Replacing the ink cartridge in your HP Officejet Pro 8600 is considered a routine printer maintenance procedure. When your HP Officejet printer runs out of ink, you can replace the ink cartridge yourself by accessing the printer’s cartridge compartment and removing the old ink cartridge.

Steps

  1. 1
    Verify that your HP Officejet Pro is powered on. The printer must be turned on when replacing the ink cartridge.[1]
  2. 2
    Place your fingers into the slot located at the left side of the printer, then pull forward to open the door to the cartridge compartment.[2] The printer’s carriage will move to the left side of the printer while the cartridge compartment is opened.
    Advertisement
  3. 3
    Wait for the printer’s carriage to stop moving and become completely silent.
  4. 4
    Push in on the front part of the ink cartridge to release that specific cartridge.[3]
  5. 5
    Remove the old ink cartridge by pulling it toward you out of the slot.
  6. 6
    Hold the new ink cartridge so that the contacts on the cartridge are facing toward the printer.
  7. 7
    Gently push the new ink cartridge forward into the slot until it clicks into place. The colored dot on the cartridge label must match the color of the dot displayed on the slot.
  8. 8
    Close the door to the cartridge compartment.
  9. 9
    Wait for the printer to complete its warm-up sequence and become quiet. You may now begin using your Officejet Pro 8600.
  10. Advertisement

Community Q&A

  • Question
    What do I do if I changed the cartridges and my printer won't print?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Double check to make sure the cartridges are fully installed. If they are not snapped in completely, and some ink cartridges are hard to get in, they won't work. Hold the back of the printer, and push the replaced cartridge in as hard as you can. Try printing again.
  • Question
    What do I do if my printer is running lines of color down the page?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Clean the printheads through the printer's driver software. Go into the HP Officejet Pro 8600 program, and click "maintain your printer". The option to clean the printheads should be in there, and you can also print a diagnostic page from the "maintain your printer" menu, to see if you need to do anything else.
  • Question
    What do I do with the used cartridges?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Most office supply stores have bins for recycling used cartridges, you can deposit your old cartridges here.
Advertisement

Warnings

  • Never lift the carriage’s latch handle to insert new ink cartridges, as this action could result in damage to the printing mechanism and trigger printing problems.
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽
Advertisement

References

  1. Mitch Harris. Consumer Technology Expert. Expert Interview. 31 August 31 2021.
  2. Mitch Harris. Consumer Technology Expert. Expert Interview. 31 August 31 2021.
  3. Mitch Harris. Consumer Technology Expert. Expert Interview. 31 August 31 2021.
  4. Mitch Harris. Consumer Technology Expert. Expert Interview. 31 August 31 2021.

About This Article

Mitch Harris
Co-authored by:
Consumer Technology Expert
This article was co-authored by Mitch Harris. Mitch Harris is a Consumer Technology Expert based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mitch runs his own IT Consulting company called Mitch the Geek, helping individuals and businesses with home office technology, data security, remote support, and cybersecurity compliance. Mitch earned a BS in Psychology, English, and Physics and graduated Cum Laude from Northern Arizona University. This article has been viewed 145,918 times.
How helpful is this?
Co-authors: 6
Updated: September 15, 2021
Views: 145,918
Advertisement