For me, even after all these years in the computer business, I find printers to be the most fascinating of all the computer peripherals.  It’s just amazing what they can do!

We are fortunate here at KCC when it comes to printers.  We have three Xerox printers – one uses solid ink and the other two use laser cartridges – and only one printer which actually uses wet ink cartridges.  Because of our situation, we never have ink that dries up or print heads in which the ink gels and then won’t flow.  But, these can both be problems for “normal” printers.  We’re going to attempt to save you money and aggravation when it comes to printer ink!

Here are some suggestions:

♦ Never purchase more ink than you know you can use within 90 days.  Sometimes people try to take advantage of a sale on ink.  However, ink that sits on the shelf, even though it’s packaged in foil (usually), will dry up.  I’ve had a number of customers who found this to be true.  When they tried to use ink that they had purchased six months before, it wouldn’t work.

♦ If you’re going to be gone from your printer for a long period of time (a month or more), you should remove the ink cartridges from the printer so that the ink doesn’t dry up in the print head (that’s the physical piece into which you snap the ink cartridges).  You can try wrapping the cartridges in aluminum foil and storing them in a sealed bag to keep them from drying up.  (Again, if it’s going to be more than 90 days, this trick probably won’t save the ink cartridges.

♦ Be very careful when you handle the new ink cartridges.  You do not want to scratch the electronic contacts.  You should also take it easy when inserting the cartridges into the print head.  You might consider gently blowing air into the print head when it’s empty, prior to inserting the new cartridges.

♦ Make sure you are installing the correct cartridges – many cartridge numbers are similar.

With just a small amount of knowledge and effort, you can keep your printer working for a very long time!

P.S.  What does solid ink look like?  Here’s a picture for you: