Why Is My Epson Printer Not Printing Black? (5 Easy Fixes)

Why is my Epson printer not printing black?

Here are the reasons for the ‘Epson printer not printing black’ issue.

• Printer head having an issue
• The issue regarding paper printing
• Printer driver related issue
• Improper source data
• Issues in the ink cartridge

Now we are going to demonstrate the solutions for these issues one by one in detail. One of these methods must help you fix this problem.

Troubleshooting methods

Here’s how to troubleshoot your Epson printer.

1. Turn off your Epson printer and disconnect the interface cable between the computer and printer. Also, plug out all of the USB cables connected.
2. Now check the availability of paper in the printer
3. After some time reconnect all the interface as well as USB cables and hold down the power button to turn on your printer
4. After turning on the printer go to the printer settings click on print a test page option for test running of your printer
5. A dialog box will appear, set the paper size on the dialog box and other suitable settings and click on the print test page button
6. If the problem continues to exist and the printer is still unable to print black then check printer ink levels to determine the ink volume in your cartridges else follow the below-listed solutions one by one to solve the problem.

How to fix Epson printer not printing black?

Here are the steps to resolve the Epson printer not printing black issue.

1. Issues in the ink cartridge

First, we need to check the volume of the ink available in different ink cartridges. There might be a chance that your ink cartridges are not working properly. For checking this follow the following steps:

1. Open up the printer and remove ink cartridges
2. Check if there are any ink cartridges that are empty or about to end, then fill them up or replace them with new ink cartridges.
3. Be careful while placing ink cartridges into their positions and make sure that each cartridge is properly installed in its allocated slot.
4. While installing a new cartridge make sure that the tape over the ventis removed properly.
5. Do not forget to check clogging in between cartridge vents as they are more likely to get cogged by the ink. It can simply be removed by using a pin or another sharp object.
6. If your printer is still unable to perceive ink cartridges than there might be a possibility that your printer used to work with an old cartridge, so use an alternate ink cartridge and check again.

Note: if the old ink cartridge is able to deliver any type of output than there is some sort of issues in your new ink cartridge if not then your printhead must be at a fault.

2. The print head having an issue

If there are no issues in the ink cartridge and still the Epson printer won’t print black, then there are more chances that the print head is clogged and needs cleaning. In order to clean your print head, first, you will need to identify whether the print head in your printer has an automatic cleaning feature or not. After identifying you can follow one of the listed steps:

1. If the printer does not have an automatic cleaning feature then remove the print head from the printer and clean it thoroughly.
2. Run the automatic cleaning feature if the printer head is unable to remove and clean manually. Note: you might need to run this feature two to three times as one-time running does not ensure proper cleaning of the print head.

3. Printer driver related issue

Printer drivers are responsible for the proper functioning of your printer. If the Epson printer is not printing black then there might be a possibility that the printer drivers are not installed, outdated, or not functioning properly. In order to check this or update/ install new printer drivers you need to follow the following steps:

1. Go to your computer settings and search for device manager in the search bar
2. In device, manager find your device name and click on it
3. Now follow the instructions appeared on the dialog box that appears and click on scan now button to search for the most recent drivers
4. Wait for driver installation/ update to complete.

If the driver installs successfully there might be a chance that the problem is solved. If the issue remains unsolved then try the rest of the given solutions.

4. Improper source data

If you are trying to print a file that you have downloaded from the internet or from an unknown source then you need to make sure that if it is designed for inkjet printing. In case the file is not designed for inkjet printing then you need to contact the owner of the file or use any other kind of printer such as a laser printer. You can look for the version of file that supports inkjet printing.

5. The issue regarding paper printing

In case you are unable to find any of the above-listed issues and still unable to print black and your printer supports both types of black ink cartridges including pigment cartridge and dye-based cartridge, then you need to make changes in the paper settings. The paper type selected in the paper settings decides which type of black ink your printer is going to use. Usually, it includes the following two types of paper:

1. Matte paper for pigment black printing
2. Glossy paper for dye printing

Note: you need to switch between these two paper settings in the hope to achieve better printing results.

Related Article

• How to Fix Epson Error Code 0x97
• How to Fix Epson Printer Error Code 0xf1
• How to fix Epson printer printing blank pages
• How to print without black ink on Epson
• How to bypass ink cartridge on Epson printer
• How to force Epson printer to print with low ink

Conclusive

So, from the above discussion, we have seen that there is some particular situation when Epson printers do not print black. The issue is due to the use of unknown source data files, a problem in ink cartridge or printing head, etc. one must solve these issues genuinely to avoid any jeopardy. The issues can be solved by taking care like frequently troubleshooting and maintenance of the hardware components.  But if the issue persists then you have to change your printing device or in another way, you can also contact the customer care center to get a refund.

We hope this article will help you solve this problem. If you have any suggestions or queries regarding this issue, share them in the comments.