Avoiding print head burnout
by Barry Shultz
The print head, which is the engine of your printer
and which may or may
not be located inside the cartridge, houses hundreds
of tiny, delicate nozzle assemblies. Each nozzle
assembly consists of a tiny ink chamber, a resistor
that controls the flow of ink, walls that guide the
ink to the right position, and a nozzle plate with a
hole, from which the ink will be sprayed onto the
printer paper.
After each time a nozzle fires, a new supply of
printer ink is automatically drawn into its chamber,
to be ready for the next time. When the printer is
told by the computer to print a page, the copper
circuits on the end of the ink cartridge send a
message to the nozzle's resistor, which then heats
the nozzle's ink supply just enough to cause it to
expand and to force a
drop of ink through the nozzle onto the printer
paper.
The ink which flows through each nozzle assembly
functions as a lubricant and coolant for the nozzle:
if there is no ink in the chamber when the resistor
turns up the heat, the nozzle assembly will quickly
warp and break apart -- the resistor can reach a
temperature of hundreds of degrees very quickly! If
the print head is allowed to begin this process of
burnout (i.e. if the ink cartridge is not refilled
or replaced promptly), the damage may range from
poor print quality (streaks or lines across the
page, bad coloration, light or dark patches on the
page) to serious damage to the printer.
It is very important never to attempt to print with
an empty ink cartridge. If in doubt, top off your
cartridges frequently (the leftover ink from your
inkjet refill kit can be stored until the next time
you top off).
About the Author
Barry Shultz is the author of Atlascopy News, and
President of Atlascopy, Inc. Atlascopy specialized
in affordable alternatives to the high cost of
printer supplies. Sign up for the Atlascopy
Newsletter and get 10% coupons every week in your
email.
http://atlascopy.com/signup_new.htm
Go to Atlascopy to save a bundle on your printer and
refilling supplies.
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