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Epson Stylus CX3900 Printer will not print black and white unless there is color cartridges in it?

My red/magenta ink has run out, however my black ink is completely full (replaced 2weeks ago). When printing I make sure that <Black Ink Only> is ticked in the properties, yet it won't let me print a black and white sheet without replacing a color cartridge? It says "Replace Cartridge." Please help I ended up giving in and replacing the magenta *sigh* Thanks for both of your help :)

Public Comments

1. He he...yeah. Doesn't that P*ss you off? Most printers are that way cuz it uses some of your colour cartridge to make black. I swear they do it on purpose so you will be forced to buy both cartridges. Just smile and replace or refill your colour cartridge and carry on just like i do.
2. Replace the magenta. Two things are preventing it from working, One is that in order to print in black only ALL inks are used to darken and sharpen the black. (very few printers use a "true" black. This allows for photo printing however is less than ideal of text only printing) The second is that ink acts as a coolant in the print head. The rapid heating and cooling of the print head would damage the printer if there was not ink present to act as a buffer.