HP Photosmart Premium C309 black ink won't print

You can get a fairly cheap ink cartridge on ebay. Link below.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/232769315883
Also, try cleaning the printhead manually by taking it out and soaking the bottom of printhead in a window cleaning solution:

For HP 564 cartridge print quality problems (severe print fade or no ink hitting is the paper with one or more colors) with your HP Photosmart printer, unfortunately unlike most printers found in the market, the newer Photosmart HP printer model series allows cartridges to run beyond the cartridge empty state and subsequently causes a deprime and/or 'drying out' of either the ink cartridges or the built-in PRINTHEAD. Also, infrequent printing can also lead to PRINTHEAD drying and many of the older printer models have a common tendency to suffer PRINTHEAD ink clogging, particularly with the black ink. All of our resolutions are provided on Inkjet411 site (with over 80 how-to videos): http://inkjet411.com/

The good news is that this type of condition is completely recoverable (most of the time). In 99% of the cases you'll either need to let the refilled ink cartridges 'fully absorb' the new ink for approx. 36 hours first (since they may have been 'dry' when brought them in for refilling, if this is applicable), or you'll need to perform a 'Clean Printhead' procedure from your printer's menu 2-3 times to reprime all of the ink lines.
NOTE: since the C309 printer model is a 5-color system, be advised you have two (2) black cartridges installed (black text and photo black), so both colors will need to be evaluated using an internal test print following our recovery suggestions.

Please perform the recovery steps outlined below, in order, or refer to the following support page which includes visuals/video to aid in the print quality recovery: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1407

Please watch video at the following link which explains normal operation when using refilled ink cartridges: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=2317

DIAGNOSTIC / RESOLUTION STEPS:

1) In most cases, there is likely trapped air and/or numerous air bubbles in the printer ink port(s), so you should perform a "Clean PrintHead" procedure from your printer control panel 'TOOLS MENU', 1 to 3 times (repeat back-to-back). To avoid wasting too much ink right out the gate, we suggest you FIRST REVIEW all procedures below, along with the video at the following link, and then perform the tasks described below to recover the ink system: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1983

2) A complete lack of printing is typically not a single cartridge problem, but is either the fluids interface into the PRINTHEAD* (foam connections are dry), electrical connectivity or an electrical failure of the PRINTHEAD itself. Please follow the steps at the following link to eliminate all variables: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1451

NOTE 1: If one or more the colors were previously dry fired during printing (i.e. if you continued printing using only a few colors, then down to one, air may have been accidentally ingested into the ink lines between the cartridge(s) and PRINTHEAD. To recover from this problem, you may have to run the "Clean Printhead" procedure 2 or 3 times. Please watch the video on the HP 564 support page which describes some of the issues you could encounter: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1983

3) If cartridges were recently refilled, then allow 36-48 hours for the ink cartridge's foam to fully absorb the ink (see photos here): http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1407

If, following several attempted 'Clean Printhead' actions, select colors do not recover, then allow the newly refilled cartridge sit upright and idle in the printer (or with storage caps installed if cartridges are not yet installed), for at least 36 hours (i.e. do not use printer during this time). Quite often HP564 ink cartridges which have been allowed to dry out (or select colors were allowed to run completely empty during normal printing usage) will be problematic immediately following ink refilling - you will need to allow cartridge foam (ink port at base of suspect ink cartridge) to fully absorb the ink - unfortunately this typically takes 36 - 48 hours. Refer to photos here: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1451

Print the "INK RECOVERY TEST PRINT" from our Test Prints page (or the Print Quality Report from your printer's Tools menu): http://inkjet411. com/?page_id=146


4) If this does not remedy the problem, then you may have an unseated PRINTHEAD or dirty PRINTHEAD electrical contacts (connects to the carriage assembly); it is suggested to thoroughly clean Printhead electrical contacts and carriage contacts (inside printer): http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1925

a. Remove all 4 (or 5) ink cartridges, then remove the internal PRINTHEAD and thoroughly clean rear electrical contacts and carriage electrical contacts.
b.Inspect ink foam ports to see if they are 'wet with ink'...this will confirm whether ink is being pulled into the PRINTHEAD or not.
c.If the ink foam ports are completely dry (no significant amount of ink present when blotted with a paper towel, etc.), then the PRINTHEAD is likely considered too dry to support proper ink flow and subsequent printing operations. Refer to PRINTHEAD removal process at HP.com (link down below) or at the following Inkjet411 link to provide general guidance: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1451
d.Re-install PRINTHEAD* and Retest.

6) If the missing colors/poor image quality problem still cannot be corrected, then the PRINTHEAD may be completely/partially dry and may need to be flushed with warm water (if removable!) - see video here: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=2412

Removable PRINTHEAD Flushing Steps: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=2412

a.Remove all ink cartridges from the printer.
b.Remove the printhead - in most cases you will need to pull up on the lever at right side of carriage assembly to unlock the printhead. Lift printhead straight up to remove.
c.Over a sink, run warm tap water directly into the 4 (or 5) ink ports for approximately 2 minutes - this will effectively saturate the foam ports and blow ink out/thru the nozzle plate bottom.
d.Using a lint-free towel, remove water from rear/bottom electrical contacts. Ensure printhead electrical contacts and exposed surfaces are fully dry.
e.Install the printhead into the printer. You may observe a "Replace Printhead message" so you will need to cycle printer power by turning printer off and then on to clear the error.
f.Install ink cartridges and retest printer. You should observe a New PRINTHEAD alert message followed by an approx. 4-minute preparation countdown prompt.
g.If permissible, activate the 'Clean Printhead'. This can be done from the printer's control panel or software printer driver (for example, by selecting 'Tools' - 'Clean Printhead', or similar).
h.If you have reached this point of the troubleshooting and all the previous troubleshooting steps did not work, then the printhead could be electrically damaged or at end of life* and may need to be replaced. To check the electrical state of the HP564 printhead, perform the PRINTHEAD Health Diagnostics Test procedure ( refer to Diagnostic's pdf file at link below, refer to your printer model for specific testing instructions: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1813 )

Non-removable PRINTHEAD Flushing Steps:

a.Remove suspect ink cartridge(s).
b.Take a damp towel and repeatedly blot/saturate the respective color ink port with water (distilled water is recommended). Ink should be visible (fully saturated) on towel.
c.Place a paper towel under the PRINTHEAD assembly.
d.You'll see a round mesh ink port where ink flows into the PRINTHEAD.
e.Thoroughly dampen the ink port with 0.5 to 1 teaspoon of distilled water (use an eye-dropper, small spoon, or similar - pour or drip water directly into the ink port).
f.Remove towel from below PRINTHEAD.
g.Reinstall ink cartridge(s).
h.Activate the 'Clean Printhead' routine once or twice (2X) to see if the respective color(s) has recovered.
7)Worst case scenario the PRINTHEAD may simply be damaged or at end-of-life and may require replacement, but usually you will see error messages like "Incompatible Printhead" or "Ink Delivery System Failure" when this occurs. Please note that a failure of the PRINTHEAD is unrelated to the refilled cartridges as the PRINTHEAD will eventually fail in time*. For more information on the how the PRINTHEAD works, watch the video here: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1983

* The HP 564 printer models have an electronic PRINTHEAD (most of which are customer replaceable) within the base of the carriage assembly (responsible for pulling ink from the 4 (or 5) ink cartridges and then firing the ink droplets onto the paper) - these will eventually fail depending on print usage type and printer duty cycle (i.e. rated for max. of ~12,000 printed pages over life, but the average PRINTHEAD life under typical consumer printing conditions is more in the neighborhood of ~6000+ pages, or approximately 7-8 sets of ink cartridges). The Print Quality Report reveals total number of pages printed. http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=2054

For information on HP 564 refilling tips please watch the video here: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1983

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CAUTION: Be advised, the use of compatible/clone cartridges (i.e. sold thru the internet from China) are known to be problematic and may cause printer errors and/or permanent PRINTHEAD damage due to incompatible ink formulations (specifically those inks which contain volatile organic compounds or VOCs). We do NOT suggest using or refilling these types of ink cartridges.....refilling of HP 564 original/genuine ink cartridges is only suggested!

HP 564 Ink Refilling Services & Additional Cautions:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlcY9jKXTvs
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Please review all steps and let us know if you have any further questions. For any additional questions please contact us: http://inkjet411.com/

-Thank you
Inkjet411 Team Member