Dell 946 Printer Problem

Question

Hello!  Can someone help me, please?? I have a Dell Dimension E521 PC with a Dell 946 AIO printer. The problem concerns my printer.  It is about 2-1/2 years old and just recently when I installed a new black ink cartridge (J5566 Series 5) and clicked the print icon on my PC, it prints a pale red color--no black ink appears. Prior to this, I have been able to print fairly decent black and white copies of any Word documents.   When I made copies on the copier glass, it printed black  letters and numbers that are fair quality--not very good.  Color copies were very poor--they seem to be faded and the level of ink in the color cartridge never seems to decline. Now all copies (black and white and color) are pretty poor quality. I checked and have always removed the tape from both cartridges when I install new ones. Prior to installing the new black ink cartridge (and after), when I turned the printer on, sometimes I got the error message right alignment problem (the color cartridge is on the right; the black to the left). I would try and reseat the color cartridge and if I still got the error message, would turn the printer off then on and that would eliminate the error message. I have used the clean ink nozzles function on my PC several times--seems to print black ok but I don't see much of any color. Not sure what to do at this point. ??????? How can I get black and white copies when I use the copier glass but when I try to print out a Word document I get just  faded red printing? I have noticed a gradual decline in the performance (quality of the black and white and color) of the printer over the last year. Any suggestions anyone has would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much for reading this and have a Happy New Year!!:emotion-1:

PudgyOne · Answer

noviceitaliano,

You are using Dell Series 5 ink cartridges, correct? These are not refilled or another brand, correct?

Sometimes printing from Word, I have seen others complain that the colors do not match those in the documents.

If you unplug the printer from the wall and remove the power brick for 60 seconds, this will reset any error messages the printer has. I would then plug everything back in.

Power on the printer.

Open the printer(with the power on) and take out the Dell Series 5 black cartridge and then reseat it. I would then take out the color Dell Series 5 ink cartridge and reseat it. Now close the printer and it will print an alignment page.

Any error messages?

black cartridge = black side(left side) color cartridge = color side(right side)

photo cartridge = black side(left side) color cartridge = color side(right side)

Dell Series 5 ink cartridges have a sensor in them that cannot be reset. Article on refilling Dell ink cartridges .

Dell Series 5 ink cartridges can be purchased at Staples, Walmart or Dell's Website.

It's possible to get a Dell Series 5 ink cartridge with a bad sensor. I would that these back to the place of purchase for a replacement or a refund.

Rick

noviceitaliano · Answer

Hi, PudgyOne! Thanks very much for the reply!

My ink cartridges are not refilled or another brand--they are always purchased from Dell's website.

I followed your instructions and did not get any error messages.

I also replaced the new black ink cartridge with another new black ink cartridge--error message then said "alignment problem -- remove tape from cartridges or check troubleshooting." (I always remove the tape before I install so I am very puzzled why it would say this.) Then it printed an alignment page--on the left hand side of the paper, a vertical black line approx. one-half inch in width printed out and only a faded red vertical strip approx. 1/4 inch wide (this was the only color). The faded red vertical strip was to the left of the vertical black strip. Then various black horizontal line segments to the right.

Any other thoughts? Your efforts are very much appreciated!!

PudgyOne · Answer

noviceitaliano,

It really sounds like the cartridges have bad sensors in them. I would contact Dell and heav them send you replacements. It does happen that the cartridges do have bad sensors in them, so Dell is somewhat familiar with replacing them.

The phone number should be on the invoice that came with the cartridges.

Rick

noviceitaliano · Answer

Hi, PudgyOne and thanks so very much for replying so promptly!

You got me to do some serious thinking about the problem and what I did is to replace the color cartridge.

When I did this I got a message that said I was using the color cartridge to do my black and white printing. It said to uncheck the box if I want to discontinue this--so I unchecked the box and guess what? I am able to print my Word documents just fine! Wont need to have the black ink cartridges replaced after all.

When I make black and white copies and now also color copies they are acceptable quality!!!

Thanks again for all of your efforts!!

:emotion-1:

PudgyOne · Answer

noviceitaliano,

Gald you got it working! :emotion-21: Thanks for posting back.

Dell Series 5 ink cartridges have a sensor in them that cannot be reset. Article on refilling Dell ink cartridges .

Dell Series 5 ink cartridges can be purchased at Staples, Walmart or Dell's Website.

Take care,

Rick

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