Hi. Epson printers, including WorkForce WF-2830, contain a permanent print head that needs to be charged with all colors for normal operation. A small amount of color ink is used to keep the print head charged, even when you're printing black text only. This prevents air bubbles from entering and damaging the print head itself. However, the Epson WF-2830 will allow you to print temporarily with black ink when a color ink cartridge has been expended. Regards, Bobby - The Epson Team.