A partially clogged printer cartridge can result in an uneven, disjointed and ultimately ruined print job, which can prove to be hugely costly to a business or individual printing in large quantities. Furthermore, if you allow the problem to get particularly bad, your printer will stop working all together. So just how does one go about cleaning a clogged cartridge?
The Cleaning Process
Cartridges generally become clogged when they’ve either been exposed to air for a prolonged period of time or if the printer in question hasn’t been used in a while. However, if your cartridge does happen to become clogged, it is relatively easy to fix it in a few simple steps.
The first step in the unclogging process is to safely remove the cartridge in question from the printer, and the second step to carefully remove any dried ink hanging off of the cartridge. Once these two steps have been completed, you should wet a clean cloth and dab at the printer head. At this point, you can reinsert the cartridge into your printer and attempt a test print. Fortunately, if this technique doesn’t work, all hope is not lost.
If your prints are still not clean, you may be forced to replace the cartridge. Should you refuse to give up easily then you can attempt to either soak your cartridge’s print head in a warm water and ammonia mix or, for a more delicate approach, dab at the printer head with a cotton swab soaked in the aforementioned solution.
A clogged cartridge can prove to be crippling to your prospective printer ventures, however, the above techniques should go a long way towards fixing the problem. Nonetheless, if worse comes to worst, buying a new printer cartridge may ultimately be necessary.