Sometimes this can be as bad as to cause the total absence of an individual colour on a page - for example if you have a blocked black ink cartridge and you print a full page of black text, the printer will appear to work but only a blank page will be printed.

Spanishink.com always stock the best quality compatible ink cartridges to help reduce the number of blockages, its also true that printers tend to block less when used only with original inks - its one of the down sides to using compatible ink cartridges; however most people find that the cost saving in compatible ink cartridges far outways this disadvantage.

In order to perform a printer head clean on your Epson printer you should follow one of our step by step guides.

Depending on the operating system, you should use either the Windows XP guide for Epson head cleaning, or for Windows Vista guide for Epson head cleaning or Windows 7 guide for Epson head cleaning.

IMPORTANT NOTE: In Spain, because of the high temperatures we expierience in the summer it's not unusual to find that it is necessary to perform a printer head clean after the printer has not been used for a couple of weeks.

1. Click the Windows start button (located in the bottom left hand corner of the screen, or press the Windows button on the keyboard)

2. Click Control Panel

3. Click on View Devices and Printers in the Hardware and Sound section

4. Right hand click on the printer that has the problem.

6. Click on Printing Preferences and a screen similar to the following will be shown.

9. Click on the Maintenance tab and the following screen is displayed.

10. Click the "Head Cleaning" button and follow the instructions to perform a head clean.

11. After performing a head clean its advisable to print a nozzle check - this process will print a test page that shows whether any of the nozzels are fully or partially blocked -further head cleans may be advised if the nozzle check is unsatisfactory.

IMPORTANT NOTE: In Spain, because of the high temperatures we expierience in the summer it's not unusual to find that it is necessary to perform a printer head clean after the printer has not been used for a couple of weeks.

1. Click the Windows start button (located in the bottom left hand corner of the screen, or press the Windows button on the keyboard)

2. Click Control Panel

3. Ensure that the Control Panel is in "Control Panel Home View" - if it is not then click on the Control Panel Home View in the image below.

4. Click on Printers in the Hardware and Sound section

5. Right hand click on the printer that has the problem.

6. Click on Printing Preferences and a screen similar to the following will be shown.

9. Click on the Maintenance tab and the following screen is displayed.

10. Click the "Head Cleaning" button and follow the instructions to perform a head clean.

11. After performing a head clean its advisable to print a nozzle check - this process will print a test page that shows whether any of the nozzels are fully or partially blocked -further head cleans may be advised if the nozzle check is unsatisfactory.

IMPORTANT NOTE: In Spain, because of the high temperatures we expierience in the summer it's not unusual to find that it is necessary to perform a printer head clean after the printer has not been used for a couple of weeks.

1. Click the Windows start button (located in the bottom left hand corner of the screen, or press the Windows button on the keyboard)

2. Click Settings

3. Click Control Panel

4. Ensure that the Control Panel is in "category view" - if it is not then click on the Switch To Category View in the image below.

5. Double Click on Printers and Other Hardware

6. Double Click on Printers and Faxes

7. Right hand click on the printer that has the problem.

8. Click on Properties and a screen similar to the following will be shown.

9. Click on the Maintenance tab and the following screen is displayed.

10. Click the "Head Cleaning" button and follow the instructions to perform a head clean.

11. After performing a head clean its advisable to print a nozzle check - this process will print a test page that shows whether any of the nozzels are fully or partially blocked -further head cleans may be advised if the nozzle check is unsatisfactory.

IMPORTANT NOTE: many compatible ink cartridges are reported as "incompatible" when they are actually empty, so if you are seeing this message after you have been using your cartridge for a reasonable amount of time then its probably best to just replace it with a new ink cartridge before doing any further troubleshooting to see if that resolves the issue.

1. Click the Windows start button (located in the bottom left hand corner of the screen, or press the Windows button on the keyboard)

2. Click Control Panel

3. Click on View Devices and Printers in the Hardware and Sound section

4. Right hand click on the printer that has the problem.

6. Click on Printing Preferences and a screen similar to the following will be shown.

9. Make a note of the offending ink cartridge (for future reference)

10. Perform an ink cartridge replacement but actually remove the offending cartridge and re-insert it as this problem can occur if the cartridge was either inserted too quickly or incorrectly.

11. If the problem persists, then turn off the printer, leave it for 30 seconds and then turn it on again.

12. Finally this problem can commonly occur when compatible and original ink cartridges are mixed, remove ink cartridges and replace so that you have a full set of just one type of ink cartridge (all original or all compatible).

IMPORTANT NOTE: many compatible ink cartridges are reported as "incompatible" when they are actually empty, so if you are seeing this message after you have been using your cartridge for a reasonable amount of time then its probably best to just replace it with a new ink cartridge before doing any further troubleshooting to see if that resolves the issue.

1. Click the Windows start button (located in the bottom left hand corner of the screen, or press the Windows button on the keyboard)

2. Click Control Panel

3. Ensure that the Control Panel is in "Control Panel Home View" - if it is not then click on the Control Panel Home View in the image below.

4. Click on Printers in the Hardware and Sound section

5. Right hand click on the printer that has the problem.

6. Click on Printing Preferences and a screen similar to the following will be shown.

9. Make a note of the offending ink cartridge (for future reference)

10. Perform an ink cartridge replacement but actually remove the offending cartridge and re-insert it as this problem can occur if the cartridge was either inserted too quickly or incorrectly.

11. If the problem persists, then turn off the printer, leave it for 30 seconds and then turn it on again.

12. Finally this problem can commonly occur when compatible and original ink cartridges are mixed, remove ink cartridges and replace so that you have a full set of just one type of ink cartridge (all original or all compatible).

Spanishink.com always stock the latest generation ink cartridges, giving you the best chance of sucess; if however you do experience a problem then there are a number of steps that you can follow to determine whether or not you can use the ink cartridges bought from us.

Step 1 - Check That You Have Ordered The Correct Cartridge

Everyone makes mistakes! The first thing to check is that you have actually ordered the correct ink cartridge for your printer, some Epson cartridges will physically fit in a number of printers so dont assume that just because your cartridge fits that its the correct one. The best place to look to confirm that you have the correct ink cartridge would be the printer manufacturers website, www.epson.co.uk and enter your printer model number in the search bar in the top right of the screen, once you find the correct printer, click on the link to "ink and accessories" to find the correct ink codes for your printer - if you have inadvertantly ordered the wrong ink cartridge for your printer then please contact our customer service department who will help you to return any unopened cartridges for replacement.

Step 2 - Check The Printer Properties To Confirm Which Ink Cartridge Is Not Compatible

Its more than possible that out of all the ink cartridges that you have inserted in your printer only one of them is being not recognised as compatible, its important to know which ink cartridge is failing the compatibility test of your printer as its only this ink cartridge that will require replacement.

In order to identify which ink cartridge/s are not compatible please follow the steps in our online guide for Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 or contact Customer Service Department for an email copy of the guide.

If you discover that ink cartridges purchased through spanishink.com are not compatible with your printer then please contact our Customer Service Department detailing the steps that you have taken and they will guide you through our returns process.

IMPORTANT NOTE: many compatible ink cartridges are reported as "incompatible" when they are actually empty, so if you are seeing this message after you have been using your cartridge for a reasonable amount of time then its probably best to just replace it with a new ink cartridge before doing any further troubleshooting to see if that resolves the issue.

1. Click the Windows  start button (located in the bottom left hand corner of the screen, or press the Windows button on the keyboard)

2. Click Settings

3. Click Control Panel

4. Ensure that the Control Panel is in "category view" - if it is not then click on the Switch To Category View in the image below.

5. Double Click on Printers and Other Hardware

6. Double Click on Printers and Faxes

7. Right hand click on the printer that has the problem.

8. Click on Properties and a screen similar to the following will be shown.

9. Make a note of the offending ink cartridge (for future reference)

10. Perform an ink cartridge replacement but actually remove the offending cartridge and re-insert it as this problem can occur if the cartridge was either inserted too quickly or incorrectly.

11. If the problem persists, then turn off the printer, leave it for 30 seconds and then turn it on again.

12. Finally this problem can commonly occur when compatible and original ink cartridges are mixed, remove ink cartridges and replace so that you have a full set of just one type of ink cartridge (all original or all compatible).

- In Windows XP, Select Start
- Select Pinters & Faxes (or open the control panel and select the Printers & Faxes folder)
- Select your Dell printer
- Click File in the top right corner and select Printing Preferences from the pull down menu
- Select Advanced Options tab
- Click on More Options
- Select one of the following options - a) Never display the print status OR b) Display the print status minimised
- Click on OK and OK again and close the window

What is a “remanufactured” cartridge?
A remanufactured cartridge (also referred to as refurbished or reman cartridges) is made of used parts from empty printer cartridges. During the remanufacturing process the cartridge will be professionally refilled with inkjet ink after being examined, cleaned and individually tested by the remanufacturer.

Why buy compatibles or remanufactured cartridges?
Remanufactured and compatible cartridges are the cheapest alternative to go with. The cost of buying OEM cartridges is often twice as high.

When buying remanufactured cartridges you support the reuse of cartridge parts saving enormous amounts of plastics, metal and oil from ending up on already overfull waste disposal sites. Food for thought: Decomposing the plastics that normally are used in ink and toner cartridges can take up to 1000 years!

According to statistics, for every 100 000 used cartridges that are manufactured of recycled materials we save:

• 10.6 tons of aluminum
• 44 tons of plastic
• 264172 gallons of oil

Which is the best? Original or Compatible?  The answer is that the Original cartridge will be better quality.  If you are doing work that requires very high quality of prints then the Original cartridges should be chosen.  If you rarely use your printer, it is also recommended that you buy Originals as there is less likely to dry up.  Otherwise, many people find that the low price of the compatibles / re manufactured cartridges outweigh any change in quality