We are full time and are still in the Yuma area. I just bought new ink cartridges to do my taxes at the end of February. Today I tried to print and the black cartridge is barely printing. It’s not that hot in here cause we do run the air. How can I keep ink so I don’t have to buy a new one every time I try to print something. Anyway to rejuvenate this one?

If you're not using the printer regularly, this can happen . . . but not usually this fast. Try running the "clean" cycle on your printer. Check the manual for details. Since the clean cycle can use quite a bit of ink, you might want to print a page every week or so to keep the cartridge from drying out.

How long since the last time you printed anything? Ink cartridges themselves don't go bad - the ink dries in the nozzles of the print head and clogs them up. Inkjet printers need to be used more frequently in order to keep this from happening. (Some printers have the nozzles integrated in the cartridges while in others the head/nozzles are separate from the cartridges.)Rob

Mine dry out too quickly as well. Grrr. And now the newer ones cannot be refilled easily.

I use a printer infrequently enough that i gave up on ink jet and replaced it with a laser printer. Mine is black & white, and I used the first cartridge for 7 years, printing around 100 pages per year. While the quality of color laser printers is improving, they won't match a good ink jet, so it color is important you are going to have to constantly replace cartridges.

DC&MC wrote:We are full time and are still in the Yuma area. I just bought new ink cartridges to do my taxes at the end of February. Today I tried to print and the black cartridge is barely printing. It’s not that hot in here cause we do run the air. How can I keep ink so I don’t have to buy a new one every time I try to print something. Anyway to rejuvenate this one?There is nothing you can do to "save" inkjet carts, once the seal has been removed the timer is running, they will dry out and clog.Now, it may be possible to "rejuvenate" as long as the ink has not dried to far into the print head.Pull the cart, take a damp paper towel (water only please) and gently pat the print head surface. You do not want to push the dried ink into the head.The water will loosen up the dried ink that may be on the print head surface. May need to repeat a couple of times.You can leave the print head sit on the damp paper towel for a few minutes at a time then put back into the printer and try again..Don't feel bad, I was trying to print some color items toady and my $50 color cart was dried out.. Was able to get it to print again by using the above method.Ink carts do not take kindly to long periods of non use, must use them at least once every week or risk them clogging.For very low printing quantities, I would highly recommend buying a laser printer.. Toner does not go bad and can sit for years with no problems.. Non color lasers now days are inexpensive, look at Brother laser printers, they use a separate toner cart from the drum so the replacement toners are less than lasers that have the drum integrated with the toner.

Keeping printer ink cartridges good | Good Sam Community

DC_MC
Explorer III
May 01, 2018
Some of us live in our RV
Almot
Explorer III
May 01, 2018
There is another very good reason NOT to use inkjet. In RV you don't usually have a designated office. Put an inkjet printed page on a wet counter or dinner table and see what happens. OTH, laser print dries out with no consequences.

I understand occasional need in color (at home) to print photos of grandchildren etc, but not in RV.
2oldman
Explorer II
Apr 30, 2018
Gdetrailer wrote:
You could save the scammers a lot of time and money and just post your personal info out in the open..
Done.
TurnThePage
Explorer
Apr 30, 2018
If you buy a model with scanning/faxing/copying features, it will behave much like the inkjet variety. A black and white laser printer would print the color portion in greyscale, just like a typical black and white photo.

I bought a Dell wireless color laser (with scan/copy/fax) years ago for about $200. It sometimes goes nearly a year with no use, and never hiccups. Generic toner refills are available for about $10 each and last a long time.
jcpainter
Explorer
Apr 30, 2018
For those of you that are using B&W laser printers, a couple of questions.
Do they scan and copy like the all-in-one ink-jet printers?
If you are printing a document that contains color in it, will the B&W laser print the portion that is in color as B&W, or does it just not print that part?
TBammer
Explorer
Apr 30, 2018
There are some informative youtube videos on this subject. I had the same problem and followed a tutorial. It had me get an ammonia based cleaner on a rag slid under the print head and letting it soak for awhile. I had mixed results and will probable buy a laser printer.
bighatnohorse
Explorer II
Apr 30, 2018
You might try keeping a humidifier in the room. At 6% humidity, everything dries out.
valhalla360
Navigator
Apr 30, 2018
Gdetrailer wrote:
2oldman wrote:
Do your taxes online.

Even doing taxes online you SHOULD STILL PRINT OUT A HARD COPY and retain that documentation for 7 yrs.

IRS or State would have a field day if you are not able to reproduce your documents in the even of an audit..

Online stuff HAS a "habit" of "disappearing" into thin air.

I lose paper far more often than I lose electronic files. If you are worried about your harddrive failing, Pick up a $50 external and put a copy of everything on it. About once a month, I copy the entire harddrive over. Start it before going to bed and it will be done in the morning.

To the OP: If you really need something printed once every 3-6months, put a copy on a thumb drive and take it to the local print place. It will be cheaper, more reliable and you get space back in your RV.
fj12ryder
Explorer III
Apr 30, 2018
That ink isn't free. What do you think you're paying the monthly fee for? They even say so: "Your monthly fee pays for ink, shipping, and recycling."
MarkTwain
Explorer
Apr 30, 2018
Gdetrailer wrote:
MarkTwain wrote:
DC&MC wrote:
We are full time and are still in the Yuma area. I just bought new ink cartridges to do my taxes at the end of February. Today I tried to print and the black cartridge is barely printing. It’s not that hot in here cause we do run the air. How can I keep ink so I don’t have to buy a new one every time I try to print something. Anyway to rejuvenate this one?

Look at HP printers with "instant ink plan". All ink cartridges are free and they automatically send you new cartridges before you run out. They 3 plans to choose from, each plan cost a little more based on the number of pages you print.

Waste of money for convenience sake.

That is the same as "renting" or "leasing" a printer, pay a monthly/yearly fee for something that is a depreciating asset.

.

How is getting FREE ink cartridges a waste of money???? Yes there is a cost to sign up for HP Instant Ink , but the cost is cheap compared to having to go out and buy your own cartridges:)