There are many reasons behind why a printer ink cartridge can stop working. First, it can be due for replacement or refilling. Second, it can be because of some paper loading problems. But one of the most talked about culprits to the printer cartridge malfunction is the drying up of its nozzles.
Dry ink can clog the printer nozzle. This is in contrary to the assumption that the ink inside the printer cartridge dries up. You don’t have to worry about problems on drying of your printer nozzle. This can be fixed in a very short time.
Signs that printer cartridge nozzles are dry
Before going further into tips on how to remove dried ink from your printer nozzle, find out some signs that the part is indeed dry:
1. White lines are present while printing;
2. The ink does not come out;
3. You are already performing print head cleaning more often than you used to; and
4. Broken lines appear on the printer nozzle check pattern.
Tips on cleaning printer cartridge nozzles
Never use an alcohol to clean dried printer nozzles as this can damage the circuitry of the printer. Here are better tips to consider in the process:
1. Start by running the print head’s cleaning tool. You can find this in different parts of your printer depending on the brand and model you own. But basically you can locate it under the control panel section of your PCs. In some cases where your printer has a LED screen, you can find the print head tool on its menu section.
2. If in case the ink doesn’t flow from the print nozzle even after you have run the print head utility, you should remove the printer ink cartridge. Immerse it inside a bowl that contains warm water. Make sure that the water is enough for the print nozzle. You must be able to see that the printer ink is dissolving in warm water.
An alternate procedure to this is to use a cloth that is soaked in warm water. Use this cloth to clean the printer nozzle. Stop cleaning once you see that printer ink flows into it.
3. Then you should dry the nozzles after the cleaning process. You can make use of soft cloth for this procedure. After drying the print nozzle, you can attach the printer cartridge back into the gadget. This time, you should run the print head cleaning utility again.
4. If the above-mentioned tips don’t work the first time, then you can try the process once more.
What if the printer doesn’t print after dried ink on the printer nozzle had been cleaned?
If the printer doesn’t work even after doing the cleaning process twice, then the printer ink cartridge may not be repaired anymore. This can happen because you have not used the printer for a long time. The only solution to this is to purchase a new printer ink cartridge.