Many printer owners ask this question regularly. Is it possible for my printer to print if one of the cartridges is empty? Is it possible to print with just one or two empty ink cartridges? The short answer is yes (if you have a printer model that enables it), but you shouldn’t print with a blank cartridge for too long. Why? Because running your printer on an empty cartridge for an extended period can cause the printhead to overheat, resulting in permanent printer damage. When an ink cartridge is empty, some printers will cease Printing. This is to avoid clogs in the print head and other issues when users continue to print with empty cartridges for an extended period.
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Why You Shouldn’t Keep Printing with an Empty Cartridge
Printing with an empty cartridge can lead to severe and potentially expensive problems for an extended period. Whether your printer uses one tricolor cartridge or at least three color ink cartridges–cyan, magenta, and yellow–the dangers below still apply.
Overheated Printhead
Using your printer with an empty cartridge for an extended period can cause your printhead to overheat. How? Because ink in an inkjet printer serves two purposes:
1. It creates the images and text,
2. It also acts as a coolant for the printhead.
Every time a printer prints something, a tiny bit of ink from each cartridge is vaporized (which means heat is applied). In other words, every time you print something, whether black and white or colorful, the printhead interacts with all ink cartridges, including the empty ones. If your color cartridge is open and you’re printing a page, for example, your printer will try to vaporize ink from the empty color cartridge.
Your printer will continue to draw ink from an empty cartridge. With no ink in your empty cartridge to keep the printhead cool, it’ll only be a matter of time before your printhead overheats, causing costly machine damage. In printers, running with an empty cartridge for too long results in vacuum seal damage instead of overheating.
Clogged Printhead
Another risk of Printing with empty cartridges is that dried-up leftover ink will accumulate and clog your printhead as heat is continuously given to all cartridges, including empty ones.
Even if the empty cartridge is replaced, the performance may suffer as a result.
Poor Print Quality
This is for printers with separate cartridges for each color: cyan, magenta, and yellow. If you don’t give all of the colors, your printer needs to produce a realistic picture, the quality of your print results will degrade. If you are looking for a professional corporate printer repair and service package, get in touch with us for assistance