How to Replace an Empty Ink Cartridge in the HP OfficeJet 3830 All-in-One series Printer – an Illustrated Tutorial in 14 Steps

Make sure you purchase the right ink cartridges for your specific printer and printer region or have your old ones refilled. Cartridges are not compatible between different brands, and often not within the same brand. HP often designs its inkjet hardware to use country-specific consumables. When you unbox a new HP inkjet printer and set it up, you install a set of ink tanks that ship with the printer. As you turn on the device and get ready to use it, an initialization sequence localizes it to the country associated with the ink cartridges you installed. HP recommends that you use original HP ink cartridges. XL (Extra Large) cartridges cost more but do provide better value in the long run. They will be able to print at least double the pages of a regular cartridge. Our advice is that if you print often, go with XL. However, ink can dry up. So if you are not a frequent printer, go with the regular cartridges. You’ll usually install both the black and tri-color cartridges in the HP Officejet, but you can also leave one ink cartridge carriage empty (single-cartridge mode). During single-cartridge mode, the printer can copy documents, copy photos, and print jobs from the computer.

Which ink cartridges do I need for my HP OfficeJet 3830 All-in-One series Printer?

For your US HP OfficeJet 3830 All-in-One series Printer you need
HP 63 OR HP 63XL cartridges. Check the price of HP 63 cartridges at Amazon.com .
For your European or UK HP OfficeJet 3830 All-in-One series Printer you need HP 302 or HP 302XL cartridges.

Try Amazon's ink selector tool to find compatible ink cartridges for your printer.

Replace the ink cartridges

1. Check that power is on.
2. Check that the printer is loaded with plain, white paper.
3. Open the front door of the printer.
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4. Open the cartridge access door and wait for the print carriage to move to the center of the printer. Wait until the carriage is idle and silent before you continue.
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5. Press down to release the ink cartridge, and then remove it from the slot.
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6. Remove the new ink cartridge from its packaging.
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7. Remove the plastic tape using the pull tab.
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Do NOT:
– Remove the copper electrical strip.
– Touch the copper-colored contacts or the ink nozzles.
– Replace the protective tape on the contacts.
do not touch contacts

8. Hold the ink cartridge by its sides with the nozzles toward the printer, and then insert the new ink cartridge into its slot. Push the ink cartridge forward into its slot until it snaps into place. Repeat these steps to replace the other ink cartridge, if necessary. Make sure the ink cartridge is inserted in the correct slot.

– The tri-color ink cartridge goes in the slot on the left.
– The black ink cartridge goes in the slot on the right.
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9. Close the ink cartridge access door.
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10. Close the front door of the printer.
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11. Pull out the output tray, and then lift the output tray extender.
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12. Press OK to align the ink cartridges. An alignment page prints. Scanning the alignment page allows the printer to align the ink cartridges and provide the best print quality.

13. Lift the scanner lid. Place the alignment page with the print side down on the scanner glass, and then position it according to the engraved guides around the glass.
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14. Close the scanner lid and touch OK to scan the page and complete the ink cartridge alignment.