When do you change your Printer Cartridges?

JohnB47

I have a Brother inkjet printer and it has just begun to run out of it's supplied carts. I've been given popup messages, for a few days now, about the ink being low and finally changed the three colour carts today. Black is still showing quarter full. When I looked at the removed carts, I could see that there was still ink moving about inside.

Hence the questions. Should I have waited until they actually ran out? Would the printer have given me another message to tell me when each had run out and should I have waited for that?

Just wondering what others do.

Ta.

jackieblack

I never change them until the print is illegible.
And when I had the cartridges that hold cyan, yellow and magenta in one cartridge I often used to end up printing everything in blue or red until all the colours were empty.

EssexExile

Change them when the print quality is unacceptable, which of course depends on what you're printing.

jamesperrett

With an Epson or Canon you should change them when the software tells you to - otherwise you could end up with a dried up print head which is a real pain to fix. With an HP which includes the print head in the cartridge you are OK to just wait until they run out. Not sure which of these scenarios applies to Brother as I've not used one of their inkjets.

Biggles

JohnB47 wrote: »

I have a Brother inkjet printer and it has just begun to run out of it's supplied carts. I've been given popup messages, for a few days now, about the ink being low and finally changed the three colour carts today.

I've been getting that message for a couple of months now. I'm afraid it's the standard scam by printer manufacturers to get you to buy more ink than you need.

Like the other posters say, you'll know when the cartridge needs replacing. In the meantime, just use the popup as a warning that you need to buy a cartridge all ready for when it finally does run out.

Annie1960

I use my canon until the point where it refuses to work because one of the cartridges is empty.

It starts flashing and giving pop-up messages long before this, but I ignore them until it's really run out.

Waterlily24

Annie1960 wrote: »

I use my canon until the point where it refuses to work because one of the cartridges is empty.

It starts flashing and giving pop-up messages long before this, but I ignore them until it's really run out.

Same here.

JohnB47

Thanks folks. Keeping using the printer until the ink runs out would be OK where it not for the fact that my wife uses the printer too.

Changing carts is a 'boys job' in my house (sorry to bring politics into it). So ink running out, when the wife is using it and I'm not at home to fix it, doesn't bear thinking about.

Wasting a few pennies is well worth it, to maintain marital harmony :-)

Jonesya

I normally buy the cheap generic brand cartridges, so as the cost is minimal just change them when the software reports them empty.

I like the idea of the new printers that use a refillable ink tank, rather than a cartridge - Epson Ecotank, Canon Megatank

angryparcel

jamesperrett wrote: »

With an Epson or Canon you should change them when the software tells you to - otherwise you could end up with a dried up print head which is a real pain to fix.

I have had Epsons for years and always waits until ink runs out and never had any print head issues

Biggles

jamesperrett wrote: »

With an Epson or Canon you should change them when the software tells you to - otherwise you could end up with a dried up print head which is a real pain to fix.

No, Canon print heads are built into the cartridge and, as long as there's oink* coming through, the print head's fine. Anyway, mine can go two or three weeks without printing anything and has never dried up yet.

Even if the worst happened, all you would do is buy a new cartridge.

* Oops, typo, yes I know. But I liked the idea of oink coming through, so I left it.