quality and reliability

Trouble shooting - cleaning procedure guide

General advice relating to the use of any brand inkjet cartridges.

Cleaning procedures

Cleaning instructions

You may need to consult your operation manual for the specific Alignment and Cleaning procedure that is offered by your printer/printer software.

If there is still a problem, perform the manual cleaning procedure.

Ensure you have the following before starting the procedure:

  • Cotton buds or clean lint free cloth
  • Distilled or filtered water (avoid tap water)
  • Absorbent paper kitchen towels
Manual cleaning procedure

You may need to consult your operation manual for the specific cleaning process for your printer. This process might need to be repeated a few times.

If this does not resolve the problem, perform the manual cleaning procedure. Ensure you have the following before starting the procedure:

  1. Raise the top cover of the printer and wait until the carriage moves to the centre position.
  2. Unplug the printer from the power supply.
  3. Remove the cartridge from the printer.
  4. Take a cotton bud or a clean lint free cloth. Dampen with some warm water (squeeze out any excess liquid) and gently wipe around the area of the print head at the base of the cartridge. Do not wipe the nozzle area (see figure 1 below).
    cleaning print head
  5. Dab the print head onto a clean absorbent paper kitchen towel until the ink begins to filter through. The following should then be visible:
    • Colour cartridge - 3 distinct oval or round shapes should be seen Cyan, Magenta and Yellow (see figure 2a below)
      Colour cartridge
    • Black cartridge - a full Black oval shape (see figure 2b below)
      Black cartridge
      This process might need to be repeated a few times.
  6. Take a cotton bud (or a clean, dry paper kitchen towel) and gently wipe the copper contact points at the back of the cartridge (see figure 3 below) and the contacts inside the printer cartridge carriage to remove any excess debris (see figure 4 below). Only wipe once from top to bottom.
    cleaning copper contact points
  7. Reinstall the cartridge into the printer (see figure 5 below).
    reinstalling the cartridge
  8. Reconnect the printer to the power supply and close the top cover of the printer.
  9. Perform a routine cleaning cycle as per your printer instruction booklet.

If the problem still persists, we have a 100% NO QUIBBLE guarantee on our Ink Again cartridges, and you will be able to exchange the cartridge at the place of purchase along with a receipt. Alternatively you can contact us on any of the applicable freephone lines:

  • Tesco cartridge brand: 0800 849 4658
  • Morrison cartridge brand: 0800 849 4656
  • Supplies Team: 0800 849 4654
  • For any other cartridge brand, please contact: 0800 435 576

Replacement cartridge procedure

Once our customer services team has processed your request a replacement cartridge will be sent to you along with a freepost envelope. Please use the envelope provided to return your faulty cartridge back to us so our technicians can product test it.

See also error messages, missing colours and lines or faint areas

> This document was last modified: 29 August 2006