HP Deskjet printer, if only the black cartridge is full, will it not print right ?

My black cartridge reads as 1/2 full and the color is empty but if I am printing in black why is it coming out red and fading. I am trying to print some PDf documents for a merchandising job I have to fill out and return and they were red and now have faded away, why won't it print black and can I change setting thanks dino56HP Deskjet printer, if only the black cartridge is full, will it not print right ?
It can still print right, but you will have to change a setting. Either set this as a default or make this change the next time you try to print. Select print. When the print dialog box comes up select the properties button. Look at the tabs and start at the first. What you are looking for is an option that says ';grayscale'; printing. Select this option and then continue to print. This will print black print as black, and any color will be a shade of gray.