Need much more info, Sue. What is your printer...Canon? HP? Model #? How old? In most cases the manufacturer has a website where you might find the answer to its problem with less speculation than you might get here. Also...the website may have a test that you can run...or tell you how to run a test with your printer...that will tell you what the likely problem is. Personally, I wouldn't fool around with the printer head until you have more practical knowledge. No spit yet! :-) And definitely...no alcohol. Chances are...if it's the printer head...your printed product will have perpendicular lines through the page...like you dragged a dry paintbrush across the page while it was printing.

My neighbor put her dried ink cartridge in a shallow dish of very hot water and that got it flowing again. Don't have more details but she was printing some papers for me and felt she had nothing to lose.

If this is an HP printer, check the expiration date on the ink cartridge. Look the cartridge over to find it. It may be on the paper label on the top surface and will read something like this: 2019/01 indicating Jan 2019. The printer will not accept a cartridge beyond its expiration date. I've gotten one new cartridge that was an old one and had it refused. In another case on someone else's printer, the problem was a refilled cartridge whose date code had not been reset or disabled. Some office supply stores sell lower cost, refilled cartridges.

If the problem is other than the date code, the problem could be:

1. Dirty contacts on either the cartridge or cartridge holder.

2. Failed parts in either the printer or within the cartridge.

If the printer accepts the cartridge but some of the ink jets do not print, then there could be clogged jets, poor electrical contact with the print head and its holder, or printer failure. The most likely problem is clogged jets or debris covering part of the jets.

If you have an older HP printer with two cartridges, Black plus a 3 color cartridge, the jets may be built into the bottom of the cartridge. In this case, you get a new set of jets with a cartridge change-out. Also, the printer runs an alignment procedure after each time a cartridge has been removed.

Can you run a head cleaning cycle? It's usually under maintenance in the settings...

This is a HP 4535. I bought a pair of cartridges. It accepted the black one, but not the color one. I had set the printer to black only a few weeks ago, but reset it to color and black when I replaced both cartridges this weekend.

I've run the 'cleaning' cycle. It won't accept the color cartridge. It won't print anything with color, so I can't see if there are lines through a page.

It's my guess that the (jet?) for color is blocked. How to clear it?

Always hate to burn a cartridge, can you get another one? Keep the packaging and return the older cart if the new one works...

Here's the website support doc for your printer, Sue. I've ticked the Tutorial Section to see, for myself, what might be available and it looks like there may be help utilizing one or more of their offerings. As you know better than I exactly what's going on with your printer...I'm leaving the rest of the investigation up to you. Although...I tend to agree with your current assessment...that something is blocking the ink flow. In some printers you can remove the print head and soak it in warm water until the dried ink is cleaned from the head. Warm water is usually the strongest cleaning solution that you should use so don't try alcohol or any other solvent unless HP recommends it.

I know little to nothing about HP printers so I don't want to guess regarding corrective measures. Do some motoring around through their entire web site. There's a lot of really valuable info on there. I wish my Canon website was as nicely organized. While you're there, you might want to see if there have been any updates to your printer's program or new drivers. Windows usually makes these types of updates available through their own monthly updates...but I've personally found that they miss some here and there so it pays to check.

HTH :-)

https://support.hp.com/lamerica_nsc_carib-en/product/hp-deskjet-ink-advantage-4530-all-in-one-printer-series/5447926/model/5447927/videos

I've had to use HP support and they were so nice. I called both times and was on the phone for over an hour one time. Love HP support!

I hope you get your printer working.

chisue, I recommend that people never update drivers. Never. Drivers are the small bits of software that allow two pieces of hardware to communicate and function together. A driver's operation is binary - either it works or it doesn't. If your printer was working fine before and the only thing that's changed is that you're installing new ink cartridges, there's no reason to touch the driver(s).

Why? Because drivers and the experience of changing them can be funky and especially with less experienced PC users, the process of updating a driver can involve going into dark parts of Windows and settings that are very easy to screw up or to do the wrong thing if tampered with. There's no spectrum of how well your PC and printer work together - either they do or they don't. If you haven't changed software or an OS on either side and they've been compatible all along, leave this and other drivers alone. Don't fix what ain't broke.

Good luck

Update: Fixed! And only TWO HOURS LATER. (I waited 20 mins. to get a tech via online chat.)

It was indeed a matter of wiping the port and the cartridge with clean water -- not alcohol and not spit, but *close*. The tech also had me shake the cartridge up and down ten times before inserting it.

The printer is not under warranty, so I couldn't just call. ($20 fee.) I started out asking about how to do the cleaning, but oh, no, we had to go through all the steps first. (That's why I turned to the KT for help before engaging with HP.)

I thank you all for your support in this "colorless" time of need. You may now stand down.

LOL You are, indeed, a very brave...and patient...lady! But the deed is done and I'm sure you're now a bit wiser about that piece of equipment. I knew from the website that it was no longer under warranty but there are a lot of days when I'm not either and a shake here or there...gently done...has about the same success rate as you've just experienced with your HP printer.

Carry on!...in living color! :-)