Are you confused about whether you should buy a new inkjet Cartridge right away or wait until it’s completely empty? If you need a functional printer at all times for studies or work, it is a good idea to stock on a new set of cartridges as soon as you notice the signs that one or more ink cartridges are about to get empty. But, what are these signs? Well, that’s exactly what we will discuss in this post.

Listed below are the top six signs that indicate it’s time to buy a new inkjet cartridge for your printer:

1. Faded Colors and Streaks on Prints

Faded colors in printouts of images, graphics, etc. point towards one or more empty ink cartridges. You may notice that colors in prints are less bright or not as intense as they were earlier.

At times, some colors may completely be missing in a print. For instance, if you print a picture of an orange, it may turn out to be yellow in the printout if the red ink cartridge is empty.

When an ink cartridge is just about to run out of ink, the nozzles on the print head don’t get coated evenly with ink. This can result in horizontal/vertical streaks and sometimes, missing dots on printed pages.
Faded or missing colors, streaks, etc. are a clear sign that you need to buy a new inkjet cartridge for your printer.

2. Low Ink Warning

Most inkjet printers available nowadays display ‘low-ink’ warnings. Such alerts generally appear on a printer’s display screen. Printer software may also display such warnings or alerts on your computer screen.
In some inkjet models, an ink cartridge running low on ink may be indicated by a series of flashing lights or beeps.

In older models, you may see alpha-numeric error codes on your computer screen. Refer to the owner’s manual or run a quick online search to find out if the error code represents an empty cartridge or warns you about a cartridge running low on ink.

While some printers generate such alerts the moment they are powered on, others will do so the moment you try to print something.

Do keep in mind that low-ink warnings do not necessarily indicate an ‘empty’ cartridge. On many occasions, you may see these alerts even when your ink cartridge is half-full! If you can’t move past an error message to print something, pull-out the cartridge and re-inserting it.

Keep using an ink cartridge until it lasts.

3. Supply Status Shows Low Ink Level

Modern-day printers with LCD screens indicate current ink levels through bar graphs. These graphs may be shown on the LCD screens directly when a cartridge is low on ink or you may have to navigate to the ‘Supply Status’ section.

4. A Color Inkjet Printer Stops Printing

Inkjets that use multiple ink cartridges may stop printing if one of the ink cartridges is empty. For instance, if the magenta ink is out, your printer may stop printing even text documents or print jobs that don’t require color inks.

It makes no sense but this is how some inkjet printers are engineered to work.

Yes, some color inkjets do use different inks for creating various hues and shades but many printer models are just programmed to stop printing (or display error messages) as soon as one of the color ink cartridges is out.

It is important that you identify the color ink cartridge you actually need.

5. You Have a Faulty Ink Cartridge

If your printer fails to recognize an ink cartridge or if it doesn’t fit properly in its designated slot, you may have a bad ink cartridge. However, before you trash an ink cartridge on the basis of printer errors or alerts such as ‘Ink Cartridge Not Recognized’ and have it replaced in a jiffy, make sure to troubleshoot the problem a bit.

At times, your printer may not recognize an ink cartridge simply because you didn’t insert it correctly or if the printer door is open.

An ink cartridge is more likely to be defective if:

• You refilled it had home or at a local office supplies store
• You tried to repair it on your own
• It’s clogged because you didn’t use the printer for an extended period of time
• You bought a compatible or remanufactured ink cartridge from a bad source

Compatible ink cartridges can save you a great deal on printing costs, yes, but make sure to buy them from a reputable seller only. For instance, if you need compatible inks for HP printers, always stick to reliable sellers who have ISO-certified manufacturing facilities and strictly avoid anonymous sellers.

If you have reasons to believe that it’s a bad ink cartridge, stop trying to get it to work. It can damage the print head – an expensive inkjet printer consumable.

6. A Multi-Function Inkjet Can’t Copy, Scan, or Fax

It’s pretty rare but it does happen. When your printer’s print function is hardwired with copy, scan, or fax functions, its non-print features may not work if an inkjet cartridge is empty. It’s an intentional design flaw, created to force printer users to buy more replacement cartridges.

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