Envelopes print in red ink instead of black ink

[georgia girl]

When typing envelope addresses, the text has recently started printing in red
ink. I have tried to change the color to black to no avail. This started
happening about a week ago. All other documents print in black ink. I had
the envelope address saved as a file, just changing send to information each
time.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Some inkjet printers (for whatever reason) use composite black (made up of
the colors in the color cartridge) instead of true black (from the black
cartridge) for envelopes and other small paper sizes, so if you're running
low on one or more inks in the color cartridge, you'll start to see
envelopes printing in blue, green, or red. Moreover, some printers
(perversely) won't print black satisfactorily if the color cartridge needs
to be replaced, and vice versa (though that is probably not the issue here).

 

[georgia girl]

Thank you, Suzanne, for your prompt and helpful reply. It had occurred to me
that the color cartridge could be the culprit, but I hate to throw out a
cartridge that still has ink in it, and I was puzzled as to why everything
else seemed to print okay in the black ink. This is a new printer (Lexmark),
and I just now replaced the color cartridge for the first time -- envelope
problem fixed! Thanks to you!

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Glad it worked for you. The mystery is why some printers use composite black
for envelopes.