Ink Cartridge Error Messages Guide

Have you just installed your new ink cartridge and an error message has appeared on the screen? Is there a warning light flashing on the printer? This means that your computer cannot recognise the new ink cartridge; this is a common problem and can happen for a number of reasons.

One of the main reasons is that something is interfering with the information that is being send to the cartridge by the printer. This could be a piece of dirt or some dried ink on one of the copper contact points at the back of the cartridge, or it could be the contacts inside the printer cartridge carriage – where the information transfer takes place.

Before you perform any cleaning procedures you will need to carry out a few important checks.

• Check you have the correct cartridge for your printer model. Make sure the number written on the outside of the cartridge matches what you have ordered.
• Check you are putting the cartridge in the correct slot, don’t put black in the colour slot or visa versa.
• Check you have removed the entire piece of blue cellophane strip which covers the print head and the circuitry. If this is not fully removed you will get an ‘unsupported cartridge’ message on screen.
• Visually observe the copper contacts at the back of the ink cartridge, check for any tears or obvious damage. Ensure the copper contact is fully attached to the ink cartridge.

If all of the above appear to be in order you will need to carry out a cleaning and reinitialising procedure, see below.

You will need –

• Lint free cloth or some cotton buds
• Distilled or filtered water, tap water can be used if others not available
• Absorbent kitchen towel or tissue

Firstly, remove the ink cartridge from the printer. Take a piece of slightly damp lint free cloth or a cotton bud, and gently wipe the copper contacts on the cartridge over, do this until there appears to be no dirt on debris anywhere on the copper contacts. You can also wipe the print head of the cartridge over with a fresh piece of damp cloth, to ensure there is no dried ink or dirt remaining. Try the cartridge back in the printer, if it is still producing an error message, it is likely there is permanent damage to the contacts and the cartridge will need to be replaced.

If you have installed a new black and colour ink cartridge into your printer at the same time, and you are getting an error message, you will need to identify which cartridge is at fault. It is unlikely that both cartridges would have damaged copper contacts. For this you will need your original empty cartridges at hand, so don’t recycle them just yet! Remove all ink cartridges from the printer; insert your new black ink cartridge together with your original empty colour cartridge. If no error messages appear then the problem lies with the new colour cartridge. If the same error message appears try it the other way around, with your new colour cartridge and old empty black cartridge. If this works the problem lies with the new black cartridge. If both times you get the same error message then both cartridges will need replacing.