Help with HP Photosmart C4180 printer?

My HP printer has been working perfectly since the summer when I got it. But just a few days ago, whenever I turn it on it says ';remove and check color cartridge.'; I do that, and then it says the cartridge is not compatible with my printer. I know it must be though, because it worked for 8 months!





Does this just mean the ink is out? (It shouldn't be because I barely print in color, but I guess it's a possibility)Help with HP Photosmart C4180 printer?
It doesn't mean the ink is out. If the ink was out, the printer would say ';Out of ink. Replace cartridge.'; Also, you would have been getting low on ink messages. That doesn't mean that the cartridge *isn't* low on ink, but the ink level is not what's causing this issue.





You already did step one: verify it's the right cartridge. On to the rest...





Step Two:Clean the problem cartridge contacts


-Clean the electrical contacts on the print cartridge and in the carriage in the printer.


-Open the printer lid and wait until the print cartridge carriage stops moving.


-Remove the cartridge and place it on a piece of paper with the nozzle plate facing up.





NOTE: If you are removing a tri-color, photo, or gray photo print cartridge, try to clean the contacts quickly enough that the cartridge is not outside of the printer for more than 30 minutes. The ink can dry and clog the nozzles if the cartridge is outside of the printer for too long.





-Unplug the printer.


-Dip a clean cotton swab in distilled water, and then squeeze it to remove most of the moisture.


-Clean the print cartridge contacts. Do not touch the nozzles.


-Clean the contacts in the print carriage, inside the printer.


-Either let the cartridge sit for ten minutes to allow the cleaned area to dry, or use a new swab to dry it.


-Reinstall the cartridge and ensure that the cartridge is fully seated in the print carriage.


-Plug the printer back in, and close the printer cover.





If you have completed all of the steps above and are still experiencing a problem, proceed to the next step.





Step three: Reset the printer


-Disconnect the Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable from the back of the printer, but leave the printer turned on.


-Open the cover of the printer and remove the print cartridges.


-Close the cover and wait for the Insert Ink Cartridges message.


-Disconnect the power cord from the back of the printer and wait for one minute.


-Reconnect the power cord. If the printer does not automatically turn on, press the Power button.


-Open the cover and reinsert the print cartridges.


-Close the cover. If prompted, print a calibration page.


-Reconnect the USB cable, and try to print a print job from the computer.





If you have completed all of the steps above and are still experiencing a problem, proceed to the next step.





Step four: Replace the cartridge





If the problem has not been solved by the steps above, replace the problem cartridge. If you do not have a replacement print cartridge, proceed to the next step.





Step five: Print in backup mode





If you do not have a replacement print cartridge, you can still print in ink backup mode until the issue is resolved. Remove the color cartridge and print with the black cartridge.





If you remove the tri-color cartridge, the printouts will be in grayscale.





Step six: Service the product (Call HP for repair/replacement)


1-800-474-6836 in North America.Help with HP Photosmart C4180 printer?
try installing a new color cartridge. if it is the original cartridge it should be out by now, even if you don't print color that much because the original cartridges are not as ';full'; as the ones you have to buy.


if that doesn't solve the problem, call HP support directly because the contacts may have gone bad.
Hello, regardless if you print in color or not, they both seem to go out all of the time. Try getting a new cartridge.