Printing B&W printing suddenly faint. Replaced both black ink cartridges but no improvement. Colour cartridges almost empty but not removed from printer.Does it need colour ink just to print B&W?

The printer requires both cartridges to have ink before the printer will initialize and operational. Even if you are only printing black and white both cartridge have to contain ink or the printer will error out. This is standard on all ink jet printers from every manufacturer. You will have to get ink before you can print.

Yes, I believe that both cartridges need to be installed and have ink in order for the printer to work properly.

In my case this happened with black cartridge out of ink, colour cartridge low; replaced black: had permanent alignment problem, though test print looked OK; wouldn't print black. Replaced colour cartridge, then it all worked OK, straightaway!

Many printers always use a small amount of each color even if you are only printing black, to prevent the color nozzles from drying out and getting clogged (and, it forces you to buy more ink, which is a profit center for printer manufacturers)

For this reason, some printers will not work if ANY of the cartridges are empty.

It should work again if you replace the color cartridge. Make sure to select "black ink only" or the option to print in black and white or grayscale to minimize color ink usage. It may still use a little, but that's OK.

Hi,
If you go to your printer properties, there should be a setting whereby you have to select the option to "PRINT USING BLACK CARTRIDGE ONLY". Make sure this option is selected, otherwise your printer will use ALL colors even if you only print black.
Let me know if you need any further assistance.
Best wishes,
Graemevm

Hi, this is not a solution because I don't think there is one apart from buying new inks. Epson and all other inkjet printers do this to prevent the coloured print head nozzles from getting blocked. If they are not used for a long time the ink dries up and blocks the nozzles. Epson recommends printing at least once a month with all colours to prevent this. Printing in black only option will only work if the colored inks are OK. Whenever the printer is turned on it performs a head clean, this is why the coloured inks get used over time even though they are not used for printing.

yes you need to install all cartridge before printing any page ...I have also this model...but u need to install all 4 cartdge. before printing any page wheather color or blacknwhite..

Hi Manavoc,

I will explain you the cause for it.

It prints in yellow first and then override with black for better quality. This is the reason your color ink gets empty.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?docname=c00308490&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

Have a great day!

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Unfortunately, like most multi cartridge ink jet printers when one ink is empty the printer will cease printing regardless of whether you just want to print in black and white and you have plenty of black ink left. I have heard of people tricking the printer into believing the cartridge is full by placing coloured tape etc in front of the ink sensing device but I am not sure how the Brother senses the ink levels as i have some aftermarket ink cartridges for mine which seem to be completely non-opaque (unlike the originals). The need to have colour cartridges in even if you only ever print with black ink is good news for Brother as the MFC-210c uses a large amount of ink during it's routine cleaning cycles (that you cant stop) and will empty all 3 cartridges in under 6 months without ever printer a single drop of colour ink. Sorry about all the bad news, at least your not alone......