Why Is My Printer Not Printing In Green And Purple? Troubleshooting Guide

Question:
And then, this week, my printer just randomly stopped printing in green and purple. I changed all the ink colors, but it still will not print these colors. But the yellow, orange, and pink colors look incredibly bright when printing the printhead. What can I do instead of getting a new printer?
 
Answer:
We appreciate you contacting us with your question, and I'm sorry for not getting back to you sooner. Printer problems are always urgent, but we also want to give thoughtful, detailed answers. We at BCH Technologies (https://bchtechnologies.com) thank you for your attention and exposure to our YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/@bchtechnologies). Your feedback allows us to enhance our technical know-how further and provide relevant printer repair content.
 
Now, could we find the issue you are having?
Why Is the Printer Not Printing Green and Purple?
The fact that your printer still spits out vibrant yellow, orange, and pink but does not have green or purple is an indicator that cyan won't flow. Here's why:
Green = Cyan + Yellow – If it can't print cyan, it can't display green.
Purple = Cyan + Magenta – Purple will not appear if cyan is absent.
 
Your printer couldn't mix colors correctly if the cyan ink is blocked, missing, or not flowing normally.
 
Troubleshooting Steps
Step 1: Check Cyan Ink Levels
However, if you have replaced the cartridges, checking the ink levels and ensuring the printer recognizes the new cartridge is worthwhile. If this is your first cartridge replacement, please remember that some printers do not immediately reset ink when you replace a cartridge. Try the following:

• Please take out the cyan cartridge and put it back in.
• Look at the printer's ink monitoring system.
• Make sure your refillable cartridge is correctly primed and free from air bubbles.

Step 2: Run a Nozzle Check
This should simulate whether all colors are printing and, hopefully, adequately wake up any stuck colors.

• You can enter the maintenance settings of your printer.
• Choose Nozzle Check or Print Test Page
• Check the pattern — if the cyan part is omitted or incomplete, it affirms a clog.

Step 3: Clean the Printhead
If your cyan nozzle is clogged, you could try the following methods.
 
Run the printer's built-in cleaning cycle:

• Open Printer Maintenance and execute a Printhead Cleaning cycle.
• Please print another nozzle check after cleaning.
• You can just run the cleaning about three times if required (please do not exceed three consecutive times to prevent the waste of ink).

Manual Cleaning:

• Detachable printheads (if your printer has one) can be removed and soaked in the bottom in a cleaning solution for 10-15 minutes.
• Fill a syringe with cleaning solution and gently flush the cyan nozzles with a lint-free cloth.
• Dry, then reassemble.

 
Step 4: Inspect for air bubbles/blockage in tubing (For CISS / Refillable systems
Air in the ink lines can interrupt the flow of Continuous Ink Supply Systems (CISS) or refillable cartridges. To fix this:

• Remove the cartridge and tap it lightly to remove bubbles.
• If you need it, please pair the system with a syringe.
• Ensure the ink lines are not pinched or twisted

Step 5: Reset the Printer Firmware

There are firmware issues that can cause it not to detect ink properly. Try:

• This is power cycling the printer: unplugging it "for a couple" of minutes and restarting.
• Updating or reinstalling the printer drivers.
• I'd like you to perform a factory reset (the process is described in the user manual).

 
Final Considerations
If none of these methods fix the issue, it may be related to a faulty printhead or other internal ink channels. In such cases, printhead replacement or professional servicing may be needed.
 
Additional Support Options
Printer troubleshooting is very much a hands-on activity that involves step-by-step testing. We are sorry, but we do not offer remote repair support at this time. However, we do have an in-the-field evaluation service in our local diagnostic location (http://bchtechnologies.com/printer-repair-service ). Due to high demand, we operate on a first-come, first-serve basis, so it can take a few weeks before we get to looking at your printer.
 
We also promote self-help using online tools. Fortunately, our YouTube channel has several troubleshooting guides (https://youtube.com/@bchtechnologies). You can search for specific topics via the search icon in the "About" section on our channel's menu. The YouTube algorithm might recommend related videos on other channels that may help you more.
 
I hope this information will help you resolve the issue! Once again, we sincerely appreciate you contacting us and supporting BCH Technologies. If you have more questions, check out the rest of our website or YouTube for some help.