How Do You Reset Supply Levels on a Mac After Replacing the Ink Cartridge?

By Steven French

OS X can sometimes tell you the printer is out of paper or ink when it is not.
i Ryan McVay/Photodisc/Getty Images

Using printers with Mac OS X is generally very easy. In many cases the operating system does not even require printer drivers to be installed, and it usually does a good job of monitoring a printer's supply levels such as ink and paper. From time to time, however, the operating system may have incorrect information about supplies that can prevent you from printing correctly. In these situations you will often need to reset the printing system in order for the software to recognize supply levels correctly.

Click the "System Preferences" icon located in the dock. This icon looks like three gray gears.

Click "Print & Fax" located in the "Hardware" section of the window, then choose your printer in the window that pops up. The available printers are listed along the left side of the window.

Control-click the printer you wish to reset and choose "Reset Printing System." A dialog box will ask if you are sure you wish to reset the printing system. Click "Yes."

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