hp deskjet 3820
 

i was given this printer to see whats wrong with it...it will only print in red and started within a couple of weeks after buying it...the ink cartridges have plenty of ink in them and dont look clogged. i went to the hp site and looked things up about this but didnt really find anything that would help. any help would be appreciated thanks!

First try another cartridge. At some point a new one will be required anyway.
However, if this printer is so cheap that it only costs about the same as a new cartridge...

Wrong. The price may be the same, but the quantity isn't. New printers ship with less ink than a new cartridge would. About half of it, actually.

But ultimately, I'd say the problem has to be the ink cartridges. The printer itself does nothing more than move the paper and the cartridges. The cartridges contain the ink and most of the electronics. Hence, a new cartridge should solve your problems.

well the cartridges cost about 35 (if i remember correctly) a piece and the printer i believe cost around 100 so that wont work...i am going to clean it but not sure if that will help. thanks tho

Sure, play with the cartridge. If no success buy another cartridge.
I assume the printer passes it's diagnostic checks.

The print head is in the cartridge but the ink mixing logic would be in the printer, I would think. If a $100 printer is defect, give up on it. Keep the power supply & cartridges.