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Tips For Avoiding Problems With Your
Inkjet Printer Cartridge and
Other
Printer Help....
The following
information is provided to help you
get the most from your printer and
more specifically, your printer's
cartridge. Naturally, we don't have
all the answers but these are some
of the more common ones. If you have
a tip or other helpful information,
please let us know so it can be
added here. A "thank you" and your
name will be posted. We all can
benefit from sharing.
E-mail us
Don't Let the
Cartridge Dry Out!
The number one refilling problem is
waiting too long to refill your
cartridge. Inside just about all
inkjet cartridges with a built-in
print head, there is a foam sponge.
When the cartridge runs out of ink,
there is a tendency for the sponge
to dry up and go hard. When you
don't fill up your cartridge right
away, the ink will dry and clog the
micro holes at the outlet (jets) of
the printer head. Once the sponge
has hardened there is usually no
real way to make it work again
properly.
When this happens the symptoms are
likely to be inconsistent light and
dark print, as well as a reduced
number of prints per refill. It is
always better to fill up the
cartridge before it runs out. It is
strongly suggested that you fill up
your empty cartridge as soon as it
is out of ink, and do not wait.
Better yet, it is always better to
fill up the cartridge before it runs
out. Topping up the cartridge every
200-250 sheets ensures that the
cartridge always has ink in it to
stop the sponge from drying out, and
also that you never run out of ink
in the middle of a job!
If you are out of refill ink
supplies, wrap your cartridge in a
moist paper towel or cloth and seal
it in a plastic baggie. Remember to
get as much air out of the baggie as
possible. This will buy you time to
get
Resupplied.
** Note - It is often possible to
unblock a cartridge which has a
printhead that has blocked up (what
have you got to loose at this
point). Place the printhead part of
the cartridge (just the nozzles
where the ink comes out) in a saucer
or shallow bowl containing 50% very
hot tap water and 50% bleach (or
ammonia), about 1/2 cup total. Hold
it there for two or three minutes.
This should hydrate and loosen any
dried ink and allow the ink to flow
through the printhead nozzles. You
should see the ink bleed out (gently
wipe it dry), repeat if needed. It
is preferable to do this when the
cartridge is empty and then put a
small volume of ink into the
cartridge to test the print quality.
This should be followed by inserting
the cartridge into the printer and
running the printer through its
printhead cleaning cycle (see your
printer's manual).
Keep The Print Head
Clean
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Care needs to be taken to ensure
that the print head is kept clean in
order to stop ink clogging in the
print head. Some machines, mostly
the Hewlett Packard printers, have a
tendency not to clean the print head
properly as part of their normal
cleaning cycles. Often deposits of
ink will set up on the end of the
print head causing the cartridge to
function sub-optimally. This problem
can be fixed by gently cleaning the
print head with a soft cotton cloth
or Q-tip dipped in water - don't use
tissues. Snap the cartridge in and
out a couple times to get a good
connection after cleaning. Keeping
the print head clean greatly
increases the number of successful
refills.
Preventing "Color
Mixing" When Refilling
Preventing "Color Mixing" When
Refilling When refilling a three
color (or more) cartridge, there is
a chance that you can have the
cartridge turned the wrong way and
get the colors on the ends
backwards. In other words, you might
put the magenta ink in the cyan
chamber. To avoid this from
happening and ruining your
cartridge: use three tooth picks and
insert one of them into each fill
hole, deep enough to pick up some
ink. Mark the cartridge with a
marker or piece of tape to help you
remember which chamber is which
color. Pretty simple and helpful.
(Thanks Sharon!)
Do Not Run Back to
Back Cleaning Cycles.
(this
applies to all printers)
It just makes things worse! Give the
cartridge a chance to let some ink
flow in between cleaning cycles!
After running a cleaning cycle,
Print 3 or 4 pages of a color
pattern or a color balanced image.
If the printing is still not looking
good, run another cleaning cycle,
then 3 or 4 pages of color pattern.
Repeat the process until you have
obtained a quality print. This will
purge air bubbles or foamy ink that
a cleaning cycle may not get.
Purge the Cartridge
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Purging the cartridge regularly is
one of the most important steps in
ensuring a long cartridge life. The
purging cycle is NOT the same as the
cleaning cycle. If you don't know
how to do this, read your printer
manual, It's all in there! The purge
cycle consists of a process that
heats all the jets in the cartridge
and then cleans them from the inside
out. All purge cycles produce a grid
which consists of vertical and
horizontal lines which represent all
the jets in the cartridge.
Resistors
The only reason cartridges have a
limited refill life is the resistors
that control the current to each
outlet jet. When a cartridge runs
out of ink, the resistors can
overheat (up to 500 degrees!) and
burn out. Most printers will warn
you of a low cartridge before it
completely runs out of ink. These
resistors wear out over time, and
when they fail the result is wavy
and slanted print. When the
resistors in the cartridge fail, the
only solution is to
Buy Another Cartridge. At
the first sign of low ink, refill or
top off your cartridge to ensure a
long refillable life!
Pressure Equalization
When certain cartridges (HP 51626A
and 51629A) are refilled it changes
the equilibrium inside and may need
time to adjust. The best way to get
optimum performance out of your
printer cartridge is to let it the
pressure stabilize properly. Some
cartridges require you to
re-pressurize them with a plastic
squeeze bottle that you have to blow
into the air hole (this is done
'automatically' with our special
product, The
Refill Station. Others
simply require that you let them sit
for a small amount of time before
re-inserting them into the printer.
This is often the case with some
Epson cartridges which can take up
to a day to equilibrate but are
generally good to go in less than an
hour. It is good idea to stand the
cartridge on some newspaper to
equalize (don't let the 'nozzle tip'
touch the paper).
Detailed, Easy-To-Follow
instructions and the proper tools
will come with each refill kit we
sell for your printer make, model
and cartridge. Make sure you
carefully follow the instructions
that come with your refill kit and
you'll have success!
Common Problems with
New and Compatible Epson Cartridges
Sometimes a brand new cartridge from
Epson or one of our compatibles may
appear to not be working properly.
There are three (3) reasons for
this.
1) There may not be a pool of ink at
the exit port (the pre-chamber) that
the head can suck from. The solution
to this is the "Centrifugal Force"
tip below.
2) The vent grooves to one or more
chambers may be blocked by adhesive.
The adhesive from the tear away seal
or the name plate sticker may have
blocked up a vent groove. If air
can't get into the cartridge, the
ink will not flow. The solution to
this is a straight pin. Use a
straight pin to puncture the name
plate foil and vent the cartridge.
If you run your finger nail across
the foil, you will find there is a
hole under the foil for each
chamber. This is where to stick the
pin through the foil. After making
the pin holes in each chamber, run a
few cleaning cycles to reestablish
solid ink in the head.
3) Printer stops printing after a
few pages(or many) have printed.
*After refilling your cartridge your
printer "thinks" the "original"
cartridge is empty. Simply unplug
the printer and wait a couple of
minutes before plugging it in again.
This Should "clear" the memory so
the printer recognizes your refilled
cartridge as "full".
Elimination of Air
Pockets Using Centrifugal Force
Some of the sponge filled cartridges
can develop air pockets at the
bottom of the cartridge that can
block the flow of ink. HP color
cartridges and Epson Stylus Color
cartridges are best know for this
problem. The solution is centrifugal
force.
Wrap the cartridge in a towel or
cloth. Place the cloth wrapped
cartridge in a plastic bag, (a
plastic "grocery" bag is good). Hold
it in your hand with the head or
exit ports pointing down. Extend
your arm and swing the cartridge
down towards the floor rapidly,
sorta like you were going to throw
it. Repeat a couple of times. Then
remove the cloth wrapping. There
should be a visible spot of ink from
each of the chambers. If not, do it
again. ** Note: Epson
400/600/800/1520 series cartridges
must have a pool of ink at the exit
port to work properly.
EPSON - Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ's)
* How do I install my new cartridge?
Remove the yellow tape seal or
plastic red tab from the ink
cartridge you are going to install.
Do not remove the tape or plastic
caps covering the holes at bottom of
cartridge. Do not remove the white
label from the top of the ink
cartridge. The ink in a cartridge
missing the white label will be
exposed to air and will thicken such
that print head clogging and
possible print head failure can
occur. If the white label has been
removed from the ink cartridge, the
cartridge will not function
correctly and it will need to be
replaced. More importantly, to avoid
potential damage to the printer, do
not install the cartridge if the
white label has been removed. If the
black ink out light is flashing or
solid, hold the black cleaning
button until the print heads move to
the left, and then install the black
ink cartridge. If the color ink out
light is flashing or solid, hold the
color cleaning button until the
print heads move to the left, and
then install the color ink
cartridge. After installing the
cartridge, press the load/eject
button to begin charging the ink
delivery system.
* The quality of my printed output
is unacceptable. What can I do?
Verify that you are using the
correct printer driver for your
printer model. Make sure that the
printer's paper adjust lever is set
to 0 for regular paper and + for
envelopes or thicker media. If
MicroWeave is off, turn this feature
on. If High Speed is on, turn it
off. Make sure the Media Type
setting matches the paper or media
loaded. Also, the Halftoning and
Color Adjustment Mode options may be
set incorrectly for your document
type.
Let the printer driver automatically
select the settings for the best
quality. The paper you are using may
be damaged, old, dirty or loaded
incorrectly. Remove the paper and
reload a new stack ensuring that the
printable side is face up. If your
output is faint, check the printer
driver to make sure you have
selected a print resolution other
than Economy.
For vertical banding, rough or
grainy images run the Print Head
Alignment utility to align the print
heads for precise vertical lines. If
the image does not contain the
colors you expected, the color
settings on your application
software may need adjustment. Refer
to your software documentation for
help on adjusting colors.
If the previous steps do not resolve
the issue, the print head nozzles
may be clogged. From the Utility
section found in the EPSON printer
driver, clean the print heads by
performing a head cleaning followed
by printing a nozzle check pattern.
A head cleaning and nozzle check
MUST be performed as a cycle. After
printing a nozzle check, examine the
printed dot pattern. Each staggered
horizontal and straight vertical
line should be complete, with no
gaps in the dot pattern. If there
are gaps in the dot pattern,
continue with another cycle.
Performing up to 6 cleaning cycles
is not uncommon if the print heads
are severly clogged.
If the nozzle check prints
completely, and you're still
experiencing a problem, make sure
you are using the most current
version of the printer driver. You
can obtain the latest printer driver
from the Epson web site. The
resolution of your image may also be
set too low. Increase the image
resolution using your image-editing
software, or decrease the size of
the image.
Another troubleshooting test to try
is moving the printer to another
computer. This will eliminate the
possibility of a defective printer
cable, parallel port, or software
issue.
* My printouts are missing color
and/or black print. How can I fix
this?
If the printer is printing blank
pages, make sure you are using the
correct printer driver and make sure
the paper size is correctly selected
in the driver. If the printer is
printing black only, the Ink option
in the printer driver may be set to
Black instead of Color or a setting
in the software may be set to print
black only. Also, the print head
nozzles may be clogged. From the
Utility section found in the EPSON
printer driver, clean the print
heads by performing a head cleaning
followed by printing a nozzle check
pattern. A head cleaning and nozzle
check must be performed as a cycle.
After printing a nozzle check,
examine the printed dot pattern.
Each staggered horizontal and
straight vertical line should be
complete, with no gaps in the dot
pattern. If there are gaps in the
dot pattern, continue with another
cycle. Performing up to 6 cleaning
cycles is not uncommon if the print
heads are severly clogged.
* The printed output is broken up
and/or has white streaks running
thru it. How can I fix this?
The print head nozzles may be
clogged. From the Utility section
found in the EPSON printer driver,
clean the print heads by performing
a head cleaning followed by printing
a nozzle check pattern. A head
cleaning and nozzle check must be
performed as a cycle. After printing
a nozzle check, examine the printed
dot pattern. Each staggered
horizontal and straight vertical
line should be complete, with no
gaps in the dot pattern. If there
are gaps in the dot pattern,
continue with another cycle. Perform
up to 6 cycles if necessary.
Canon FAQ's
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* Why don't the colors displayed on
the monitor match the printed colors?
Because your monitor and printer use
different technologies to represent
colors, your printed colors cannot
exactly match the colors you see on
your monitor screen. Try using the
ICM (Windows 95or 98) or ColorSync
(Macintosh) setting. Refer to your
User's Guide for more information.
* The quality of my printed output
is unacceptable. What can I do to
improve this?
Verify that you are using the
correct printer driver for your
printer model. Let the printer
driver automatically select the
settings for the best quality. The
paper you are using may be damaged,
old, dirty or loaded incorrectly.
Remove the paper and reload a new
stack ensuring that the printable
side is face up. Run the head
cleaning utility. Perform up to 6
cycles if necessary. The resolution
of your image may also be set too
low. Increase the image resolution
using your image-editing software,
or decrease the size of the image.
Another troubleshooting test to try
is moving the printer to another
computer. This will eliminate the
possibility of a defective printer
cable, parallel port, or software
issue.
* My printouts are missing color
and/or black print. How can I fix
this?
If the printer is printing blank
pages, make sure you are using the
correct printer driver and make sure
the paper size is correctly selected
in the driver. If the printer is
printing black only, the Ink option
in the printer driver may be set to
Black instead of Color or a setting
in the software may be set to print
black only. Also, the print head
nozzles may be clogged. Perform a
head cleaning If there are still
gaps in the dot pattern, continue
with another cycle. Perform up to 6
cycles if necessary.
For Printers which use the BCI21-B,
BCI21-C or BCI21-E cartridges,
replacing the BCI21E printhead and
cartridge assembly is necessary
after replacing the ink tanks a
number of times (usually only after
4-5 tanks!). Over time the print
head will wear out and must be
replaced in order to continue
producing acceptable print outs.
This item is available from us
Here. for a very
reasonable price!
* The printed output is broken up
and/or has white streaks running
thru it. What's up?
The print head nozzles may be
clogged. Perform a head cleaning and
print a test print. If there are
gaps in the dot pattern, continue
with another cycle. Perform up to 6
cycles if necessary.
To prevent drying and possibly
clogging of the printhead, it is
recommended you print something in
color once a week. Try this if the
color print is 'light' or missing in
spots:
Unplug the printer from the
computer. Then locate the 'resume'
button which is the button on the
top right, push it until you hear 1
beep, do that 6-10 times, this
shoots out some ink to clear the
'clogs'. Then plug the printer back
up and try the print again.
If the printer is printing in
streaks and 'smearing'; follow this
procedure to remove any excess ink
from the printer carriage area:
1. OPEN printer so the cartridges
move to center of the carriage.
2. REMOVE all cartridges.
3. FOLD a letter size piece of paper
in half, and then in half again the
other way so it is quartered.
4. START with the long, folded edge
and insert into front of printer
where paper normally feeds out. (it
will slip in a little over halfway)
5. MOVE the paper left and right to
remove any excess ink under the
carriage. When the excess ink is
removed the printer should print
streak-free.
Avoiding A Mess
When you are refilling an ink
cartridge, you should do it over
some newspapers, or better, an old
rag or shirt. Cloth will soak up any
excess ink immediately and is easier
to clean up. Our refill kits are
designed to minimize this. Once you
get used to refilling, a mess will
no longer be an issue.
Cleaning Up
The first time you refill a
cartridge, you might get a little
ink on your hands. To get the ink
off, use a mild bleach and water
solution then wash with soap and
water.
MORE TIPS....
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COLOR CARTRIDGES (with print heads)
Most color cartridges retain the ink
using sponges. We have found that if
you drip the ink into the sponge
that you will get a better refill.
Epson cartridges are the exception
to this rule. The filling of Epson
cartridges is from the bottom
(complete and easy instructions with
each kit). The best time to refill
any color cartridge with a print
head is when it is half empty.
Lexmark, Compaq and some Xerox show
how much ink is in the cartridge
through their on screen software.
After you refill the cartridge and
are installing it back into your
printer it will ask you if this is a
new cartridge. Indicate yes and the
ink level will usually return to
full.
HP has some of the most popular
black cartridges... HP 51629A,
51626A and 51645A. The 29A and 26A
are bladder cartridges. These
cartridges are the most difficult to
refill. Especially if you run them
out of ink. We have found that using
our unique
HP-STATION-Refill System
produces the best success. Actually,
it is as easy as 1,2,3.
Lexmark, Compaq (with print heads &
sponge)
These cartridges are some of the
easiest to refill. They are very
simple and easy when you follow the
instructions. You can purchase a
Lexmark printer for as little as $50
bucks. How can they make any
money?.... You'll find out when you
buy your first cartridge. Retail
price for the color cartridge can
run as high as $50.00 dollars!
Miscellaneous Information
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Troubleshooting Printing Problems
In Windows 95/98 -- The
Following Topics Are Discussed In
This Article: Check Your Printer
Hardware; Verify Printer Properties;
Windows 98/95 Print Troubleshooter;
View the Printers.txt File; Try
Printing A Test Document From
Notepad Or WordPad; Try Printing
From A Command Prompt And Lpt1.dos;
You Can Print From A Command Prompt
But Not Windows-Based Programs;
Printing Issue Occurs Only In One
Program; Remove And Reinstall The
Printer Driver; Hard Disk
Maintenance; Verify Your Printer
Port Is Configured And Working
Properly; Unable To Print From
MS-DOS To A USB Printer; And
Additional Troubleshooting Topics.
NOTE: This Article Does Not Provide
Information About Troubleshooting
Printing Issues Over A Network, But
Does Provide Many Important Basic
Troubleshooting Steps You Can Use To
Help Diagnose Your Printing Issues.
PRINTER DRIVERS:
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Check your printer manufacturer's
Web site to verify that you have the
latest print driver. Having the
latest printer drivers installed
will greatly improve your printer's
performance! Please see our
'Driver Links' page.
OTHER TIPS....
Starch is used as a binder in the
production of paper. It is the use
of a starch coating that controls
ink penetration when printing.
Cheaper papers do not use as much
starch, this is why your elbows get
black when you are leaning over your
morning paper.
Stick to plain paper when you're not
generating high-quality color
images. Most inkjets make fewer
passes when printing on uncoated
stock.
Use "draft" or "economy" mode when
top quality isn't needed. Doing so
shouldn't degrade text quality much,
and it may even produce output good
enough for all but the final
versions of your jobs.
Turn off resource-hungry halftoning,
color-matching, and
image-enhancement options when you
don't need them.
If you notice smeared printing the
"wiper blade" inside the printer
carriage might just be dirty. Wipe
it off with a damp paper towel. This
will usually fix the smearing
problem.
One sure rule is that all ink jet
cartridges will eventually wear out.
They don't ever seem to wear out at
the same time that your cartridge
runs out of ink! Murphy's Law is
still alive and well! You will
eventually need to
buy a new cartridge. We
offer high quality replacement
cartridges at great prices too,
delivered right to your door!
Printing Short Cut
Say you're in a big hurry to print a
saved file. Finding and firing up
the originating program (your word
processor, for example) and, in
turn, calling up the file,
navigating to the program's print
function and working through the
print dialogue box can seem to take
forever when seconds count. By
taking advantage of Windows 95/98's
shortcuts, you can let your computer
do all the work. Here's how:
Click on the Start button, go to the
Settings menu and choose Printers.
Single-click on the printer of your
choice, to highlight it. Right-click
the highlighted printer and select
Create Shortcut. Windows will tell
you it can't create the shortcut
here and ask if you want it placed
on your desktop. Say Yes. Then
whenever you want to print in a
hurry, just highlight the file you
wish to output and drag it onto the
printer shortcut on your desktop.
Windows will look up the program,
open the file and start outputting
right away.
Add Your Printer to "SendTo" Menu
Print documents without opening them
by adding your printer to the Win9x
'SendTo' menu (accessed when you
highlight and right-click on any
file in a Windows Explorer or My
Computer window). Open C:\WINDOWS\SENDTO
and create a shortcut there for your
printer. Your printer will now
appear the next time you access the
'SendTo' menu.
Change the Printing
Order
When you have a number of documents
in your printing pipeline, you can
rearrange the print queue (except
for the document currently being
printed). Choose
Start/Settings/Printers and
double-click on the printer whose
queue you want to manage. The
"printer queue" with all the print
jobs listed appears. If you want to
cancel or pause the printing of any
of the documents you have sent,
click the document, and then use the
commands on the Document menu.
Save Paper In MS Word
2000
If you want to create a reference
copy of a long document, why not
print several pages on a single
sheet of paper? Here's how: Open the
document in Word 2000 and select
'File', 'Print', just as you
normally do. When the Print dialog
box appears, drop down the 'Pages
per sheet' in the bottom right
corner, choose 4 pages, then cilck
'OK'. Your document will print with
four pages on each sheet.
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Ink Cartridges
