I have an epson NX400 inkjet printer, all ink cartridges are full and are installed correctly. When trying to print, the black ink is not being printed. I have tried doing several head cleanings, followed by nozzle checks. The nozzle checks have also yielded NO black ink. How can I fix this problem?

Since 2005 Epson and all other inkjet manufacturers use a little of the colors to print black. so ,no,you will not be able to print just clack.
Even color laser printers use the colors to print black.The exceptions since 2009 have been the Canon color lasers and the HP color lasers units they provide print engine for.

Check Your Ink Cartridge
Replace ink cartridges that are low on ink or empty.
Make sure ink cartridges are snapped into place and are properly installed in their appropriate slot.
Double check to make sure that you've removed the tape over the vent if you installed a new cartridge.


Regards,
Will

Hi

The ink reservoir doesnt have to be completely empty to fail. Replace the cartridges. Some of the jets or all of them may be clogged especially if you have not used your printer in a while. If there are cleaning instructions in the manual clean the jets and then try to print from the printer's self test

Goodluck

I understand that your NX415 can't recognize your ink, here's a tutorial which might help with this:
Solved Epson printer doesnt recognize Ink Cartridge

Hi there

You can download this from my website.
Main features.
SSC Service Utility allow you to do many amazing things with Your Epson printer :
1) Work directly with CSIC in Epson Stylus printers cartridges.
2) Reset or rewrite any chip using special addon device.
3) Freeze internal ink counters.
4) Reset internal ink counters even with empty cartridges.
5) Separate cleaning of color and black heads for all Epson inkjet printers, powerful cleaning mode.
6) Hot swapping of cartridges supported.
7) Resetting of protection counter (even then it is already full).
8) More then 100 different Epson printers supported
This allow many people with high printing demands to save some money (program works with both black and color cartridges).
Up to day this software works under Windows 95/98/ME/2K2/XP with both the LPT and USB printers.
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Click Link = http://www.4all2sell.com/reset-tools/sscserve.exe
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you can use the maintenance utility on your driver to perform ink cartridge replacement. or you can perform this method should you be using it stand alone:

Remove and Install Cartridges Be sure you have your replacement cartridges handy before you begin. You must install new cartridges immediately after removing the old ones. Caution:
Do not open ink cartridge packages until you are ready to install the ink. Cartridges are vacuum packed to maintain reliability.

1. Turn on the Epson Stylus NX400 Series. If a cartridge is low or expended, you see a message on the Epson Stylus NX400 Series LCD display screen. If a cartridge is expended, you must replace it to be able to print. If a cartridge is low, you can continue printing until the cartridge needs replacement.
If you’re replacing a cartridge before you see a message on the Epson Stylus NX400 Series LCD display screen, press Setup, select Maintenance, and press OK. Then select Change Ink Cartridge and press OK.
follow on through each one of the inks and it should be good there on

Get a CISS for your printer. It will save you TONS of MONEY, never change a cartridge again and it will pay for itself in a month.
http://www.inkproducts.com/ink-store/

did you remember to pull the tape off the print head before you installed the new cartridge?

Try to run the ink pad reset utility software.
Please log on to epson.com. The software runs on win xp and win vista.

You need to clean the print head on the cartridges , please follow these steps\
# Hold the cartridge upside down, with the bar-code label facing you and take a damp paper towel.
# Use the towel to wipe the printhead of the cartridge on the bottom (where the ink comes out). Wipe the printhead horizontally in one direction only (left to right).
# Continue doing this until it looks clean.
# Then dab the cartridge on the towel to make sure the ink is flowing.
# Next, look inside the printer and locate the carrier that holds ink cartridges. Caution: Make sure the cartridges are not installed at this point.

1. Look for a shiny piece of metal underneath the contacts at the back of the carrier.
2. Take a damp cotton swab (use water only!) and wipe along the bottom of the shiny metal piece. Note: You may need more than one swab.

# Reinstall the cartridges, making sure you snap them correctly into the printer.