Printer Problem

Drinda

Re: Lexmark Inkjet X5150. After not being used for some time my coloured ink cartridge had dried up even though it has plenty of ink in it. A chap in PC World told me to clean the three holes with ear buds dipped in warm water and now when I try to print text in colour I just get a thick Blue line instead of the text and regardless of what colour I have switched to it is always Blue.
I have reinstalled my Printer but that has made no difference.

I don't really want to buy a new cartridge as this one still has a lot of ink and as I am not sure what the problem is it may be a waste.

Can anyone Help, Thanking you Drinda.

victoriav

Not much help, but I have a lexmark all in one X1190 and this does exactly the same, if you don't need to use it for a while, and just like yours it appears to have dried up thought there is plenty of ink....I looked a couple of times on www.fixyourownprinter.com there are a lot of lexmark problems it would seem, you may find something of use to you on this website. I lost my patience with mine, and am thinking of getting maybe a canon all in one. I have a normal canon printer and it never gets problems.

[Deleted User]

From the manual... http://www.lexmark.com/publications/pdfs/x5150/eng/ug.pdf - page 42 onwards. You may just want to view the PDF as it's properly formatted and includes diagrams...

Aligning the print cartridges
There are two instances when you will align your print cartridges, after
installing cartridges and to improve print quality.
After installing cartridges
After you install new print cartridges, a message appears on the operator
panel.
1 Make sure plain paper is loaded in the paper support.
2 Press Select to print an alignment page.
To improve print quality
You may want to align your cartridges periodically to improve print quality.
1 On the operator panel, press Options repeatedly until
Cartridges appears.
2 Press the right arrow button until Align appears, and then press
Select.
3 Press Select.
An alignment page prints. Once the alignment sheet prints, your
automatic alignment is complete.
Cleaning the print cartridge nozzles
To improve print quality, you may need to clean the print cartridge nozzles.
Clean the nozzles when:
• Characters are not printing completely.
• White dashes appear in graphics or printed text.
• Print is smudged or too dark.
• Colors on print jobs are faded or they differ from the colors on the
screen.
• Vertical, straight lines are not smooth.
43
You can use the operator panel or the Lexmark X5100 Series Solution
Center to clean the nozzles.
Using the operator panel
1 Load paper in the All-In-One. For help, see page 16.
2 Press Options until Cartridges appears on the display.
3 Press the right arrow until Clean appears on the display.
4 Press Select.
A nozzle page prints forcing ink through the nozzles to clean the
clogged nozzles.
5 Print your document again to verify your print quality has improved.
6 To further improve print quality, try wiping the print cartridge nozzles
and contacts (see page 44), and then print your document again.
7 If print quality has not improved, try cleaning the print cartridge
nozzles up to two more times.
Using the Lexmark X5100 Series Solution Center
1 Load plain paper in the All-In-One. For help, see page 16.
2 Click Start Programs Lexmark X5100 Series Lexmark X5100
Series Solution Center.
3 Click the Maintenance tab.
4 From the Maintenance tab, click Clean to fix horizontal streaks.
5 Click Print.
A nozzle page prints forcing ink through the nozzles to clean the
clogged nozzles.
6 Print your document again to verify your print quality has improved.
44
7 To further improve print quality, try wiping the print cartridge nozzles
and contacts (see page 44), and then print your document again.
8 If print quality has not improved, try cleaning the print cartridge
nozzles up to two more times.
Wiping the print cartridge nozzles and contacts
If the print quality does not improve after cleaning the print cartridge
nozzles, dried ink may be on the nozzles or contacts. To wipe the print
cartridge nozzles and contacts:
1 Remove the print cartridges. For help, see page 38.
2 Dampen a clean, lint-free cloth with water.
3 Hold the cloth against the gold nozzle area for about three seconds.
Gently blot and wipe dry in one direction (this prevents the colors in
the color cartridge from mixing).
4 Hold a clean, damp section of cloth against the contacts for about
three seconds. Gently blot and wipe dry in one direction.
Nozzles
Contacts
45
5 Let the nozzles and contacts dry completely.
6 Reinstall the print cartridges, and then print your document again.
7 If the print quality has not improved, try cleaning the print cartridge
nozzles up to two more times.
8 If print quality is still unsatisfactory, replace your print cartridges. For
help, see page 38.

totalsolutions

Happens to any print head if not used, the micro ink jets just dry up. Buy another but look at B/W laser printers also.