Cartridge World Newmarket

Wet is Better than Dry

I’m sure everyone’s heard the old adage “ use it or lose it “.  This holds true particularly for printer cartridges.  For print head cartridges it is important to use your ink cartridge about once a week.  This keeps the ink moving nicely through the print head and assures that the cartridge will perform when you really need it.

Print head cartridges have a shiny copper piece on the side which wraps around to the bottom print head.  This side copper piece is the electronic.  This little piece of copper is what reads to your printer.  I have had some customers who have come in with the copper piece pulled off .  Bad idea.  The copper piece is essential.   If it is damaged in any way, the printer cannot read the cartridges, and at that point it is only good for recycling.

Print head cartridges usually refill very well.  As soon as you see the cartridge starting to skip letters, give a light print, or missing a particular color, you should bring it to your local refill company for a ‘weigh‘.  Do not try to squeeze every last drop out of  a cartridge as this can burn the nozzles and compromise a successful refill. Weighing the cartridge shows if it is full, half full or empty.  We have a lot of customers who bring in their cartridges for refilling when they are actually still full.  Usually this is because they haven’t used their cartridge in a while.

Here at Cartridge World Newmarket, we’ll use some of our tools to extract the ink back down into the print head and clear the blocked nozzles.  We’ll test-print it to assure that it is working well and then return it to the customer with instructions to use it once a week.  This method will work some of the time, but if it has been months with no usage, it is unlikely that we will be successful using these techniques and you will have to purchase a new cartridge and start again.

The best way to transport your cartridges is in a transportation clip, sometimes provided with a new or refilled cartridge or put it in a baggie.  Do not put adhesive tape on the print head or electronics.  If your print head cartridge empties and it is not possible to get to your local refill outlet within a couple of days, you can place a small piece of moistened paper towel beside the cartridge and place it in a baggie in the crisper drawer of your fridge.

The sooner you get your cartridge refilled, the better.

Tip: If you have several cartridges on the go and only use them every couple of months, it would be best to refill your empty cartridge and have it sealed with print head tape and stored in a transportation clip.  If your cartridge stays empty, the sponge will dry out and the print head nozzles will become clogged with little particles of dried ink thus rendering the cartridge unfillable.

 

Hope these tips help!  In my next post,  I will have info for users of Epson and Canon printers.

I’d love to get your feedback! For you bloggers out there, you’ll get some commentluv here on my blog.  By leaving your comment, you’ll be able to provide a link back to your own blog.  But you don’t have to be a blogger to leave a comment!  I love hearing from you.  Tell me how many cartridges you’ve saved from the landfill!

Remember, think green when it comes to printer cartridges, you will save money and help the environment.

Karen

Tags: Cartridge World Newmarket, environment, green, ink cartridges, Karen Thompson, print heads, printer cartridges, printing, recycle, refill, remanufacture