Is your printer really out of ink? When your printer shows that it may have run out of ink and have a yellow blinking light, just try hitting the reset button. Often this will allow...

xptom Loc: Concord, CA

When your printer shows that it may have run out of ink and have a yellow blinking light, just try hitting the reset button. Often this will allow you to continue to use the empty cartridges until they are completely empty.

orrie smith Loc: Kansas

xptom wrote:

When your printer shows that it may have run out of ink and have a yellow blinking light, just try hitting the reset button. Often this will allow you to continue to use the empty cartridges until they are completely empty.

and at some point you will get a very poor copy. sometimes they seem to work because the photo is not using the color that is out.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

xptom wrote:

When your printer shows that it may have run out of ink and have a yellow blinking light, just try hitting the reset button. Often this will allow you to continue to use the empty cartridges until they are completely empty.

Xptom, welcome to the Hog on this very fine Easter Day!!
There is a pretty strong standing belief that if you run a print head completely dry of ink that it can actually damage the head itself. Do you have any hard info of this either for or against? Is it just a scare tactic to get us to replace the ink before it runs out, thus selling more ink?
Also depending on the size of the print and the cost of the paper, if it actually runs completely out of ink 90% done, all of the inks that WERE used of another color will have been wasted, not to mention the cost of the paper? Which cost is higher?

So, have you done an in-depth economic study complete with controls and placeboes of this whole theory?!?! :lol:

Hey, just screwing with ya with that last statement! :lol:

Again, welcome to the Hog from a guy that's only a few blocks away!! ;-)
SS

xptom Loc: Concord, CA

Haven't heard about damaging print head. My printer (Canon 100 Pro) uses a different cartridge for each color. Haven't done an economic study, but for some colors I can print for quite a while after showing empty.

Thanks for the welcome. Just recently found this site. Looks like a tremendous resource!

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

xptom wrote:

... but for some colors I can print for quite a while after showing empty.

I have a Canon printer where the tanks sit on top of the print head. When the tanks are "empty", they are bone dry. I'm guessing there is residual ink in the print head (an "ink buffer" if you will) that you are using up. You're not gaining anything, as the new tank will fill the head again.
For Canon, there is a difference in will need changing (nearing empty) and IS empty. My printer stops when empty.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

I do not think you'll damage the print head, you will just get a bizarro print.

Printer truism: the moment you run out of ink is the moment you have to print something critical.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

orrie smith wrote:

and at some point you will get a very poor copy. sometimes they seem to work because the photo is not using the color that is out.

Depends on the printer. With the Epson printers - the profession versions like the 3800/3880, etc., the printer will stop, you load the new cartridge, and the printer starts with no loss of quality. Pretty cool. That is not to say that is how you should do it, but if you do ignore the warning, the printer will save you.

Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

xptom wrote:

My printer (Canon 100 Pro) uses a different cartridge for each color.

You might want to drop by the specialty section called Printers and Color Printing Forum at http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-120-1.html
Many of us have Canon Pro-100 printers.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

xptom wrote:

When your printer shows that it may have run out of ink and have a yellow blinking light, just try hitting the reset button. Often this will allow you to continue to use the empty cartridges until they are completely empty.

I have an HP and a Canon. The Canon will stop printing when the ink level is too low. The HP will show me the level is too low with bad colors. With the price of ink being what it is, I ignore the "ink low" warnings.

There was an article a while ago about how one particular make and model leaves quite a bit of ink in the cartridges when it says they're empty.

sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD

More economical to get 10+ more prints than quit when the low level indicator comes on.

finnmap Loc: N Illinois

It most likely will damage the printhead if you manage to run a color dry. Printheads heat the ink to a boiling point to spit it out onto the paper. With no ink, the nozzle will overheat, possibly destroying the nozzle. Ruin enough of them and your print quality will suffer.

aellman Loc: Boston MA

xptom wrote:

Haven't heard about damaging print head. My printer (Canon 100 Pro) uses a different cartridge for each color. Haven't done an economic study, but for some colors I can print for quite a while after showing empty.

Thanks for the welcome. Just recently found this site. Looks like a tremendous resource!

I don't think any of my three printers has a reset button. To clear their brains, I have to unplug them from power.

aellman Loc: Boston MA

jerryc41 wrote:

I have an HP and a Canon. The Canon will stop printing when the ink level is too low. The HP will show me the level is too low with bad colors. With the price of ink being what it is, I ignore the "ink low" warnings.

There was an article a while ago about how one particular make and model leaves quite a bit of ink in the cartridges when it says they're empty.

The above makes sense, since the printer companies make a huge percent of their profits on the ink. At the low end, they practically give the printers away. If they can get even 10% more out of you by early indication of an empty cartridge, imagine what that adds up to worldwide.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

xptom wrote:

When your printer shows that it may have run out of ink and have a yellow blinking light, just try hitting the reset button. Often this will allow you to continue to use the empty cartridges until they are completely empty.

Printers often have a chip that gives you a very good aproximatation when going empty. The earlier models didn't have the chips but still worked pretty well.

About the only way you can get an exact notification on normal home printers would be to physically look at the ink containers. My home type Canon printer cleans itself so often, I feel that most of the ink is used in the process. True or not, that's my feeling about it.

Be carefull should you pull the ink cartridge out then re install the same one. Several printers only record the ink cartridges has being replaced. They will then "think" a full cartridge is there and you'll be dry pretty soon while they still mark it as having ink still available.

As for destroying the print head, about the only way would be to clog the head so bad it would be able to clean itself. Some have the print head and tank as one and they can get messed up easier than the models with a dedicated head and separate ink cartridge.

Dan De Lion Loc: Montana

xptom wrote:

When your printer shows that it may have run out of ink and have a yellow blinking light, just try hitting the reset button. Often this will allow you to continue to use the empty cartridges until they are completely empty.

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Penny wise dollar foolish.

At least in dry climates for Epson printers, running the cartridges till completely dry leads to skipping which requires repeated cleanings and much wasted ink in all the cartridges. After having learned this the hard way I now replace the cartridges as soon as the printer says to. Im sure some ink is wasted. However, lots of ink and time is saved from not having to do repeated cleanings.