Dammit!! Printer Gurus - need your help, please! New printer cartridge not working.

[Rabrrrrrr]

I have an HP DeskJet 882C that I print to with a Toshiba laptop running Windows ME (I know... I know... look, you're preaching to the choir...).

The yellow and blue ink went bye bye on me today, leaving me with some pages with all black and slightly magenta color on it. So I replaced the color cartridge, and it's still printing only in black and magenta.

I've searched through the help files, and can't find anything to help me out as to why.

I have another HP (A photosmart) I've done this with 10 times, and never had a problem. With that printer, whenever I've replaced a cartridge the printer has acted like it realized it has a new cartridge, doing a bunch of twirling it around and, I believe, automatically printing a test page.

This printer doesn't do that at all. I've even unplugged it a few times, taken the cartridge out and put it back in a few times, and rebooted the computer.

And still the same damned problem.

I'm beginning to think that maybe the other cartridge wasn't out of ink (though it is very light in weight, and it's quite old), but that there is a communication problem in the printer itself in that it won't fire the blue and yellow jets. Or perhaps something is fucked up in the communication between the computer and printer, but that would really, really surprise me.

What do you all think? I've been pissed at this printer for a year because the paper feed is getting fucked up and far too often it won't pick up a page which, since I'm runnning Windows ME, usually leads to the computer locking up and needing a reboot.

Is the thing finally fucked enough that I can justify getting a new, better printer?

Or is it something that is easily fixable?

[bicentennial_baby]

1. I don't know but, I hate HP printers...

I have no luck with them. Replaced the last one with an Epson, and it works like a charm. Good luck! :hi:

[Midlodemocrat]

2. Stupid question and not to sound snarky, but did you remove the

protective tape thingy? If not, maybe the printer doesn't recognize it.

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. Yes, I did.

[matcom]

3. did you replace BOTH cartridges?

if not, no dice

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. I've never had to replace both on the other HP at the same time.

You think it has to be both on this one?

[matcom]

7. i think so. if one is out of ink none of them will work properly

:shrug:

[Midlodemocrat]

8. Is that all printers or just HP?

My Brother has four individual tanks, do I need to replace all four of them at the same time, do you think?

[matcom]

9. no. didn't quite mean that

meant if the blue and yellow are out, and you only replace the blue, (the yellow is still out), it won't print

[Midlodemocrat]

10. Gotcha.

[Phillycat]

6. PC Load Letter? What the fuck does that mean???????

Sorry, Office Space moment. :D

[necso]

11. I'm no guru,

but the odds of a new cartridge having clogged jets (or whatever) in the same locations as the old cartridge are probably low. (Some printers have "heads" separate from the cartridges, which "heads" can get clogged; but I don't think so on the 882c, although memory fails.)

Taking into consideration the other symptoms, I'd say it's time to replace the printer.

You could do the "obligatory" things: try to clean the cartridges; update the driver; replace the cable; try another I/O port; etc.

But my guess is that all this would be a waste of time.

[tigereye]

12. did you try the print head adjustment or head cleaner function?

we had to do this last week with our Canon, it was printing incompletely and that fixed it.

[Rabrrrrrr]

13. Yeah, I did all that. Even the advanced cleaning functions.

Nothing.

[Rosemary2205]

14. all my printers up to now have been HP

my bet is on a bad cartridge. Take it back and exchange it.

You have 1 black and 1 color cartridge with the blue/yellow/magenta all in one right? If it's printing magenta off the new color cartridge it ain't the printer or the contacts, it's the cartridge. I've had it happen........

Just my 2 cents

[Arkansas Granny]

15. We have used HP printers for years where I work. I recently

replaced the color cartridge on my printer (it uses a color cartridge and a black cartridge) and it wouldn't print color. I took it out, put it back in, still wouldn't print. In short, I tried everything you outlined above. Turned out that the cartridge itself was defective. When I got a new cartridge and installed it, the problem went away. Don't know if that is your problem or not, just the experience I had.