I have a Lexmark Z22 printer that I bought a couple of years ago and which I’ve barely used. Seriously; if I’ve printed ten pages in that time, I’d be surprised. It worked well enough when I got it (colour saturation was not as good as I’d hoped), but a couple of months ago I tried to use it and there was no black.
Since I’m now looking for employment, I thought I’d print some applications and résumés. (I was hoping that the black would magically start working again.) Now the pages are completely blank. I tried removing the cartridges and shaking them (hey, it works with toner cartidgesl why not ink?) but to no avail.
Is something wrong with the printer? Or did the cartridges just go bad through non-use?
(Not that it really matters. I bought an HP 3520 to replace it.)
If you bought a new printer, why worry about the old one?
Anyway, one problem with inkjet cartridges is the tiny nozzles get clogged over time as the ink within dries out.
On occasion you can get them to work again by rubbing them gently with a damp cloth. But generally, I have had to throw them away and get new ones. That should solve your problem.
Yeah, we’ve had constant problems with Lexmark cartridges drying out from non-use, and then all you can do is throw tje cartridge away.
We found that it helps to make sure you turn the printer off at night. This makes it clean its little print heads and put itself away all nice and tidy.
We also discovered that our local Staples store will trade a non-functioning cartridge for a new cartridge even-steven, IF you have the receipt. So we are fanatics about saving the receipts.
Hey Johnny, would you like a spare Z22 to go with the one you already have?
I got a free one with my last 'puter. The Lexmark printer drivers crashed my system every time I tried to print something. (I didn’t know if I should yell at Bill Gates or Mr. Lexmark)
So I went and bought a real printer.
Good as new, still in the orig. box. Free to a good home
Cartriges are, what? $25 each? That’s $50 for two cartridges, and I don’t even know if that’s actually the problem. The HP cost $49. These things really are disposable!
I’m having the same problem with my Lexmark Z23, and the suspicion is that the ink cartridge is at fault (the black cartridge, not the color one). So I’m gonna get me a new cartridge. Only thing I can think of to do, unfortunately.
Cartridges don’t need to cost $25. You can get them from third-party vendors. I, personally, have had excellent results from a place called Carrot Ink (www.carrotink.com).
Naturally, the printer manufacturers will tell you not to use these cartridges, but WTF? They can’t damage your printer, because the cartridge is the print head, so if it doesn’t work right you can go buy the brand name.
The cartridges often contain electronics of their own now (I think I’m right in saying that at least part of the purpose of these electronics in Lexmark cartridges is to prevent them being refilled and used more than once). I wouldn’t put it past Lexmark to introduce some new feature that does something underhand like locking the printer up (and requiring a paid callout) when a non-original cartridge is used (although this would just be an engineering challenge for the manufacturers of the non-original cartridges.)
For the Lexmark Z23, the black cartridges are about $35. Which is funny, because the Z23 itself is only about $40. And they sell it without the black cartridge and USB cable. Plus, the thing doesn’t do envelopes. Grr!
For what it’s worth:
I’ve been using Lexmark printers for as long as I can remember. I wouldn’t buy another brand. The quality of both ink jet and laser print is excellent.
If you have the low end printer, it will perform like a low end printer. As to dried out cartridges, there is a nozzle clean function. If that doesn’t work, it’s probably a dead cartridge.
If you set an open bottle of booze alone for two years you’ll find a lot of evaporation has occurred.
As to “cheap ink”, it’s just that. Cheap ink. You’ll never find a brand name Lexmark cartridge bleeding on to the next printed page. Because it is a true ink jet printer. Microencapsulated beads of ink.
As to toner, it’s a semi dry substance, sort of like charcoal, which is why shaking works. It feeds down and there’s some stuck on the sides. If you have to shake it, you’d better be looking for a new toner cartridge.
Unless the next page you’re going to print is two years from now.
For what it’s worth:
I’ve been using Lexmark printers for as long as I can remember. I wouldn’t buy another brand. The quality of both ink jet and laser print is excellent.
If you have the low end printer, it will perform like a low end printer. As to dried out cartridges, there is a nozzle clean function. If that doesn’t work, it’s probably a dead cartridge.
If you set an open bottle of booze alone for two years you’ll find a lot of evaporation has occurred.
As to “cheap ink”, it’s just that. Cheap ink. You’ll never find a brand name Lexmark cartridge bleeding on to the next printed page. Because it is a true ink jet printer. Microencapsulated beads of ink.
As to toner, it’s a semi dry substance, sort of like charcoal, which is why shaking works. It feeds down and there’s some stuck on the sides. If you have to shake it, you’d better be looking for a new toner cartridge.
Unless the next page you’re going to print is two years from now.
For the Z23, I found the ink cartridge online for about $10 less than it was selling for in places like Staples, Office Max, and so on. So I bought it. And it’s not working. I suspect that the ink cartridge itself might not have been up to snuff, but I was dumb and forgot to keep the receipt.
(IIRC, the cartridge was $30 online and $40ish offline. Or something like that.)
My experience with off-brand inks is entirely with Epson printers, so I can’t speak to other types.
I haven’t noticed any significant increase in bleed-through or whatever. I’m happy with the results.
Maybe that won’t be true for you or for your printer. In which case, as I said, you just throw the cartridge out and get a name brand. (Or, you return it and try to get your money back.)
You could just get a refill kit and replace the cartridges when the head finally gives out on you. I’ve been screwing holes in the tops of my cartridges for years and I’ve never had a problem. Probably saved hundreds of dollars by now.
I don’t know if I trust Lexmark. My printer was shoddy and there’s the whole lawsuit over them putting copyrighted code in their printers to make sure third parties can’t make print cartridges.
I have had every problem I can think of with my Lexmarks. sigh I should have learned after the first one, but I couldn’t afford anything better.
I had the ink dissapearing problem several times, and I thought it could be that the heads were drying out, so I sawed one open once after much frusration. The ink had turned gummy. yeeech says I.
I think the worst part about it was that the cartridges were so expensive. Oh, and of course, I hate when my machines talk to me.
I really don’t need my printer yelling “PRINT COMPLETE” when I forget to turn off my speakers at 2 in the morning.
I learn something new all the time. (I hope it isn’t the same thing over and over )
A few printers use pigment-based inks (such as Epson DuraBrite(r) inks). Often (most of the time) your third-party “compatible” cartridges use dye-based inks.
While this will not damage your printer, you will find that the dye-based replacement is not water-resistant or fade-resistant. The difference between the two types of ink on these features is remarkable. If you want water-resistance and fade-resistance, then you do not want dye-based ink. (Unfortunately, most printers still don’t support pigment-based ink :()
I have no idea whether the few pigment-based replacements work as well as the brand-name ink.
(Also, FWIW, Epson printers and possibly some others do not have the print head in the cartridge, so they can get clogged if the ink is bad…)
