Technical information

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Regarding your recent inquiry about 1) the change of magenta to purple color and 2) the ink empty out
message (which color?), we should first determine which color is presently causing the no printing
messages to appear. As the Artisan is a 6-color printer system, be advised you have 2 Magentas and 2
Cyans, one regular and one "light" on each. You should be able to go into the printer's
maintenance/tools menu to identify which color is giving the current problem. You may need to replace
that particular color (please note that Costco does not refill Light Cyan nor Light Magenta cartridges).
If they were a recent purchase, accompanied by an “Unrecognized Cartridge” message, return the
cartridge to the refill store to have the cartridge re-programmed.
If this does not remedy the problem, then you may have a defective print head in the printer (worst case
scenario), unrelated to the refilled cartridges. The printhead is a separate electronic assembly (which the
cartridges are installed into) and is responsible for firing the ink drops onto the paper. Over time and
based on usage this assembly will eventually fail.
I would also check your user’s manual to see if there are any procedures on cleaning the service
station/capping station assembly (this is where the carriage/cartridges 'park' when not in use). A dirty
service station can cause all kinds of improper color output problems (assuming the printhead is working
correctly of course). See video on how the PRINTHEAD works: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=2054
NOTES: To determine which color has run out, use the following suggestions in sequence until you are
able to identify the empty color: 1) Generate a Print Quality Test Page from your printer control panel; a
faded color band indicates empty. 2) To distinguish between a black and photo black cartridge, print a
text document and/or a photo. Faded black in a text document i ndicates the black cartridge is empty;
faded black in a photo indicates the photo black cartridge is empty. 3) To distinguish between cyan,
yellow, and magenta, or Light Cyan/Light Magenta click here:
http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=146
Print the "6-color" test print. A faded/missing color band indicates empty.
For any additional questions please contact us directly: [e-mail]
-Thank you
CANON / EPSON - MISSING COLORS OR POOR/INCONSISTENT PRINT QUALITY
Regarding your recent inquiry about the poor print quality/lack of printing performance, please perform
the following steps (if you have already performed a step, please continue to the next step in the order
shown):
1. Go into the printer's maintenance/tools menu and print a print quality test (i.e. heading
cleaning, nozzle test or similar) to help identify which color (of number of colors) is impacted.