just about all printers nowadays work that way. any empty cartridge will stop the printer(not sure if it can be empty but in the slot, but i know pulling the empty cartridge will keep the printer from printing.if you only use black the other cartridges will last a LONG time with this printer.
433733
It should print without the others. I have had one of the colors run out and just picked the black print option and I was fine.
1711757
I have just tested it myself and it doesn't require a color cartridge to be installed. It will use up more of the black ink, since even black & white printing use up color ink. They use it to somehow help the black ink printouts survive longer. So if you don't mind losing those advantages...I think this particular feature is called "Reserve Mode" by HP. The only information I could find on it is for another HP printer, but with the same type of integrated cartridge/printhead as our HP Deskjet 3050 printer. https://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&dlc;=en&docname;=c00377367&lc;=en&product=357202More on HP Ink cartridges at http://h10060.www1.hp.com/pageyield/en-019/articles/howInkIsUsed.html?cCode=us%20target= I have just tested it myself and it doesn't require a color cartridge to be installed. It will use up more of the black ink, since even black & white printing use up color ink. They use it to somehow help the black ink printouts survive longer. So if you don't mind losing those advantages...I think this particular feature is called "Reserve Mode" by HP. The only information I could find on it is for another HP printer, but with the same type of integrated cartridge/printhead as our HP Deskjet 3050 printer.... » Read More I have just tested it myself and it doesn't require a color cartridge to be installed. It will use up more of the black ink, since even black & white printing use up color ink. They use it to somehow help the black ink printouts survive longer. So if you don't mind losing those advantages...I think this particular feature is called "Reserve Mode" by HP. The only information I could find on it is for another HP printer, but with the same type of integrated cartridge/printhead as our HP Deskjet 3050 printer. https://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&dlc;=en&docname;=c00377367&lc;=en&product=357202More on HP Ink cartridges at http://h10060.www1.hp.com/pageyield/en-019/articles/howInkIsUsed.html?cCode=us%20target= « Show Less
1717808
I'm not sure . That never happen to me . Ran out of black ink and was able to still print in color. But not sure if it works the other way around.
933616
How about ink usage? Will it print if one of the colors is out? Or, does it completely shut down and make you buy a new color cartridge before it will print again?Thanks.
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.