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This is common with ink cartridges that have built-in print heads (such as HP, Lexmark or Dell). Cartridges are generally kept flat or upside down for weeks or months before being used. As a result, the ink will settle at the other end of the cartridge and will be unable to directly feed the print head. The easiest solution for this is to open the box and stand the cartridge upside down for a few minutes before using. Next, get a moist paper towel, fold it into quarters and the set cartridge print head down onto it, holding it there for three minutes. This will help to prepare the print head and pull the ink out. Finally, install the cartridge into your printer and print a few test pages.

Customers often worry about the yield of pages their cartridges give and will mistakenly try to track a cartridge’s yield by time. The amount of time it takes for a cartridge to go empty is an inaccurate indicator of its page yield. The manufacturer’s stated page yield for ink and toner cartridges is given at 5% coverage. This means that the quoted page yield is based upon printed pages where only 5% of the page has been imprinted with ink. This comes out to be a small amount of imprinted ink – roughly one quarter of the page. For example, a short memo has approximately 5% coverage. If you are printing letters, using legal size paper, printing photos, web pages or any type of graphics, your coverage will vary greatly and your page yield will drop much more significantly.

There are two ways to correctly check for yield. First is to utilize any page count your printer has. Please see the user's manual for instructions. The other way is to count reams or boxes of paper you have used with each cartridge. Both of these methods will tell you how many pages per cartridge you are using.

Please keep in mind that although both methods give you with an approximation, your cartridge’s yield will ultimately depend on your printing proceedures. You should also take into consideration the typical print coverage on the pages that you are creating. For example, if you only print short memos you will reach – or, come close to – the manufacturer’s state page yield. In contrast, if you write full page letters or print graphics, your page yield will be significantly less. A cartridge with a 4000 page yield, for example, will run out of ink or toner at around 800 pages when used to print full pages of text and graphics with a high percentage of ink or toner coverage. 

The most commonly seen error messages are listed below, as well as trouble shooting techniques to help eliminate any type of error message. If you are still unable to get rid of the error message please call our customer service department at 626-861-0635.

Cartridges that do not have an internal print head (Epson, Brother, Canon) A lot of times this is caused by the chip on the cartridge not making direct connection with the printer sensors. All you need to do is open the area of the printer where your cartridges are installed. Remove the problematic cartridge from its assigned port and reinstall the cartridge to ensure it is properly seated, secured, and that the chip is lined up with the printer censor. Close the printer cover and proceed to turn off the printer. Wait a few a few seconds and restart your printer. Proceed to print a test page and you should be good to go. If this problem still occurs please call our customer service department at 626-861-0635. Cartridges that have an internal print head (HP, Lexmark and some Canon) This is caused by the cartridge not making proper contact with the printer. This may also be caused by unclean contact points on the cartridge. Open the area where your cartridges are installed and remove the problematic cartridge. The cartridge contacts can be cleaned using a lint-free cloth or coffee filter. Completely power down your printer for 2-3 minutes by unplugging the printer from its power source. Then turn your printer back up, reinstall your cartridge making sure it is seated correctly, and that it’s in its designated slot. Your cartridge should be recognized and ready to print. If this problem still occurs please call our customer service department at 626-861-0635. 

Every cartridge is individually checked, weighed and tested before packaging to ensure that it is filled with the correct amount of ink. This error message is usually the result of a cartridge that is not firmly seated in its designated spot. To troubleshoot the problem, begin by completely removing the cartridge from its port. Reinstall the cartridge by positioning it so that it snaps into place and is securely fastened in its slot. Keep in mind that your printer doesn’t actually read the amount of ink in the cartridge. Printer software simply estimates the amount of ink remaining in the cartridge by remembering the number of pages that were printed when the previous cartridge was installed, and using this information to estimate when your next cartridge should be replaced. If a new cartridge is installed before the printer driver resets, there is a chance that the printer may think that the old empty cartridge is still being used. To fix the issue, reinstall the cartridge and click on the install new cartridge option; you may have to refer to your printer’s manual for further instructions. Selecting the new cartridge option will indicate to your printer that a new cartridge has been installed which will then prompt it to reset the page counter. This should eliminate the error message. If further assistance is needed, please call us at 626-861-0635.