Print cartridge gone mad, please help

[vikiradTG2007]

I've got a HP DeskJet 3900 printer which has run pretty well for some years now, but recently I ran out of black ink. Got the cartridge reloaded, but the ink was very inconsistent and was too watery, so we had to send the cartridge back for a proper reload.

Problem is, now, the printer recognizes the cartridge but it tells me that there's an error with both cartridges. Funnily enough, when the black cartridge is out, there's no error with the tri-color one.

I can't print anything and it's at a time when I had a few things to print out. Tried reinstalling the printer, but it seems as if the problem is within the cartridge itself.

Recommendations?


EDIT: Black cartridge is HP code 21, and tri-color is 22.

 

[Homer_Bart]

Happened to me before, albeit on HP 6000 series fax/printer/scanner.

Buy a new black cartridge, and everything will be fine. Save the current black cartridge till the current tri-color one runs out, and see if it's compatible with the new tri-color, which it will.

 

[Cowboy]

throw out the black cardridge and simply buy a new one.... I never had good experiences with those refilljobs anyway to be honest and it realy isent worth compleetly fucking up your printer with as i did once , and that was in the days printers where still expensive

 

[Vette Boss]

I never trust those ink refills, because they don't use the same formula as the manufacturer intended. At worst, you can clog up and completely ruin your printer.

Replace the black refill with a proper replacement from HP and it should fix it.

 

[PacketCollision]

Just buy a cheap laser printer and be done with it. I love my Brother 2170W, although I notice it's a little more expensive at newegg right now (should be able to find it for < $100). It's fast (23ppm), cheap, toner lasts forever, replacements are pretty cheap, has LAN and WiFi, and is pretty small. Added bonus, laser-prints don't smear when you highlight them. Once you have a laser printer you'll never go back.

Just keep your color printer around for printing out the occasional picture.

 

[Hercules286]

If it's going mad, it's best to sneak up on it and stab it hard with a screwdriver. Don't wear anything fancy, tough, that ink splatter is impossible to clean.

 

[Doctor Blade]

I used to do refills for a national chain in the USA for ages, and while most cartridges come out fine there's always one or two that don't. Oddly, the HP21's were some of the easiest to redo. Getting a new one should make things better. I second the laser idea for Black and White. You can refill those too!