Why Is HP OfficeJet 4650 Not Printing Black? Complete Fix Guide

I’ve had people ask me how to fix the HP OfficeJet 4650 not printing black issue. First off, I know how soul-crushing it is to run into this problem when you trust your ink cartridge.

Luckily, you don’t need to be a kickass techie to solve the problem. Once you’ve figured out why it happens, fixing it will be a piece of cake.

This in-depth guide will briefly explain why your HP OfficeJet 4650 may stop printing black. You can then quickly understand the solution steps we’ll discuss and apply them to save time and money.

Your HP OfficeJet 4650 can fail to print black due to a faulty ink cartridge, low ink, wrong print settings, or software problems. You can fix the issue by replacing your ink cartridges, changing print settings, cleaning the printhead, and reinstalling print drivers.

That’s the tip of the iceberg, buddy. Let’s explore everything in detail.

Reasons for HP 4650 Not Printing Black

However much you trust your OfficeJet printer, it may suddenly run into print quality problems. And it doesn’t matter that you have a newly installed ink cartridge.

Your HP OfficeJet 4650 printer may fail to print black for any of the following reasons:

• Faulty ink cartridge
• Blocked printhead vent
• Empty ink cartridge
• Printhead misalignment
• Incorrect print settings
• Dirty ink cartridge
• Outdated print drivers

Note: Your ink cartridge may give you print quality problems if you mishandle it during installation.

If you’ve installed a new cartridge and are experiencing the HP black ink not printing issue, don’t worry. You can try printing a few hours after the automatic servicing routine is complete.

How to Fix HP HP OfficeJet 4650 Not Printing Black

These are the 5 practical ways to make your HP OfficeJet 4650 print black again:

Solution #1: Remove Faulty or Empty Ink Cartridges

I highly recommend you stick with genuine HP ink and toner supplies. To be blunt, if you don’t use an original ink cartridge, the steps in this guide may be of little help.

You can check the authenticity of your cartridges by visiting the HP anti-counterfeit page.

Understandably, your cartridge may also run low on ink, affecting print quality. At times it’s been tampered with at the store or during installation.

If your troubleshooting results point to a problem with the ink cartridge, remove it by following these steps:

1. Power on the printer and load it with plain A4 paper.
2. Gently raise the ink cartridge door till it locks in position.
3. Let the carriage go silent and idle.
4. Carefully release the cartridge by lifting the lid on its slot and pushing it back till it stops.
5. Gently pull out the ink cartridge from its slot.

Safely dispose of the empty or faulty cartridge, then prepare a new one for the replacement.

Note: You should only touch the black plastic on the cartridge.

If you touch the ink nozzles or copper-colored contacts, it could damage the electrical connections, cause clogs, and ink failure. Moreover, don’t replace the protective tape on the copper-colored contacts.

Steps For Inserting New Ink Cartridge

Here’s how to properly insert the new ink cartridge:

1. Hold the new cartridge by the sides, ensuring the nozzles point in the direction of the printer.
2. Softly insert the ink cartridge into its slot.
3. Close the cartridge slot lid to secure it in place.
4. Close the cartridge access door.

Once you’ve replaced the ink cartridge, your printer will begin printing an alignment page automatically. Moreover, it will outstretch the output tray extender, so don’t push it until the alignment page is ejected.

Lift the scanner lid and insert the alignment page with its printed side facing down on the scanner. Set it in place properly, close the lid, then click “OK.” Your printer then properly aligns the ink cartridges.

Try printing again as usual. If you can obtain black, there’s no need to go through the remaining steps.

Solution #2: Clean Ink Cartridges & Nozzle Areas

Cleaning your ink cartridges will considerably beef up the print quality. You can have your printer do the process from the control panel, then check the results.

Here’s how to make the printer do clean the cartridges:

1. Load the tray with plain A4 paper.
2. Go to Setup on the control panel.
3. Navigate to Tools > Clean Cartridges.

Your OfficeJet 4650 will then produce a Print Quality Diagnostics Report. Evaluate the report and click “No” to stop further troubleshooting if the results are acceptable.

If the print quality isn’t appealing, click “Yes” to proceed to the next level of cleaning.

Note: You need another cleaning cycle within an hour if your printhead is clogged too much. 

And if your printout shows track marks or smeared text, it’s time to manually clean the cartridge and nozzle areas.

How to Clean the Ink Cartridge?

Here’s how to clean the ink cartridge manually:

1. Power on the printer.
2. Gently raise the ink cartridge access door till it locks in position.
3. Let the carriage go silent and idle.
4. Unplug the power cord and any connected USB cable.
5. Gently lift the cartridge slot lid, then push it back until it stops. This releases the ink cartridge.
6. Carefully remove the cartridge from its slot and clean it.

Note: Only remove one cartridge at a time, clean it, and put it back into the printer within 30 minutes.

You may also have to clean the area around the ink nozzles, in which case you need the following:

• Soft cleaning material that leaves no fibers, e.g., coffee filters or lint-free cloth
• Distilled water

I strongly advise against using alcohol or platen cleaners on the ink cartridge contacts. They can spoil the cartridge or the whole printer.

How To Clean The Ink Nozzle

These are the steps for cleaning the ink nozzle areas:

1. Moisten a lint-free cloth lightly with distilled water.
2. Clean the cartridge face and ink nozzle areas. Don’t touch the ink nozzle plate.
3. Let the cartridge sit for 10 minutes to dry the cleaned area.
4. Carefully insert the cartridge into the printer.
5. Close the cartridge slot lid to secure the cartridge.

Repeat these steps for the other ink cartridge, then close the cartridge access door. Next, plug in the power cord once more and turn on the machine if it doesn’t come on automatically.

You can then try printing to check if the issue is solved. If not, kindly proceed to the next steps.

Tip: Properly turn off your printer with the power button to avoid print quality issues that prompt cleaning.

Solution #3: Apply Correct Print Settings

You may have accidentally applied the wrong print settings on your computer.

When the print window opens on your computer, open the Properties box, and apply the correct settings for:

• Paper type
• Print quality: draft, normal, or best modes
• Black and white

Solution #4: Align Your Officejet 4650 Printhead

You must properly align the printhead with the printer, and you’ll achieve this by first aligning the cartridges.

Here’s how to align the cartridges correctly:

1. Load the tray with plain A4 paper.
2. Go to Setup on the control panel.
3. Navigate to Tools > Align Printer. The printer will automatically print an alignment page.
4. Open the scanner top cover and lay the alignment sheet face down on the glass.
5. Close the scanner lid, then select “OK.”
6. Try printing once more.

If your printout still shows visible smears or tracks, replace the faulty ink cartridge.

Solution #5: Reinstall Your Printer Drivers

Your printer may fail to print black due to bugs and software errors, especially with outdated drivers. If that’s the case, you need to uninstall and reinstall the printer drivers.

On your computer settings, remove OfficeJet 4650 from the list of devices, then uninstall the HP printer software and all drivers. Install the latest software for your printer, then try printing afresh.

The best way to avoid experiencing HP OfficeJet 4650 not printing black is by using genuine ink cartridges from HP. But if you encounter the problem, you can also check for and replace faulty ink cartridges.

Read Next: Why Is My HP Printer Connected but not Printing?

Bottom Line

I hope you can now fix the issue of HP OfficeJet 4650 not printing black. If you try all the fixes we’ve discussed, but nothing works, it’s time to take your printer for servicing.

You can also contact HP Customer Support for more professional assistance.