quality and reliability

Printing guide

To keep your printer working properly you must understand that every printer has its own limitations based on the design and type of printer. Inkjet printers although appearing simple are very complex in design and require a little knowledge about how they best function. We are also happy to assist with preventative maintenance to keep them working properly and give longer usable service.

We hope that the information here will help you better understand how your inkjet printer works, but even more importantly, how to keep it running well and avoid printing problems.

Preventative maintenance

Regular use of your printer will be the best form of preventative maintenance. Problems with poor print quality, specifically streaking print, white lines through the print, or no print at all, are primarily caused by ink drying up in the print head or nozzles, preventing the ink fully reaching the paper. Use of the printer on a weekly basis to print both mono and full colour documents will help with this problem. Other preventative measures:

  • Blow out any dust and paper dust build-up on a regular basis.
  • Perform periodic print head cleaning / priming cycles.

A word on print heads

If you have an Epson printer, remember that the print heads are built into the printer, not the cartridge, unlike Lexmark and Hewlett Packard printers. When you replace a Lexmark and most HP cartridges you are also replacing the print head. When you replace an ink cartridge in an Epson printer you are replacing a "tank" that either contains Black Ink or 3-5 colours. The cartridge is simply a container filled with ink. More frequent print cleaning cycles will help avoid problems with ink flow.

Useful tips

  • Do not remove a new cartridge from the packaging until you are ready to install it into the printer!
  • Do not remove a spent cartridge from your printer unless you have a new one to immediately replace it!
  • DO NOT FORGET to remove the cartridge sealing tape, plastic clip or other packaging designed to protect the cartridge while in its box! Failure to remove these can cause damage to the printer, or commonly a vacuum inside the cartridge preventing ink flow to the print heads, resulting in poor or no printing.
  • Do not store the cartridges in sunlight or extreme temperatures.

Frequent use of your cartridge will help prevent problems. If you have problems printing with an Ink Again or Ink Again Powered cartridge, take a look at our troubleshooting guide for some possible solutions.

Please contact us

EBP has a freephone Customer Services line that is there to help with any issues or technical requests you may have with Ink Again, Ink Again powered cartridges or printer usage queries. Please call 0800 435576 (only in the UK) between 08h30 and 17h30 GMT for assistance or take a look at our troubleshooting guide for some possible solutions or refer to your printer manual.


> This document was last modified: 29 August 2006