Tips that fix poor quality printing problems
My printer doesn’t recognise the cartridge
Poor quality printing: If the printer doesn’t recognise the cartridge – there may be some dirt or ink on the electronic contacts of either the cartridge or the printer. Using a damp paper towel to clean both electronic contacts should solve the problem. – Please make sure there is no power going to the printer if you are going to clean the electronic contacts. If this does not work try to remove the cartridge, reboot your PC and try to reinstall it again. If it still causes problems then please return to seller for exchange.
The cartridge is working but it is giving me poor prints
Poor quality printing: Store all cartridges in an upright position in their box while in storage. If you don’t store cartridges in an upright position, then the print quality will be poor until the ink settles to the bottom of the cartridge where the print head is. Simply leave the cartridge installed in the printer for 2 to 6 hours and quality should be restored. Make sure any spare cartridges are stored upright, so they work correctly when first installed. Try setting the printer to print using its “best” printing setting.
The above hasn’t worked and I still have poor prints
Poor quality printing: An air pocket may be stopping the ink from leaving the cartridge. Simply remove the cartridge, take a folded sheet of kitchen towel, and wrap around the cartridge, and shake the cartridge several times. Then blot the cartridge’s printhead on the towel until you see a colour or black pattern. Now that the ink is leaving the cartridge, insert it into the printer.
I have done both the steps above and I’m still getting poor prints
Poor quality printing: Take a single piece of kitchen paper towel, fold it in two and gently dab the cartridge head on the paper towel until you see a head-print from the cartridge. If you do not get a good head print from the cartridge, simply wet the corner of the kitchen towel and gently wipe the cartridge head several times, then blot the cartridge head again with the dry kitchen towel. Now insert the cartridge into your printer and run 2 or 3 cleaning cycles. – If it is still poor return to seller for exchange.
Remember that to get the best prints, run one or two printhead cleaning cycles and select the “Best”print option. Look under Start => Devices and Printers => Printing Preferences in Windows 7/10.
The following page on this website deals with how to service a printer in Windows 7/8.1/10.
