A sudden shortage of printer ink is a common issue in printing, especially for newcomers who lack a better understanding of ink cartridges. You must replace the printer cartridge before it reaches the last drop. But when will I need to replace my ink cartridge?- this guide will be a great help for you to solve this problem. Let’s check it.
Ink Cartridge Types
When you properly know the different ink cartridges’ behavior, you can optimize their use and your printing cost. Typically, you can find three types of cartridges.
Standard Cartridge
- Page yield is around 10,000-12,000
- Budget-friendly
- Effective for domestic printing
- Moderate shelf life
Jumbo Cartridge
- High page yield (almost 25,000-50,000 pages)
- Little bit expensive
- Compatible with high-volume printers
- Long shelf life
- Durable
- Effective for corporate sectors
Remanufactured Cartridge
- Recycled cartridge
- Low-cost cartridge
- Defective
- Low durability
- Effective for personal printers with less workload
How to Tell which Ink cartridge Needs Replacing
You must check the following things to get a proper idea of the right time for ink cartridge replacement-
Ink Level Checking
Modern printers have high-quality displays that let you know the ink cartridge level through flickering or beeping. This is the easiest way to know when to replace the cartridge.
That’s why check the availability of ink on the printer screen initially.
But on a practical note, you don’t need to replace it once you get the signal from the display. When the printer tells you to replace the cartridge, some prints are always left (at least 20-25%). So, nothing to worry about it.
Diagnostic Test
A print diagnostic test enables you to realize the ink cartridge level by printing pages individually. So you can check the print quality concerning the use of ink in each print.
To do this test, visit the “settings” option and run “print diagnostic test”.
Clean the Print Head
Sometimes, you can get printed documents filled with ink or smudges. It happens due to a jam in the print head or ink in the printer nozzles. In that situation, clean the print head first and rerun the printing.
If the printouts come with blots repeatedly, you must change the ink cartridge immediately.
You can check the article “How to Clean Inkjet Printer Heads” to make your job easier.
How often do you Change Printer Cartridges?
Print ink cartridges consist of a sponge inside them. Usually, these sponges deteriorate after 1.5-2 years, irrespective of printer model.
So, changing the printer cartridges after two years is always recommended to experience smooth printing in domestic and official sectors.
How to Choose the Best Ink Cartridge for my Printer
As the printing market is highly competitive, you can find a bunch of ink cartridges with different features. So, it is expected to be perplexed when choosing an ink cartridge for your printer.
But what can you do?
You must focus on the following matters-
- Collect the cartridge from a dependable manufacturer of printers.
- Check the manuals to know whether the cartridge features are compatible with your printer model or not.
- Check the shelf life of the cartridge.
- Know about the ink consumption of cartridges
- Last but not least, the ink cartridge price.
Now you don’t need to struggle with “When will I need to replace my Ink cartridge”. This article covers all the required information about this issue.
If you don’t have any option for ink cartridge replacement, you can bypass the cartridge to continue printing. This article on “How to Bypass Ink Cartridge on Epson Printer” will be helpful for you in this case.
So, enjoy your printing.
