Getting The Best From Your Inkjet Printer

Inkjet printers are machines with many moving parts. Like cars, if you use them all the time, very little will go wrong with them, but on the other hand, if you park them for extended periods of time, reliability can become a problem. Here are a few tips if your printer is used infrequently: 1) Leave it switched on when not in use. It only consumes a tiny amount of power, and the electronics will keep the print-heads closed, stopping the air getting to the inks. This considerably reduces the risk of ink drying-up inside them, causing a blockage. 2) Create a simple word document containing some pink, red, light blue, dark blue, green, yellow and black, and try to get into the habit of printing it every 7-10 days. It uses very little ink, but keeps the heads in-use and lubricated, making any blockage even less likely. Remember – printing photos, pictures and maps consumes ink very quickly. A typical letter or page of text is only 5% covered with ink. When printing a picture, every square millimetre is covered – 100% – with ink. Allowing the kids to print internet pictures, maps etc can dramatically increase your printer’s ink consumption. The on-screen indicators of remaining ink levels are not always accurate. To avoid suddenly running out just when it’s most inconvenient, always keep spare cartridges in hand.