You have installed the new printer cartridge and you want to start printing, then you suddenly see an error message that says “Ink Empty”. You wonder, how can it be possible for a new ink cartridge to be empty. And you would be right.
In the perfect world, every time we install a new ink cartridge into a printer, it should print without requiring any further troubleshooting. But we are not in that perfect world (yet), and issues can occur, that is why you have this blog to explain things you can do to resolve this.
Things you can quickly do:
- Make sure the correct ink cartridge has been purchased for the printer. Check the printer documentation for compatible ink cartridges or toner
- Check that the new ink cartridge does not have dirty or damaged contacts. If the contacts are damaged you will need to replace the ink cartridges. If they are dirty, clean gently with a lint-free dry cloth taking care not to damage the contacts. You might also need to clean the contacts within the printer. Remember to power down before cleaning the printer contacts.
- Check to ensure that the ink cartridge was inserted If it has not been inserted correctly, remove and insert in the correct position. Power down the printer before performing this activity.
- Ensure that all the protective strips have been removed from the new printer cartridges.
If the above steps do not fix the situation, you can also try:
- Update the printer firmware on the computer
- Reset the printer memory, for some printer manufacturer, this is done by removing the new printer cartridge, reinstalling the old printer cartridge. Leave the old cartridge in the printer for approximately 10 minutes or more. Remove the old cartridge and then finally reinstall the new cartridge back into the printer.
- In some cases, it might be an existing ink cartridge other than the new one you installed that is giving the error message “ink empty”. To verify this, go through the menu options of the printer to ascertain which of the ink cartridges is empty. Replace with a new ink cartridge if another cartridge is identified as being empty.
If the problem still persists, reach out to a qualified technician or support personnel to assist in resolving the issue.
