Why Can’t I Print in Black and White if a Color is Out?

If you have a color printer or copier, you may have the situation where you need to print something, but the cyan, magenta or yellow toner is out, and then you get a message you cannot print.

This can be frustrating, especially if you need a simple black and white print.

We wanted to go over why this happens and what you should consider knowing how it works.

Why does it happen?

The reason this tends to happen is because the printer manufacturer is in the business of selling toner cartridges. If you cannot print without the colors, then, it forces you to buy another toner to be able to use the printer. A lot of people might not buy the toner if this wasnt required, so it is in their best interest to ensure you can’t print.

The reason a manufacturer could give, is there is a lot of “black and white” that actually uses what is called composite gray. This means the colors are mixed to make a smoother and easier to read document and text.

So they would say if you don’t have the colors, the copier can’t print because it doesn’t have the colors needed to actually print.

What can you do?

There is basically only a few things to do. First, you could have extra toners on the shelf. This works so you never run out of toner.

Option B could be to also have a small black and white printer in case of emergencies. A lot of clients seem to have this.

We know it can be frustrating to have black toner and not be able to print in black and white. This issue is not unique to HP, Xerox, Canon or others. Most manufacturers have this in some form or fashion.