INK TANK – THESE DO NOT HAVE THE PRINT HEADS INTEGRATED.  DO NOT DO THE PAPER TOWEL METHOD WITH THESE CARTRIDGES.

These are dye based ink cartridges.  There is no HP 85 black cartridge, the black is an HP 84.


Not Recognizing

 

Verify you have the correct cartridges for your specific model of printer.

 

There’s a smart chip located on the bottom inside of the cartridge.  Check the chip for damage or debris.  A Q-tip can be used to reach and wipe the gold contacts.

 

Make sure the cartridge is firmly pressed into place.  If the cartridge is not pushed down far enough the chip will not make proper contact.  Also try removing then reinstalling the cartridge.

 

Check to make sure the right color is being installed into the correct color slot.

Colors from left to right; Yellow, Black, Magenta, Cyan, Light Magenta, and Light Cyan

 

Not Fitting

 

The HP 84 black cartridge is physically thicker than the color cartridges.  Be sure that the correct cartridge is being installed into the correct color slot.  Refer to the User’s Manual of the specific printer to see the correct cartridge order.

 

Print Quality Issues

 

The printer will puncture the bottom nozzle area of the cartridge.  Make sure the cartridge is fully inserted into the printer.  The printer has a print head cleaning function that should be used.  Refer to the User’s Guide of their particular printer to see how to use the print head cleaning utility.  You may need to run two cleanings.

 

Smearing, missing lines, and spotting are usually print head related issues.  Sometimes print head cleaning can resolve this however the print head may also be at its end of life and need to be replaced.

 

These cartridges install into separate, replaceable, print heads.  There is a print head for each individual color.  The print heads are maintenance items and will need to be replaced after a certain amount of usage.

 

Do NOT attempt the paper towel method with this cartridge.