Find

Printer ink — print black only when the color cartridge runs out

Printer ink

Color cartridge empty but you only need text? Many printers have a black-only or grayscale setting. Check it before you buy ink in a hurry.

Illustration of curled printed pages next to an inkjet printer with a quality setting from Best to Standard
Photo: CoraCo Studio™ original (generated)

When the color printer ink runs out, a lot of printers still let you print plain text with the black cartridge. It is a good stopgap until the new cartridge arrives.

How to print with black only

  1. Open the print dialog and look for Grayscale, Black and white, or Black ink only.
  2. On Windows, check Printer properties; on a Mac, check the printer section of the Print window.
  3. Some printers also have a black-only option in their phone app or on the front panel.
  4. Print one test page. If the printer refuses to print at all, it may require every cartridge to be installed.
  5. Order the matching color cartridge by the number printed on the old one.

If the printer will not print with any cartridge empty, leave the empty one installed until the new one arrives rather than removing it.

More help