Printer will not print ,paper comes out blank

Hi Zanda
if you haven't used your printer for that long, your printhead is more than likely dried up and clogged. Try running the "Head cleaning" utility 2-3 then print a "Nozzle check" (find both of these functions on "Maintenance" page under "Printer properties".
If the nozzle check shows any print, you're on the right track. Run few more head cleans or try printing several pages (with LOT of colour) on high (best photo) quality. Combination of printing & nozzle checks works best. Be prepared to waste lot of ink doing this!

If you get no print at all, it's probably time to get a new printer. There are other things you can try eg. buy set of cleaning cartridges, try to clean the printhead by placing some folded tissue soaked with Windex under the printhead or forcing some Windex through the printhead pickup (using a syringe & rubber tubing fitted over the pickup needle - where the cartridge usually sits) etc.

Another way yet is to remove the printhead from printer and soak it in cleaning solution (if if you're handy and prepared to pull your printer apart).

good luck!

Lumir
www.inkbank.com.au



REFILLABLE CARTRIDGES

buy a new one

Hi

Just remove the new 2 cartridges and rub the print head in a plain paper with isopropyl alcohol until ink flows, and then return the ink cartridges and run the print nozzle for 2-3 times. After that, try to print again.

Please let me know if you need more help.

Check the ink cartridges for ink level - it might just be empty. If you've replaced them with new cartridges already, clean the print heads with a "Q" tip and alcohol and run the "clean-cartridge" function in the printers properties.

Most likely the printhead is clogged. Another possibility is that the cleaning station does not work. 3 ways the printhead can clog,

1. Using Generic Ink
2. Not using the printer for a long time
3. Print a large print job after the ink indicator says the inks are running low.

You are better off replacing the unit than trying to get the printhead unclogged. Cost is usually around $40 and is only a 65% chance it willwork.

thanks

epson printers are very picky about the ink it could be possible that the off brand ink has ruined the print head

Please clean the print head for 3 to 6 times and after each cleaning print a nozzle pattern to verify if the cleaning is successful or not. After 3 to 6 cleanings and issue still present, reinstall ink cartridge. By doing all those steps and issue still present - the print head is clogged badly by dried inks or contaminants. If your printer is under warranty - I suggest call your printer's manufacturer and ask for replacement if not decide whether sending it to service center is cost effective or buying new printers.

If you are able to drag out your users manual, most lazer printers have a self cleaning process for the head, which takes around 3-5 minutes to complete, after that try to run a test page to ensure the colors are working fine.

Failing that, unless the printer is brand new, and or unless it has been sitting ( unused - regardless of age ) the print heads can dry out leaving a blockage ... hence, no ink, hence blank page.

The only other suggestion after running a Print head clean, would be to replace or refill the ink cartridges.

1. Remove the protective tape from the cartridges:
1. With the printer power on, open the front cover of the printer. The cartridge carrier should move to the middle.
2. Remove the cartridge(s) from the printer.
3. Look on the underside of the cartridge(s). If there is yellow tape and/or transparent blue tape there, remove it.
2. Clean the cartridge nozzles:
1. Go to the Lexmark Control Program or Solution Center and run the Clean print nozzle test.
If a black cartridge is installed, you should see black lines only.
If the color cartridge is installed, you should see yellow, magenta (a reddish purple), and cyan (a dark sky blue) lines.
If a photo cartridge is installed, you may see different colors.
2. Examine the diagonal lines above and below the solid horizontal lines. These diagonal lines should be solid from left to right, with no gaps.
If there are gaps in the lines, you could run the Clean Print Nozzle page a few more times to try and clear it up or try the "wicking" procedure below to conserve ink.
If the page is faded from left to right and the wicking procedure doesn't clear it up, your cartridge is probably out of ink.
3. Clean ("wick") the cartridges:
1. Remove your cartridges following the instructions in your User's Guide.
2. Take a warm, damp paper towel and fold it so that it has about 4- to 6-ply thickness.
3. Set the ink cartridge right side up on the damp paper towel so that the ink nozzles are touching the towel, and hold the cartridge in this position for about 15 seconds. The nozzles are where the ink comes out of the cartridge.
4. Now drag the cartridge lightly across the paper towel in one direction only (left to right) until the bottom of the cartridge looks clean.
5. Turn the cartridge over so that you can see the bar code sticker on the back. Note: Only perform steps 6 and 7 if the contacts look dirty or corroded.
6. Using a clean pencil eraser, clean the contact points on the copper strip (only the little squares just below the bar code). Caution! Do not use the eraser on the nozzles that were cleaned, as this will damage the cartridge.
7. Using a clean part of your dry paper towel, wipe the eraser dust off the contacts; ensure that they are dry, and snap the cartridge back into the printer.
8. Make sure to install the cartridges following the instructions in your User's Guide, selecting Old Cartridge. Failure to do so could reset your ink levels as explained above.
9. Repeat the nozzle cleaning procedure one more time. At this point the diagonal lines should be solid.
10. If they are not and you think the cartridges should have ink in them, contact our technicians by e-mail and let them know the results of this test.
4. Reset the ink levels:
Lexmark printer cartridges do not have ink sensors. The levels of ink are produced by a mathematical calculation of ink drops and page counts. The printer stores this information and then writes it to the win.ini file on your computer.

Ink levels can be reset by telling the printer you have installed a new ink cartridge or by reinstalling the printer drivers and selecting Cartridges Installed. Once ink levels have been reset, there is no way to change them except by printing.

Accordingly, even if your computer says that your ink is full for a particular cartridge, it may be incorrect and the cartridge may need to be replaced. You may want to try a new cartridge to see if that clears up any print quality problems.

I have had a similar problem to this: I have had a BJC 80 for nearly 5 years and carried it around with my laptop using Win 98 and a par - par cable. It worked beautifully and successfully - so much so that when i saw a number of ink tanks going at very cheap volume prices in PC World i picked up a lot of them. Changing to an XP meant that i had to keep on using the par to par cable via a docking station but prevented my use of it with my new laptop - so when i brought it out of retirement it gave the blank printing problems yoiu described. By checking some error messages that it expected a black cartridge (which is what was installed) i found that inthe setup the software indicated it defaulted to colour cartridges. By changing this on the computer, it still printed blank pages but by changing the cartridge to colour it sprang into life when the set up asked for colour. I tried 2 other print heads which i had (3-4 years old) but still blank paper when printing to a black cartridge. I am now awaiting a new black print head carrier to see if it makes a difference. When trying with my laptop using XP and a par - usb cable it does not work at all. I have removed the sware driver for the Canon 80 and manually installed the one for the Canon 85 but no luck in printing to par - usb at this time

S Ranson