Text prints in crisp black, but photos come out gray, colored areas are blank, or one color has vanished and the rest look wrong. Rule out settings first: a grayscale option in an app, the print dialog or a phone's print screen produces exactly this result and is the most common cause. If settings are fine, look for an empty or blocked color cartridge or a clog in one color channel. This guide separates the two and works through the fixes.
What you might be seeing
- Color documents print entirely in black and gray
- One color is missing, so greens look blue
- Black text is fine while color areas are blank
- Color blocks on the nozzle check are broken or empty
Common causes
- Grayscale setting
- An app, the printer driver or a phone's print options may be set to black and white, sometimes as a saved default.
- Empty color cartridge
- On a tri-color cartridge, one empty color can stop all color printing.
- Clogged color nozzles
- Dried ink in one channel removes that color and shifts the others.
- Color tank or tube problem
- On ink tank printers, a low tank or air in its tube stops that color reaching the printhead.
How to fix it, step by step
Work through these in order and test a print after each one. Most people are done within the first few steps.
When refilling color tanks, match each bottle to the tank of the same color. The wrong color contaminates the tube and printhead, which is difficult to undo.
Turn off grayscale in the app and driver
In the app's print dialog, look for Color, Black & White or Grayscale and select color. On Windows 11, also check the color option in Printing preferences, found by selecting your printer under Settings › Bluetooth & devices › Printers & scanners; Windows 10 starts at Settings › Devices › Printers & scanners. On a Mac, make sure Black & White is unchecked in the print dialog.
TipSave a color preset in apps you print from often so the option doesn't switch back.
Check phone and tablet print options
If the problem only happens from a phone or tablet, open the print options before tapping Print. On iPhone and iPad, AirPrint options can include a Black & White switch. On Android, tap the small arrow on the print preview to reveal the Color setting; menus vary by phone maker. The manufacturer's app may keep its own color setting as well.
Print from a different app
Open a colorful photo in a basic app, such as the built-in photo viewer, and print it. If it comes out in color, the original document is grayscale or its app has a separate color setting you missed. If nothing prints in color from any app or device, the cause is in the printer, so move on to the ink checks.
Identify the missing color
Print the nozzle check pattern and look at each color block. A completely blank cyan, magenta or yellow block points to an empty cartridge, a seal or a blocked channel, while a patchy block suggests a partial clog. Knowing which color is affected stops you wasting ink cleaning colors that already work.
Check the color cartridges or tanks
Look at the color levels on the control panel. Remove each color cartridge, check for film over the outlets, and reseat it until it clicks. With a tri-color cartridge, one empty color usually means replacing the whole cartridge. On an ink tank printer, check that every color tank is above the lower line, the caps are closed and any ink valve lever is set for printing.
Clean the affected color
Start a head cleaning, choosing the color group if your printer offers it, then print another test pattern. If the color is returning but patchy, wait a few hours before the next cleaning, since rest lets ink soften what's left of the blockage. On a tank printer where a color ran dry, one run of the ink flush function clears air from that color's tube.
Replace the color cartridge
If a color is still missing after cleaning and a rest, install a new color cartridge. When the cartridge includes its own printhead, the new one brings fresh nozzles and usually solves the problem outright. If a new cartridge doesn't help on a printer with a permanent printhead, that color's part of the printhead may need professional service.
How to keep it from happening again
- Check the color option when printing from a new app or device
- Print a small color image every week
- Keep a spare color cartridge or ink bottle on hand
- Refill each color tank before it reaches the lower line
Common questions
Why won't my printer print anything when only the color cartridge is empty?
Many printers stop all printing when any cartridge is empty, partly to protect the printhead. Some offer a temporary black-only option on the control panel or in the manufacturer's app. If no continue option appears, installing a new color cartridge is the only way to resume printing.
Why are my greens printing blue?
Green is mixed from cyan and yellow. If yellow is clogged or empty, greens turn blue, reds turn pinkish and skin tones look cold. The nozzle check will show a broken or blank yellow block, and cleaning or replacing that color usually brings the true colors back.
Does printing in black only save color ink?
It saves most of it, but not all. Printers still use some of every color during automatic cleaning, and some mix color into dark areas on certain paper settings. Using black-only for everyday text still slows color use noticeably, especially if you print many documents.
This guide is general information written for common home and office printers. Menus and button names vary between models, so check your printer’s manual where a step differs. Printer Problems Solved is independent and not affiliated with any printer manufacturer. See our disclaimer.