HP C6180 color copies (on plain paper) aren't full color

Often "grayscale" is achieved by mixing some of your colors (CYM) to form composite black and gray - not necessarily just black from your black cartridge. Often there is some yellow used beneath the black -- so if you are getting a red or blue tint, it could mean something as simple as being low on yellow ink.

Hello Landscapeman ,

You need to specify the paper type when the print dialog box appears. Heavy glossy paper needs to spend more time in the fuser so that the toner is fixed.

you may have to wipe the ink cartridge flow area off it may have dry ink on it a damp cloth or wet nap should work or you may have to realign the cartridge and make sure it is in the right way hope this helps

The print heads in the C6180 are not removable.
I would suggest getting an 02 XL black cartridge and an 02 Photo Value Pack (because it includes all colors plus photo paper for much less than the cost of the color cartridges separately ... and YES the are FULL 02 cartridges!) and run several head cleaning sessions from the setup menu.
It should do a deeper cleaning each successive time you run the same cleaning, so run 3 black head cleanings in a row (3 is the deepest).
Then disconnect the power from the unit, press and hold the # and the 6.
While holding the keys, reconnect the power to the unit until you see a reset message or until the unit turns itself back off.
If the unit turns itself back off, release the keys and press the power button.
The unit will gyrate and click and whir for quite some time and eventually settle in to a ready state.
At this point, you should be out some ink, but the unit should be printing again.
If it isn't, there really isn't anything you can do.
You can call HP at 1-800-HP-Invent and ask about their trade-in/trade up options for this model.
You can get really good deals on current model printers by trading in your defective unit !
Usually you will have a choice of about 3 replacement trade in (if the C6180 can be replaced with another C6180) / trade up (equal or better models) for your specific printer.

I can imagine the frustration but I want you to try this procedure:-

Ink may be new, but their nuzzles may be blocked; depending on manner of storage. To be sure apply a folded tissue paper to the ink nuzzle and press firmly. If the tissue comes off well blotted with yellow ink it means you still have a good amount of yellow ink in it and the nuzzle is not blocked. If not blotted or scantily blotted, it means yellow ink is really low or nuzzle is blocked. To be very sure of this, place nuzzle in a plate/saucer with a bit water so that the nuzzle is soaked. Leave for about 10 minutes. Then apply the tissue again. If still not well blotted it means ink is really low or empty. If new you should return it for a replacement. In the case of blocked nuzzles, the procedure may be repeated over to get results.

All colors need to be present to pass alignment. Usually what I see is the yellow is empty. You can blot the print cartridge on a damp paper towel to verify the inks are working and this also cleans the head.

Try this:

The HP all-in-one product will print black copies using both the color and black cartridges to create composite black in Normal and Best modes. This is necessary to create the correct grayscale shades.

1. The color cartridge may be out of one color of ink. Perform the steps in the 'Colors are not correct' section above to verify that the ink cartridges are not low on ink.
2. Verify that the correct paper type is selected in the Paper Type setting.
3. Some photo paper has different chemical characteristics than Hewlett-Packard paper. The HP all-in-one is designed for use with HP Premium and Premium Plus Photo Paper. The photo paper, paper-type setting should be used with HP Photo Paper. For other paper brands, it may be necessary to use the plain paper or premium Inkjet paper, paper-type settings.

OR: The ink cartage you have may be defective if is a refilled or recharged cartage.

If you just replaced the ink cartridges, make sure you've removed the plastic tabs that cover where the ink shoots out. If they are old cartridges, make sure that the nozles haven't dried up. Remove the cartridges and dab a cloth (one you don't mind staining) where the ink shoots out, if all the colours show up, it's clear. If you notice very little colour, or none at all, try dampening the cloth and wiping down the cartridges to promote inkflow through the nozles. Hope this helps.

how old is the paper, it should have an expiration date on the package.  If the paper is good, it could be that your yellow color in the ink cartridge is low.  Run a printer test page and see if all colors work.

Try to clean your printheads or check the level of your inks, maybe you are low on inks. Operating system does not affect any printing outputs as I know. Check your inks also coz HP cannot guarantee the quality or reliability of non-HP ink. If ink cartridges have been refilled, try replacing them with genuine HP ink cartridges.
If the print defect is minor, it might be caused by reserve mode operation. When the printer runs out of some colors, it can continue printing using remaining inks, but print quality may be affected. If cyan, magenta, or yellow is out, the printer can print only in grayscale.
Replace any empty print cartridges. To check ink levels, follow the steps below.

1. Press the Setup button.
2. Press the down arrow button until Tools is highlighted.
3. Press OK .
4. The Display Ink Gauge selection should be highlighted. Press OK and the ink gauge will display.

OR try calibrate the color:

1. Open the printer Toolbox :

• Open HP Solution Center (click Start , then All Programs , then HP , then HP Solution Center ).
• If you have more than one printer installed, make sure to select the correct printer tab in HP Solution Center .
• Click Settings .
• Click Print Settings .
• Click Printer Toolbox .

2. On the Device Services tab, click Calibrate Color , then follow the onscreen instructions. The procedure takes about two minutes and requires two sheets of paper.
If the steps above did not help, clean the print head.

1. Open the All-in-One Toolbox :
   1. Open HP Solution Center (click Start , click All Programs , click HP , and then click HP Solution Center ).
   2. If you have more than one All-in-One installed, make sure to select the correct All-in-One tab in HP Solution Center .
   3. Click Settings .
   4. Click Print Settings .
   5. Click Printer Toolbox .
2. On the Device Services tab, click Clean the Print Cartridges , and then follow the onscreen instructions. Three levels of cleaning are available.

Please let me know if these steps helped you or not. Thanks