Epson C64 prints in grey and other dark colours, but won't print in black!

susiej

Honorable
Sep 9, 2013
2
0
10,510
I have an Epson C64 Printer. All 4 cartridges are half full. I can print documents in dark grey or any other dark colours, but it will not print in black.

It must be using the black cartridge to generate the dark colours - for example, when printing in dark blue, the printer lays down light blue first and then lays down a darker colour (black?) on top.

I can change the colours to print any MS Office documents, but cannot print out pdf files written in black.

I have reinstalled drivers, and tried the printer with another computer, with the same result.

The print heads cannot be blocked as black is printing OK to generate grey and other dark colours!

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I would dump the printer, but have 2 full sets of new cartridges....

Susan
 

susiej

Honorable
Sep 9, 2013
2
0
10,510


Yes, I have been through the diagnostics and there is nothing wrong. I have also printed colour test pages - all other colours print perfectly, but no black.

if there was no black coming out of the cartridge at all, I would have thought dark blue would come out as cyan?? If I print in the darkest blue I can, I can see the page being printed in cyan and then being overlaid with what looks like black. I can also print in different shades of grey (surely that uses the black cartridge too?).

Incidentally, if I choose "greyscale" instead of colour printing, I get nothing on the page.

 

dingo07

Distinguished
exactly as makkem said - for sure there's blockage, or the signal is not getting to the printed to spit ink

try cleaning the contacts of both the printhead and carrier - you might also want to check the reservoir where the cartridge spits before and after initialization, sometimes the ink buildup is massive and the printhead ends up hitting the mound of dried ink after every pass