On my HP l7680, the black will not print or copy at all. Also, when I try to align the cartridges, it says "alignment failed." Someone said to clean the print heads, but I have no idea how to do that. Thanks, Jan

Try running cleaning cycle multiple times. Sounds like ink tubes may be clogged.

If Printer heads health condition is not good, alignment wont completes..
Four individual cartridges & Two print heads, each print head prints two colors.. Black& Yellow, Cyan & Magenta.. Verify which color is not printing properly(Color missing Or white bands)..
Perform 2 or 3 times print head cleaning through printer menu..Try for alignment.. If success end.. if no, replace the print head which is not printing properly.. Before replacing the printer head ensure that cartridge ink should be above 30%...

This happens regularly in some models when the alignment of paper is not done correctly. If the cartridge does not have a good print quality, the scanner can not correctly read the alignment and alignment repeated several times until you get it right.
Check the alignment with cartridges in excellent condition.

You could try to turn off printer.
Unplug printer from electrical outlet.
Wait at least 15 minutes, this will let the printer to clear memory.
Plug back in printer and turn on. Do a cleaning cycle.
The cleaning cycle will insured a good alignment page.
Align printer.

If the black ink is brand new. Take it out and check to see if the protective strip is still on the cartridge blocking the ink from flowing.

The error states that you are using non-HP cartridges for all colours. If black prints fine then you should replace the colour cartridges with genuine HP colour carts. You should be able to get a refund on the refills since they clearly do not work as intended.

Check the quality of all your cartridges. Some printers are very fussy over alignment pages - if cyan is not coming through and is needed for example, the alignment will fail.

Hi there,
Working with print cartridges
To ensure the best print quality from HP All-In-One, you will need to perform some simple maintenance procedures and when prompted by a message on the display replace the print cartridges.

A) Handle the print cartridges
Hold the print cartridges by their black plastic sides, with the label on top. Do not touch the copper-colored contacts or the ink nozzles.
Note : Handle the print cartridges carefully. Dropping or jarring cartridges can cause temporary printing problems or even permanent damage.

B) To replace the print cartridges
1) Make sure the HP All-In-One is off whenyou open the print cartridge door to access the print cartridges, the Hp A-ll-In-One will not release the cartridges for changing. You might damage the HP All-In -One. If the print cartridges are not docked safely on the right side when you try to remove them.
2) Open the print cartridge door.
The print carriage should now move to the far right side of the HP All-In-One. If the print cartridge does not move to the right side, close the door. Then trun the HP-All-In-One offm and then on again.
3) Wait until the print carriage is idle and silent, and then lightly press down in a print cartridge to release it.
If you are replacing the tri-color print cartridge, remove the print cartridge from the slot on the left.
If you are replacing the black print cartridge, remove the print cartridge from the slot on the right.
4)Pull the print cartridge toward you out of its slot.
5. If you are removing the print cartridge because it is low or out of ink, recycle the print cartridge.
6. Remove the new print cartridge from its packaging and, being careful to touch only the black plastic, gently remove the plastic tape by using the pink pull tab.
Caution Do not touch the copper-colored contacts or ink nozzles.
Touching these parts can result in clogs, ink failure, and bad electrical connections.
7. Slide the new print cartridge forward into the empty slot. Then gently push on the upper part of the print cartridge forward until it clicks into the socket.
If you are installing the tri-color print cartridge, slide it into the left slot.
If you are installing a black print cartridge, slide it into the right slot.
8. Close the print cartridge door.
9. If you installed a new print cartridge, the print cartridge alignment process begins.
10. Make sure you have plain paper loaded in the input tray, and then press OK.
The HP All-in-One prints a print cartridge alignment sheet.
11. Load the print cartridge alignment sheet print side down and top first in the center of the document feeder tray, and then press OK.
The HP All-in-One aligns the print cartridges. Recycle or discard the print cartridge alignment sheet.

Align the print cartridges
The HP All-in-One prompts you to align cartridges every time you install or replace a print cartridge. You can also align the print cartridges at any time from the control panel or by using the software you installed with the HP All-in-One. Aligning the print
cartridges ensures high-quality output.
To align the print cartridges from the control panel when prompted
1. Load letter, A4, or legal unused plain white paper into the input tray.
Note If you have colored paper loaded in the input tray when you align the print cartridges, the alignment will fail. Load unused plain white paper into the input tray, and then try the alignment again.
If the alignment fails again, you might have a defective sensor or print cartridge. Contact HP Support. Go to www.hp.com/support. If prompted, choose your country/region, and then click Contact HP for information on calling for technical support.
The HP All-in-One prints a print cartridge alignment sheet.
2. Load the print cartridge alignment sheet print side down and top first in the center of the document feeder tray, and then press OK.
The HP All-in-One aligns the print cartridges. Recycle or discard the print cartridge alignment sheet.
To align the cartridges from the control panel at any time
1. Load letter, A4, or legal unused plain white paper into the input tray.
Note If you have colored paper loaded in the input tray when you align the print cartridges, the alignment will fail. Load unused plain white paper into the input tray, and then try the alignment again.
If the alignment fails again, you might have a defective sensor or print cartridge. Contact HP Support.
2. Press Setup.
3. Press 6, then press 2.
This selects Tools and then selects Align Print Cartridge.
The HP All-in-One prints a print cartridge alignment sheet.
4. Load the print cartridge alignment sheet print side down and top first in the center of the document feeder tray, and then press OK.
The HP All-in-One aligns the print cartridges. Recycle or discard the print cartridge alignment sheet.

Black Cartrige no . :27/21
Tricolor Cartridge no . 22

Hope this helps.
have a good day.

Most likely the print head has failed and the black is not printing which is causing the printer to have issues. Talk to HP as I guess printheads have warranty or simply change the yellow/black printhead. Or if all of these fail give the machine to HP to get you a new one as this is not right. I hope this helps.

It Does keep asking if it fails to get it right, usually it fails to get scan of alignment page completed correctly because it fails to see one of the colours printed on its alignment page correctly,
I would guess that you should change colour cartridge as well (these I have seen deplete themselves trying print black when black ink is not present.

There is also a way of telling your printer to forget about alignment would you like to know how......Press and hold the Setup button, and then press Options (or Copy Options ).

Here is a link to how an alignment page should look and HP answers to your problem, please rate my solution for me.