The Signs & Symptoms of a Bad Ink Cartridge

Printer problems are often a source of woe for business owners and their staff, as any issues can cause delays at critical moments. Bad ink cartridges can pause completion of crucial document print jobs, create ink messes or result in costly repair work. Understanding the signs and symptoms of a bad ink cartridge, as well as issues that cause similar print problems, can help you quickly determine the source of the problem so you can get your printer fixed and working again.

Error Messages

Error messages related to a printer or ink cartridge problem may pop up on your computer screen or printer display. For example, you might see a text message or code stating that the printer doesn’t recognize the cartridge, that there's a cartridge alignment issue or that the cartridge is defective.

Printout Issues

Printouts with too little or too much ink can indicate a bad cartridge. Symptoms might include blank spots or lines through characters, missing words or sentences, partial images, or faded text and images. Symptoms might also include overly dark characters that appear to have bold font-weight even when you haven't selected bold for font formatting. Printouts might also have ink droplets or smears on white spaces.

Basic Troubleshooting

To determine whether you have a defective ink cartridge, first consider user mistakes that can cause error messages and printout issues. For example, the ink cartridge might still have packing tape on it, or the cartridge or carrier contacts might have fingerprints on them that block electrical signals. You might also have the cartridge improperly aligned, or the printer door may be slightly open. Check all of these potential causes, and then try printing again.

Additional Causes

Once you’ve ruled out user error, look for other cartridge-related causes, such as an empty, almost empty or clogged ink cartridge, or an improper print head alignment, before assuming a cartridge is defective. Check ink levels, print a test page, and perform an ink cartridge cleaning and print head alignment. Follow your printer manual's instructions for performing these tasks, which usually involve using the printer’s computer software or LCD display.

Considerations

If you still can't determine whether you have a defective cartridge, replace the most recently installed cartridge with a new one from a different box, and then try printing again. If the printer works, then your original cartridge is defective. If the printer doesn't work and you're using an off-brand or refilled cartridge, install a new, brand cartridge. If the issue persists, reset the memory -- unplug the printer, wait a minute, and then plug it in -- and try printing again. If you still can't determine the cause, contact the printer manufacturer for assistance.