My prints look faded after a new ink cartridge is installed

My prints look faded after a new ink cartridge is installed; it’s a problem we come across occasionally from customers.

How your print nozzle or printhead is situated in your inkjet printer

It’s easily fixed; some of the inkjet nozzles, or the printheads, on the cartridge may be blocked or the ink may just need a little ‘nudge’ to get it to release. It’s a common occurrence with new cartridges or ink cartridges that have been unused or stored for a while. To help get your ink flowing smoothly again follow the steps below to run your cleaning and/or maintenance program for your printer.

This is for Windows 10 users with an HP inkjet printer; it may be slightly different for earlier versions of windows and different manufacturers but the principle is the same.

1. Open the control panel menu on your PC and select “View devices and printers”. It can be found under “Hardware and Sound”

2. Choose the printer to be cleaned and right click. Select “properties” in the drop-down menu.

3. Choose the cleaning tab. Different printers might have it listed under different names such as services, cleaning or maintenance.

4. Select the printer’s cleaning programme. (Shown as “Nozzle Clean” “Deep Clean” or similar)

Inkjet cartridges have liquid ink in them, as opposed to toner cartridges which have a powder, and they do have a shelf life and they will dry out eventually. Read How Long Will My Printer Ink Or Toner Cartridges Last? To give you some idea of how long your cartridges will last.

If your printer is set to print in ‘draft’ mode we would recommend going to your printer's default settings and changing your default printing preference to ‘high quality’ printing, this will ensure you get a better quality of print, but don’t forget, it will also use more ink.