Print cartridge maintenance and handling
Reader’s Question:
I’ve had pretty good luck refilling inkjet cartridges before, but when they
sit around for a while they seem to go dry up? Is there a way or procedure for cycling and maintaining cartridges so I don’t have to waste time refilling them only to find out, after multiple alignments, cleanings, calibrations, and find out that they don’t work?
Gene
Salt Lake City, UT
If the printer cartridge sits inactive for a long period of time, ink may dry
in the nozzles. Ink Plug is a dried ink clogging a nozzle. Because of the ink plug, white streaks will be visible in the printed text or graphic. Ink plugs from the nozzles may not be removed by printing alone. To get better print quality, purge the ink plug. This is done by wiping the nozzle plate until ink is drawn out and absorbed into the cloth. Print then a few lines of text or graphics at high resolution.
Always keep the print cartridge in a place that is relatively dust-free and
that is not too dry.
You may also place the print cartridge in a Tupperware container with a damp sponge to prevent drying out.
When the print cartridge is ready to be used again the print cartridge
may need to be cleaned as well.
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