Why is my printer only printing in black and white?

Printers have become a supreme necessity these days. Every office space, workplace, school, shop, and even home requires a printer for various purposes.

With the surge of the internet these days, there is an overload of data worldwide. Today, the world is adjusting to keeping soft copies of their data, but the hard copies of various data are equally important.

But, sometimes, there is troubleshooting with various printers. Most people complain about why my printer only prints in black and white. There can be many reasons for the above printing issue, some of the main reasons are highlighted in this blog. For such issues, the below five methods will help fix the problem.

1.   Change Settings.

If you have printing issues, it is usually due to incorrect software settings. Once you correct your settings, your printing issues will vanish.

If you want to change the settings to enable color printing, then you must follow the below steps,

·         You must launch your printing software application on your computer.

·         You must click on the File menu in the printing software.

·         You must click on the Print option.

·         You will be navigated to the  Print dialog box.

·         You must ensure that the name of your printer is displayed. If it is not displayed, use the drop-down menu to select your printer.

·         You must click on the Properties option.

·         You will find a Properties dialog box on your screen.

·         Now you must select your preferred color options for your printing.

·         If you find a checkmark on the box beside the option "Print in Grayscale," you must click on the box to uncheck.

·         You must click on the OK button.

·         Now you can check your settings by printing again.

2.   Replace Faulty Ink Cartridges.

Sometimes you face printing issues with color printers, and then you wonder why is not my printer printing. In such cases, many times, the reason would be a faulty ink cartridge.

 

When your color ink cartridges are faulty or have some issues, you will be unable to print coloring pages, and your printer goes back to printing in the traditional format of black and white.

 

Hence, it is ideal for checking your ink cartridges from time to time. You should even check the quantity of ink in your cartridges to solve the printing issues.

3.   Use the same printer brand's ink cartridge.

There are some classic cases of people owning a branded printer that is expensive but not willing to spend on the maintenance of the posh printer.

 

For instance, you are investing in a new HP Color Laser Printer for your office, but you want to save money on the other accessories for the printer and use a local ink cartridge. In such cases, you will face issues with your printing quality in the long run; very often, you will wonder, whyis my printer not printing anything?

 

Hence, to resolve the issue and prevent such problems from frequently occurring in the future, you must invest in the same brand or company's ink cartridges for better printing quality.

4.   Reinstall your printer.

Even after trying everything, you face issues with the printing; you must consider uninstalling and reinstalling your printer for better functioning.

If you want to uninstall your printer, follow the below steps,

·         You must switch on your computer.

·         You must navigate the Control Panel option and double-click on it to open.

·         You must click on the Devices and Printers option.

·         For each printer icon that represents the name of your printer, right-click on the icon, and then click on Remove Device or Uninstall device option.

·         Now, your printer is uninstalled from your computer.

If you want to reinstall your printer software and check whether you issue of why is my printer connected but not printing will resolve, then the following steps will help you,

 

·         You must open the official website of your printer brand on your browser.

·         You must navigate to the  printer support main page.

·         You must select your product and manuals

·         You must click on the Start Here option.

·         You must download and install your Printer Setup Utility.

·         You must click on 'Agree to the End-User License Agreement.

·         You must click on the Next option.

·         You must then click on the Install option.

·         Finally, you must click on the Finish option.

·         You must select your printer model.

·         Then, you must click on the Next option.

·         You must choose the Printer Registration, then click on the Next option

·         You must like Agree, then click on the Next option.

·         When you see the Register printer to connect a message on your screen, you must click on the OK button.

·         You must choose I already have an account, fill out the Add a new printer form, then click on the Add option.

·         You must click on the Close option.

·         Finally, you must check out the Activate Scan to Cloud and Remote Print instructions to activate the Scan to Cloud and Remote Print services.

·         You must remember to uncheck the grayscale option from the printer settings to have access to color printing.

5.   Update Printer Drivers.

Sometimes outdated printer drivers can cause many printing issues that will make you wonder why is my printer not printing black.

 

Hence, it is ideal to update your printer drivers regularly to prevent further printing issues. If you want to update your printer drivers, you must follow the steps below,

·         You must navigate to the official website of your printer.

·      On the official website of your printer, you must type your printer's model number.

·         You must click on the Next option to continue.

·         You must select your operating system.

·         You must click on your computer's operating system for the given drop-down list.

·         You must select your printer's software and drivers.

·         In the Driver section, you must review the list of available driver downloads to choose yours.

·         You must now click on the driver that you require for your printer.

·      You must follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the updates of your preferred printer drivers and its software.

Also Read:

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