Ink Cartridges Blog

A common problem with refilled or remanufactured ink cartridges which have built in printheads (eg. HP,Lexmark and some Canon) is for the printhead to become clogged or partly blocked. This generally results in  poor or blotchy printing or in colour cartridges some colours not printing at all. The easiest way to fix this problem is by immersing the printhead in almost boiling water. This loosens any ink that has hardened around the printhead and allows the ink to flow freely. Have a look at the video below. (as they say - a picture paints a thousand words.

To reset the ink Level (method 1)

1. Paste a thin strip of tape over the upper horizontal row of copper contacts on the back of the ink cartridge.
2. Insert the cartridge into the printer and close the lid.
3. The printer will now start to move. Wait untill a message appears on the screen indicating that the ink cartridge is installed incorrectly and click OK.
4. Open the lid of the printer and remove the cartridge.
5. Remove the strip of adhesive tape and this time paste it over the Second row of contacts (from top) horizontally.
6. Insert the cartridge back into the printer back again and closed the lid. The printer will again start to move untill another message appears. This time, the message will indicate that the cartridge cannot be recognized. Click on OK again.
7. Open the printer and remove  the cartridge once more.
8. Remove the tape and insert the cartridge back into the printer and close the Lid.
9. The printer should now indicate that the ink cartridge is full ! 

Resetting the ink Level (method 2)
Works only in some cases

1. Place a thin strip of tape over the bottom row of horizontal contacts.
2. Insert the cartridge into the printer and close the lid.
3. The printer will now begin to move. When the error message appears on the screen click OK.
4. Open the lid of the printer and remove the cartridge.
5. Remove the tape and place it over the very top horizontal row of contacts on the cartridge.
6. Insert the cartridge into the printer and close the lid. The printer will begin to move again. When the message appears stating that the cartridge cannot be recogmised Click OK again.
7. Open the printer and remove  the cartridge.
8. Remove the tape and insert the cartridge in the printer and close the lid.
9. The cartridge should now read Full again.

Compatible Brother LC-37 (Brother LC37 ink cartridges) and Brother LC-57 (Brother LC57 ink cartridges) ink cartridges are usually extremely reliable and trouble free however when installing them they can occassionally not register as being New of Full. The Brother printers sense the ink levels internally rather than via a chip on the cartridge itself so they are relatively easy to troubleshoot. The main problem is caused by ink not flowing correctly from the ink outlet hole on the ink cartridge itself. The following video runs through several procedures which help to solve any issues which may occur when installing a new set of brother cartridges.

A common problem with Ink Cartridges (especially Lexmark,HP and Epson) is that the printhead (the part where the ink actually contacts the paper) becomes blocked due to the ink clogging or drying up. This regularly occurs with HP and Lexmark ink cartridges as the printhead is built in to the ink cartridge. When a cartridge has been left sitting for sometime or a printer has not been used for a while the printhead becomes partially or fully blocked. The result of this is poor print reproduction,missing colours or at its worst no printing at all ! The following video is a good example of how to unblock the printhead using very hot water and or alchahol.

Have your Ink Cartridges ran out of ink? Maybe not. Try resetting the chip on your ink cartridge to get that extra amount of ink that always gets left in the bottom (this can often be a considerable amount). This will mainly work for Epson printers only  as the chip reset feature is not the same on most other ink cartridges!