HP Printer Problem

My HP OfficeJet Pro K550 which I've been quite happy with for quite a while now has made me mad. I bought a new set of HP ink cartridges and installed them. I'm getting an error message saying they are not compatible! A couple times I was able to re-boot the printer and print one or two things but now it refuses to do anything other than tell me to install the 'correct' cartridges. Any ideas other than buying a new set?

 

What HP Cartridge numbers did you purchase? Did you try taking the cartridges out and reinstalling them?

 

I got the same #88's I've been buying forever and, yes, I reinstalled them a number of times.

 

Hi Reilly, have you been to HP web site to see if there are patches/updates for your printer? In my experiences with HP printers, their memories get confused if you work them to fast.
I would suggest you uninstall the drivers and then reinstall with the latest and see if that corrects your problem. Cheers Neil.

 

Nice idea but there are no drivers available for Vista 64. HP says to use the Vista driver.

Thanks!

 

Have you uninstalled the printer > shut down > reboot > and let the OS reinstall the printer?
I would take the cartridges back to see if they programmed correctly if they have a circuit board on them. Neil.

 

I just spent at least 45 min 'chatting' with an HP person, where Ramiro is I haven't the foggiest, and he was just about to have me do a 'hard reset' when our chat window got timed out! He had me remove all the cartridges, print heads, and power cord. The USB was alread out. I put everything back in, which might not have been what he was going to have me do and it is still not working. I don't have it in me to do more tonight.

Thanks for all the suggestions

I think I have a faulty printhead-

 

HP don't use a printhead that I know of, it is in the cartridge.

Look up cleaning instructions at the support page for your printer's model (they may also be on the installation CD, check the manual). If ink has gotten onto the circuit board connectors on the printer, it could be the problem.

Matt
Edit: As retiredlearner suggested, it could be software/drivers. I always completely uninstall the printer's program and reinstall it before thinking that it could be a hardware problem. If you don't have specific Vista 64bit drivers, could an update from HP have given it a "headache "?

 

The Officejet K550 has two printheads; a black/yellow and a cyan/magenta
It turns out my error message was saying all along that I had a bad printhead and not a bad cartridge. You know how you see or read what you expect to see?

 

And the printhead is worth more than another new printer??? Been there, done that with Canon. Best of luck . Neil.

ps. I now have 3 Epson MFC units which have proven very satisfactory.

 

I see what you mean - I just priced printheads at $72 each!
Guess it is time to go Epson- they're better for printing photos anyway. I've an R1800 sitting in the garage I got for free so I guess I'll fire that up.