Officejet 8500 won't print Black ink only if other colors are out

     I confirmed with HP's customer support that there is no way to
  print black ink only with this printer if other colors    are out.
  Does anyone else feel that this is absolutely rediculous?  If I
  have an urgent printing need and I'm out of    color, it seems that
  the printer should allow me to print in black only. This seems to be
  a way for HP to sell more    color ink.  ARGH!

     HP and Corporate Plunder

     Now I'm sitting here the day before Xmas, needing to print a
  black document, and the printer won't print because the    color
  cartridge (which is FULL of ink) is expired.

     You money-grubbing S.O.B.s aren't going to get any more of my $
  than I can possibly avoid, ever again--

  Lexmark is just as bad.
  I got sick of having my HP color-cartridges dry up on me from lack of
  use that I finally bought a rather inexpensive Lexmark Color Laser.
  Works good, never dries  up.  But the Lexmark color toner cartridges
  are really $$pricey.  I bought a big bottle of black toner for a few
  bucks and refilled it myself.  It still tells me that I am out of
  toner but by pushing enough buttons I can get to to work.  I've been
  told that it will soon lock up on me, in spite of having about a
  pint of toner in the cartridge.  Some hackers do sell new chips for
  the toner cartridge  for about #10.  I might have to go that route.

  Robin F Berglund

  My HP 8500 died yesterday. While printing some documents, The
  computer started to "chime" , like a piece of equipment was plugged
  in, and then un plugged. Printjob finished, but (HP) control panel
  was blank and unresponsive. Power lite is lit, so unplugged power,
  then replugged, ditto w/ computer cable. Seems like it would still
  copy without computer connection, but won't do that either. Herb Karkheck

  Canon Pixma is the same .... if it deems any of the 6 ink cartridges
  is empty it stops and insists on a rplacement.

  You have to understand the business model ..... they could give the
  printers away, they make all their money on replacement ink and toner!

  sdorr

  Better get your tent and placard and camp out with the corporate greed
people. This is just a small part of what is getting people annoyed.

  Kinda like why you can not get wiper refills any more. You have to buy the
whole blade. If they make 20% on the item you do not need and accounting
degree to figure out whether you want it on a $3 item or a $15 item.
Thieves
is what it amounts to. If they take away you choice it is the same thing.
Just
legal this way and they do not have to stick a gun in your face!

  Kinda like why you can not get wiper refills any more. You have to buy the
whole blade. If they make 20% on the item you do not need and accounting
degree to figure out whether you want it on a $3 item or a $15 item.
Thieves
is what it amounts to. If they take away you choice it is the same thing.
Just
legal this way and they do not have to stick a gun in your face!

Dale Davies



Paul,

Today's Fry's flier has an Epson 1100 color injet printer for $69.  That's
probably less than a set of new ink cartridges for your old printer.  Just
a thought.

Mark S.

I need an all in one. I use the copy feature and the double sided scanning feature.

I would also like wireless as then Robin can use it from her Mac and
Android tablet. We have a wireless set up in the house and the hangar.

Paul Lamar


Epson printers have the same flaw that the HP does, IE won't print only black ink
with empty or missing color catridges.
C. Smith

Maybe keep this printer and just use it for scanning.  Then get a cheap
($100) laser printer for B&W use-- I got a nice Brother model that does
wireless networking and duplex printing for that price--they are super
reliable, fast,  you won't have to worry about the ink jets drying up, etc,
and toner is much cheaper than ink and easier to refill without hassle.  If
you really need color occassionally, get a cheap color inkjet printer on
sale and be emotionally prepared to throw it away every two years.  If you
are out of USB ports on your computer, just buy a  USB 4-into-1 hub for 15
bucks.


Mark W.