How to Replace an Empty Ink Cartridge in the HP Photosmart C4680 All-in-One Printer – an Illustrated Tutorial in 13 Steps

Make sure you purchase the right ink cartridges for your specific printer. Cartridges are not compatible between different brands, and often not within the same brand. 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.

Ink level warnings and indicators provide estimates for planning purposes only. Consider getting replacement print cartridges when you receive a low-ink warning message. This avoids possible printing delays. You do not need to replace the print cartridges until print quality becomes unacceptable.

Use the ink-backup mode to operate the printer by using only one print cartridge. The ink-backup mode is initiated when a print cartridge is removed from the print cartridge carriage. During ink-backup mode, the printer can only print jobs from the computer. You cannot initiate a print job from the control panel (such as copying or scanning an original).

Which ink cartridges do I need for my HP Photosmart C4680 All-in-One printer?

For your US HP Photosmart C4680 All-in-One Printer you need HP 60 OR HP 60XL cartridges. Check the price of HP 60 cartridges at Amazon.com .
For your European or UK HP Photosmart C4680 All-in-One Printer you need HP 300 or HP 300XL cartridges.

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

Replace the ink cartridges

1. Turn the printer on by pressing the On/Off button (power button), if it is not already turned on. It can take a few seconds for the printer to turn on after you press the Power button. Wait until the product is idle and silent before continuing.

2. Pull out the tray extender, and then Load Letter, A4, or Legal unused plain white paper into the paper tray. Slide the stack of paper forward until it stops.

3. Open the ink cartridge access door. The print carriage moves to the center of the device. Wait until the carriage is idle and silent before you continue. If it does not move to the center, turn the device off, then turn it back on again.

Remove the old cartridge
4. Lightly press down on one of the old cartridges to release it, and then pull the cartridge toward you out of its slot. Set it aside for recycling. Remove the cartridge from the slot on the left to replace the tri-color cartridge. Remove the cartridge from the slot on the right to replace the black cartridge.

Insert the new cartridge
5. Remove the new ink cartridge from its package. Be careful to touch only the black plastic on the ink cartridge.

6. Remove the protective tape from the ink cartridge by using the coloured pull tab.



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

7. Hold the print cartridge so that the copper strips are on the bottom, facing toward the printer and the HP logo is on top. Slide the print cartridge into the slot as shown. Make sure you push the print cartridge in firmly until it snaps into place. Always install the tri-color print cartridge (marked with a triangle) in the left side of the print cartridge cradle. Install the black print cartridge (marked with a square or pentagon) in the right side of the print cartridge cradle.

8. Repeat steps 4 through 7 for the other cartridge if needed.

9. Close the ink cartridge access door.

10. When prompted, press OK. The product prints a print cartridge alignment page.

Align the cartridges
– Load the page print side down on the right front corner of the glass, and then press OK to scan the page. The product aligns the print cartridges.

– Recycle or discard the print cartridge alignment sheet.

The alignment page did not print?
If the alignment fails, check to make sure the cartridges are installed correctly, and start the print cartridge alignment manually. You can align the print cartridges at any time from the device by using the software you installed with the device. If you remove and reinstall the same print cartridge, the device will not prompt you to align the print cartridges. It remembers the alignment values for that print cartridge, so you do not need to realign the print cartridges.

In the HP Solution Center, click Settings.
– In the Print Settings area, click Printer Toolbox. The Printer Toolbox appears.
– Click the Device Services tab.
– Click Align the Print Cartridges.
– Go to step 10 and below.

How to Replace an Empty Ink Cartridge in the HP Photosmart C4780 All-in-One Printer – an Illustrated Tutorial in 13 Steps

Make sure you purchase the right ink cartridges for your specific printer. Cartridges are not compatible between different brands, and often not within the same brand. 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.

Ink level warnings and indicators provide estimates for planning purposes only. Consider getting replacement print cartridges when you receive a low-ink warning message. This avoids possible printing delays. You do not need to replace the print cartridges until print quality becomes unacceptable.

Use the ink-backup mode to operate the printer by using only one print cartridge. The ink-backup mode is initiated when a print cartridge is removed from the print cartridge carriage. During ink-backup mode, the printer can only print jobs from the computer. Printing in ink-backup mode slows the printer and affects the quality of printouts. When only a black print cartridge is installed, colors will print as grayscale. When only a tri-color print cartridge is installed, colors will print but black is grayed and is not a true black.

Which ink cartridges do I need for my HP Photosmart C4780 All-in-One printer?

For your US HP Photosmart C4780 All-in-One Printer you need HP 60 OR HP 60XL cartridges. Check the price of HP 60 cartridges at Amazon.com .
For your European or UK HP Photosmart C4780 All-in-One Printer you need HP 300 or HP 300XL cartridges.

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

Replace the ink cartridges

1. Press the Power button to turn on the printer, if it is not already turned on. Wait until the product is idle and silent before continuing.
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2. Load plain white paper in the input tray.

Remove the old cartridge
3. Open cartridge access door. Wait for print carriage to move to center of the product and wait until the product is idle and silent before continuing.
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4. Press down on the top of the cartridge to release it, and then pull it toward you to remove it from its slot.
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Insert the new cartridge
5. Remove the new cartridge from its package. Be careful to touch only the black plastic on the cartridge.
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6. Carefully remove the plastic tape using the pink 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

7. Hold the cartridge by its sides with the nozzles toward the printer, and then insert the cartridge into its color-coded slot until it snaps into place. Make sure that the icon on the cartridge matches the icon on the slot. The tri-color cartridge is on the left side of the carriage. The black cartridge is on the right side of the carriage.
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8. Close cartridge door.
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Align cartridges
9. When the product detects a new cartridge installed, it prompts you to align the cartridges. Touch OK on the product control panel. The product prints an alignment page.
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10. Lift the scanner lid.
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11. Place the alignment page on with the printed-side down on the right-front corner of the scanner glass. See the engraved guide next to the scanner glass for help loading the alignment page.
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12. Close the lid, and then touch OK. The product scans the alignment page and completes the alignment process.
13. Remove alignment page and recycle or discard it.

The alignment page did not print?
If the printer did not print an alignment page, follow these steps to manually align the printer:

– Open HP Solution Center.
– In HP Solution Center, click Settings.
– In the Print Settings area, click Printer Toolbox. The Toolbox opens in a new window.
– In the Toolbox, click the Device Services tab, and then click Align the Print Cartridges.
– A dialog box displays. In the dialog box, click Print Page. The product prints an alignment page.
– Got to step 10.