How Cartridges Work

Inkjet printer cartridges work on the principle of rapidly heating ink in a series of extremely fine capillary holes known as jets or nozzles that have their own individual microscopic heating elements.
A typical cartridge may have between 48 and 128 jets and associated heating elements depending on the type and manufacturer, with a capability to print 300 to 1400 plus dots per inch.

The ink flowing through the rapidly heating jets is also used to cool them again, thereby the correct operating temperature of each individual jet is maintained.
As the ink runs out or if the cartridge has not been used for a long time and a blockage has occured, then jet elements can burn out if printing is continued for any length of time.

This renders the cartridge useless for refilling. This can be compared to an old style electric kettle boiling dry. The element simply burns out.

Note, with a colour cartridge one colour usually runs out before the others. Do not continue printing with the remaining colours, as the jets of the one that has run out will probably burn out.

Indications of ink running out or jets becoming blocked are: parts of printed characters will have lines of missing print area appearing through them or in extreme cases there will be almost no sign of print on the page or in the case of printing colour photographs, a sudden change of colour may occur.

As soon as you observe any print defects occuring, immediately cease printing

If you feel that the cartridge has dried up and not run out, carry out the print head cleaning procedure for one or two cycles. Refer to your printer operation manual for full details on how to carry out these functions. In extreme cases: remove the cartridge, gently wipe the head with a moist tissue. A pattern should appear. Should you still not obtain satisfactory results try dipping the print head in a shallow saucer of boiling water, dry the cartridge and repeat the head clean procedure.