HP Color Laserjet CM1312nfi MFP eating my color cartridges

Hi all

I have a HP Color Laserjet CM1312nfi MFP and Im having issues that it eats my color cartridges, HP doesnt have an answer to why (I have a theory that it is a bad design done on purpuse so they can make more money). All my copies, fax and printing are in black and white. I bought a color laserjet just in case I had to print in color. I print around 2500 pages per month and thats all that my black cartridge can give, but by the second month the machine is asking for color cartridges when not one copy in color was made. Then on that second month when it is asking for color cartridges if you want to print in color it doesnt, you have to insert new color cartridges.

Any body knows how to avoid this, I dont paying $80 for a black cartridges monthly, but the color ones run at $250.

Reply 1 : HP Color Laserjet CM1312nfi MFP eating my color cartridges

Are you sure that you got the right printer? At the office we use the lowest cost printer which is a black/white non-color laserjet and read http://www.ecoimaging.com/?Cat=154&newsid=406&CP=1 so we know to take the count from HP and divide that by 3.

http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/testdrive/article.php/10728_3742811_2 notes 2,200 pages on black and not so many for the color carts.

Nothing seems terribly wrong here. But I'd get my printing off this printer fast and back to BW LASER quick.
Bob

Reply 2 : HP Color Laserjet CM1312nfi MFP eating my color cartridges

I too have a problem with the cartridges on my CM1312. I can actually see the reduction in "pages left to print" decrease as time goes on even though I didn't print anything in color. At the present time my printer is asking for a Cyan cartridge so I can only print in black. But,,, when I use the copy function and copy in COLOR it prints excellent copies. There is something wrong with this picture..These cartridges are too darn expensive to believe that they are empty with such little printing. Would a printer firmware help??? Any suggestion would be appreciated as this is otherwise a good printer. Thanks

Reply 3 : HP Color Laserjet CM1312nfi MFP eating my color cartridges

After too many years of dealing with this the real answer is to never print unless you have to. Here's the cost I set per page for color printing -> ONE DOLLAR PER PAGE.

Some may slam that estimate but at the end of a few years it seems to hold up as we factor in machine and other costs.

This is why you really need to put the brakes on printing in color. And consider stodgy old BW laser printers.
bOb

Reply 4 : HP Color Laserjet CM1312nfi MFP eating my color cartridges

I don't buy it!!! The fact remains that I can print in color with the color copy function. So, there still must be color toner in the cartridges. It has to be a sensor or some other component in the printer giving the incorrect data..

Reply 5 : HP Color Laserjet CM1312nfi MFP eating my color cartridges

The ONE DOLLAR A PAGE?

Sorry but my reply was about costs and how to reduce costs. If you have a defective printer or one with a bug be sure to call its maker and report it. Better yet, return defective products as that really clogs up the jets.
Bob

Reply 6 : HP Color Laserjet CM1312nfi MFP eating my color cartridges

Hello,
I do have the same problem, and I either don't buy the fact that it is cost me only 1$ per page.
The fact is "it is not normal for a color printer, which is only printing in black that the color cartridges become empty".
Excuse my poor english, I only want to bring my experience with this printer !!!
I have read (in the user's manual) that you can ignore the fact that color cartridge are empty, and still continue to print in black.
From the printer menu, go to Properties, and chose Printing Preferences and then Color tab, Color options and bold the Manual option then click on Settings...
choose Black Only for Text, Graphics and Photograph.

Give me the news !