When your print quality changes – light copy, ink voids, streaks unintended lines or dots – try changing the inkjet cartridge. It may be that your cartridge has run out of ink, that some jets on the existing cartridge have become plugged or that a recently installed cartridge is defective.

If your print quality has deteriorated slowly over time, dust and excess ink may be the cause. By cleaning a few of your printer’s internal parts, you may be able to solve the problems. Check your printer’s user guide to find out how to locate and clean such parts.

A change in print output that occurs after a paper change may mean that you are using the wrong paper for your printer (again, check the user guide) or that the paper has been installed upside down. Proper paper quality is probably the most important issue in good print quality. Inkjet paper is coated with a substance to make the ink “stick” to the paper but not soak into the paper. If the wrong paper is used (cheap copy paper, for instance) the print quality will be poor and the output will look fuzzy when the ink is absorbed by the paper. There are many kinds and qualities of inkjet paper available, depending on the type of output you desire. Please research your printer’s paper specification so it will be easy to choose the right kind of paper for the right type to print or picture you are trying to print.

After a period of time, all printers need to be cleaned and lubricated. In harsh environment (such as the West Texas weather conditions) inkjet printers are susceptible to dust and dry lubrication over time. We find that a professional cleaning, where the printer is disassembled, cleaned and lubricated will solve 95% of an inkjet printer’s problems. Plus it is more economical, in most cases, to have your printer cleaned instead of buying a new one.