HP Photosmart 8450

I have a problem. My cartridge was running low, so, while the Photosmart 8450

was on, I lifted the lid, and lifted up the cover that is over the black

cartridge. (I thought I could see the level of ink left, but actually that

information was available on the LCD screen).

 

Now, the Printer LCD window says "Color cartridge failed. Replace it or remove

it to print in ink backup mode".

 

The problem is not solved by shutting off power and rebooting.

 

I guess, in hindsight, I should not have fiddled with the printer while the

power was on, and while it was connected to the computer.

 

Any suggestions from Photosmart 8450 users?

 

Incidentally, since it's been ages since I inserted the cartridges, I cannot

recall how to remove the cartridge. No gentle pulling in any direction seems to

budge it, and I don't want to force anything lest it breaks.

 

Thanks

Roger

Roger, I think you and I might be the only ones here with the 8450. The printer seems designed to change cartridges with the power on, because mine turns itself on whenever I lift the lid. At that point, the cartridge carrier adjusts its position so you can access the cartridges. Flip up the cartridge cover, gently press down on the front of the cartridge, and it should slip right out. Perhaps you flipped the cartridge cover before the carrier had the chance to adjust its position? At any rate, while I'm more-or-less satisfied with the performance, I doubt the printer is worth the hassle/cost of repair. Good luck.

Hi Phil

 

With your description on how to remove the cartridges, I was easily able to remove and

reinsert them.

 

Printer is working fine now. Must have been a loose connection somewhere.

 

What a relief.

 

Thanks

Roger

Hey. I have one too! I happen to think this is a great printer. After throwing two Epsons and a Canon in the dumptser after just one year, the HP looks better every day. Not one wrong step since I've owned it.

I have two. I bought refurbished units from Tech For Less. They were under $100 each.

 

These are great printers for color and B&W.

<p>I had a similar problem. As it turned out, the Photo cartridge was defective, and now that it has been replaced, and the Color cartridge removed and re-installed securely, everything seems to work fine.<br>

I got an indication that the Photo cartridge was at fault from the Test Page, although I didn't know how to interpret it at first. The following page shows what the 8450's Test Page should look like:<br>

https://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&docname=c00254233<br>

(although I used the menu, not the way that page describes, to generate the Test Page).<br>

HP Support didn't provide much help with this; they just tried to sell me a new printer. For anyone with a similar problem, I would suggest checking out the cartridges before giving up!</p>

<p>Mark</p>

<p>p.s. I realize that the price of HP's current entry-level Photosmart printer, the D110a, is not that much compared with the price of three new cartridges, but I'm satisfied with the image quality of the 8450 and didn't know whether the D110a (or B210a, or C310a) would be a step up or a step down in terms of image quality. I'd be curious to know anyone's opinion.</p>

<p>This thread came back to life after all these years! The connection on the back of mine went bad but I was able to get an HP wireless (Blue Tooth?) gizmo from B&H Photo so I'm back in business. I can no longer get the nice color graphic on my computer screen telling me my ink levels and must rely the poor graphic on the little HP screen. Before I replenish my ink set again in this thing I'm going to give the highly rated and cheap Costco print service a try. </p>

<p>>I can no longer get the nice color graphic on my computer screen telling me my ink levels and must rely the poor graphic on the little HP screen.</p>

<p>I know what you mean about the ink level indicator. Currently I have the 8450 connected via USB to a Mac, and the ink-level utility works only some of the time. FWIW, when you print a test page there is an indication of the ink levels ("LOI ="). It takes a bit of inference to determine which number corresponds to which cartridge, but once you do that, this may be a more accurate way to get the levels than by the drops on the little graphic. The test page does use some ink, of course.<br>

Thanks for your response!<br>

Mark</p>

<p>Good idea, of course those test pages use up half a cartridge. No complaints, I got this thing for about $100.00 when Ritz went under. I have always found those cartridge designations a bit confusing to say the least.</p>