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

There are two different versions of this cartridge; the HP 88 and the HP 88XL.  The HP 88 is the standard capacity cartridge whereas the HP 88XL is the higher capacity cartridge.

Not Recognizing

 

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

 

There’s a smart 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 HP 88XL cartridges are noticeable larger than their standard yield counterparts and this sometimes throws people off to where they think they will not fit.  These cartridges will fit in place of the standard yield cartridges.  The black XL cartridge is physically larger than the XL color cartridges so sometimes a person will open the XL black and assume the color cartridges will be the same size.  Although the HP 88XL color cartridges are the same size as the standard yield color cartridges, the bag on the inside of the cartridges does contain a greater volume of ink.  Make sure the correct color is going into the correct slot.

 

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.  You may need to run two cleanings.

 

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.

 

These cartridges install into two separate, replaceable, print heads.  One print head holds the black and yellow cartridges and the other print head holds the magenta and cyan print heads.  The print heads are maintenance items and will need to be replaced after a certain amount of usage.  We do carry replacement OEM print heads.

 

Do NOT attempt the paper towel method with this cartridge.

 

Below you can see a comparison on the size differences between the HP 88XL high yield black and the HP 88 standard yield black.  Although the HP 88XL black is physically larger than the standard yield it will still fit and work in the standard yield slot.