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Why does the colour ink cartridge run down when I've only ever used the black?

Got a new HP printer (HP photosmart C4600 series), loaded it with colour cartridge and black cartridge, and whenever I print - so far only in black - I get a little onscreen picture showing how much ink is left. The black ink has gone down fast. But the colour ink has also gone down, by about half. How can this be, and why, when I've used no colour ink at all yet?

Update:

Thanks! "Checking with agent" - well, bought from HewlettPackard via Amazon. Brand - I always make sure I buy genuine HP ink cartridges. BUT I found the grayscale option, thanks; only thing is there was only one sub-head: "high quality" - so does that mean my black ink will run out even faster??

5 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Almost all printers uses colors when printer black This is for a better print quality

    If you do not want to use colors then select the following print options if available:

    print in grayscale and select black ink only.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    this is a safety feature. ink acts as a lubricant for the head. some ink has to run all the time of the ink in the heads will clot. read http://www.ccs-digital.com/inkjetcare.asp for details

  • 1 decade ago

    -maybe your ink was drying off!! you have to check print every month or every 2/3 weeks to make sure that your ink isn't drying off!

    - maybe you bought a color ink with only half ink in it!!

    - maybe a ghost wanted to print some pictures so he came to your house to do it!! LOL :)

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    check out the ink brand

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    same with my canon printer,

    got to check with the agent

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