INK TANK – THESE DO NOT HAVE THE PRINT HEADS INTEGRATED.  DO NOT DO THE PAPER TOWEL METHOD WITH THESE CARTRIDGES.

The black cartridge is pigment based ink whereas the color is dye based ink.

Not Recognizing

 

Verify you have the correct cartridges for your specific model of printer.

 

If the printer is not recognizing that a cartridge is installed at all there’s a chip located on the bottom inside of the cartridge.  Check the chip for damage or debris.  A Q-tip can be used to reach and wipe the gold contacts.

 

Make sure the cartridge is firmly pressed into place.  If the cartridge is not pushed down far enough the chip will not make proper contact.  Also try removing then reinstalling the cartridge.

 

Check to make sure the right color is being installed into the correct color slot.  Refer to the User’s Guide for the particular printer model on the correct cartridge orientation.

 

Not Fitting

 

The black cartridge is physically thicker than the color cartridges.  Be sure that the correct cartridge is being installed into the correct color slot.  Refer to the User’s Manual of the specific printer to see the correct cartridge order.

 

Print Quality Issues

 

The printer will puncture the bottom nozzle area of the cartridge.  Make sure the cartridge is fully inserted into the printer.  The printer has a print head cleaning function that should be used.  Refer to the User’s Guide of their particular printer to see how to use the print head cleaning utility.

 

Smearing, missing lines, and spotting are usually print head related issues.  Sometimes print head cleaning can resolve this however the print head may also be at its end of life and need to be replaced.  If the first print head cleaning does not resolve the issue try running a second cleaning but allow the printer to sit for 10-15 minutes after cleaning before attempting to print to allow the ink to soak on the print head and soften any dried ink.  If the problem persists and is occurring with multiple of the same color cartridge their print head needs to be replaced.

 

These cartridges install into separate, replaceable, print heads.  The print heads are maintenance items and will need to be replaced after a certain amount of usage.  There is a print head for each individual color.  We do carry replacement OEM print heads.

 

Do NOT attempt the paper towel method with this cartridge.