Before you start
- The HP app already connected to the DeskJet 2600.
- Installed cartridges and unused plain white paper.
Check what is missing
A missing black area, missing colours and an entirely blank page can have different causes. Check the print preview, correct printer selection and colour setting before treating the cartridge as clogged. An ink-level bar is only an estimate; it does not establish that ink is reaching the paper.
Step 1:Open Print quality tools
Load unused plain white paper. Open the HP app, select this printer, and look under Diagnostics or Tools for Print quality tools. If necessary, choose View all print quality tools. The app must already be able to communicate with the printer.
Step 2:Run one cleaning stage
Choose Clean printhead or Clean printheads and wait for the process to finish. Leave the printer powered on and let it print the diagnostic page. The tool may make mechanical noises while it works; do not remove the cartridges during the cycle.
Step 3:Inspect the page before another cleaning
Look at both the black areas and the colour blocks. If the missing area now prints acceptably, choose Done or decline further cleaning. If the page still has missing or badly streaked output, accept the next cleaning level offered by the app and inspect its new page.
The black-ink recording reports a clean result after the second level. The colour recording reports improvement after the first and declines the second. Neither outcome guarantees recovery for an old or damaged cartridge.
Step 4:If the same area remains missing
Check that the installed cartridge is correct for your printer and region, and replace a depleted or defective cartridge rather than repeatedly cleaning it. HP’s 2600 guidance uses the defective black or colour area on the diagnostic page to identify the problem cartridge. Complete the new-cartridge alignment when requested.
Keep a sample of the defective print. If correct replacement ink and HP’s checks do not resolve it, use HP support; this does not by itself establish that the whole printer must be replaced.
Questions & troubleshooting
The page has black text but no colour.
Check that the job is set to colour and inspect the colour blocks on the diagnostic page. The companion recording uses the same app cleaning tool for a colour problem.
Should I keep cleaning until it works?
No. Inspect each diagnostic page and stop when it is satisfactory. Allow HP’s stated 30-minute interval before another complete cycle; persistent defects need cartridge or service checks.
