HP 855C won't print out of Word or Notepad anymore, but Excel works fine - HELP!!!

[joann]

I am using an HP DeskJet 855C on a new Dell 2400 and everything worked
fine until yesterday, when all of a sudden it wouldn't print anything
out of Word or Notepad.

I've rebooted, removed the printer in control panel and reinstalled
using the 855C driver in XP to no avail. The test page shows graphics
but no text.

But if I print something out of Excel, everything works great - every
table, every graph...

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks a bunch -

 

[joann]

I am using an HP DeskJet 855C on a new Dell 2400 and everything worked
fine until yesterday, when all of a sudden it wouldn't print anything
out of Word or Notepad.

I've rebooted, removed the printer in control panel and reinstalled
using the 855C driver in XP to no avail. The test page shows graphics
but no text.

But if I print something out of Excel, everything works great - every
table, every graph...

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks a bunch -

More info: I just discovered that if a Word document contains _any_
text in color, then the printer prints the document, but the black
text comes out a bit grayish... However, if the Word document contains
nothing but black text, then the printer will just print a blank
page.... I've reseated and cleaned both cartridges and the black
cartridge is new (it worked before yesterday!!!)

 

[Bob Headrick]

More info: I just discovered that if a Word document contains _any_
text in color, then the printer prints the document, but the black
text comes out a bit grayish... However, if the Word document contains
nothing but black text, then the printer will just print a blank
page.... I've reseated and cleaned both cartridges and the black
cartridge is new (it worked before yesterday!!!)

OK, the problem is the black cartridge. If there is any color on the page some
programs will treat the page as graphics and the color cartridge is then used
to print even the black areas.

Given that it was a new black cartridge and the DeskJet 855 is about 10 years
old you probably need to clean the spittoon area - the black cartridge may be
rubbing on a buildup of ink causing the black cartridge to not function. See
the following (and heed the warnings about newspaper - do not drop the "glob"
on your desk, carpet, etc .
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=bpa02019

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP