Ink supply

[bigeasy4]

My Officejet 6500 uses ink like a drunken sailor.  I recently kept a log and printed only 36 8.5x11 pages when it ran out of black ink.  This is a consistent problem with it.   If there is no solution to this problem, it will be replaced by another brand, sorry to say.  I've not owned it very long.

[user477121]

Gat an HP Officejet J 5750 all-in one. I am getting about 75 to 100 pages per # 74 cartridge. What gives. I can get copies for a fraction of that at office depot. The things are nearly $15.00 each. What a ripoff ! Do something about it ! I have several computers that are HP, and have been a faithful customer for years. If there is no alternative, I WILL switch to Lexmark. How about you guys sending me some replacement cartridges or an explaination.

[Bob_Headrick]

Did the ink actually run out or did the low on ink indicator just indicate it was low?  If the ink ran out while the low on ink indicator indicated perhaps 50-75% the likely cause is a plugged vent.  See the page here, particurlarily Solution 2.

If the print quality has not degraded but the low on ink indicator indicates empty you can continue printing until the ink runs out.  The LOI  signel is designed to give advance warning so you can have time to buy a replacement.   I got 163, 161 and 233 pages from my first three standard black cartrdiges.  The first LOI signal typically happened at about 80 pages, a bit ealier than I would expect.

To get the best ink yield there are a few things to consider:

• Do not run unnecessary cleaning cycles.
• Do not turn off the printer from an external switch.  Power should always be applied to the printer and only the printer's power switch should be used to turn the printer off.
• Printing in econofast mode typically uses half the ink of the normal or best modes.
• Lots of short 1-2 page jobs use more ink than a few long jobs with the same content.

[user477121]

Thanks for the info. Actually, the LOI did come on, then about 5 pages later my print degraded. Looks like they put about 1/2 of a thimbleful of ink in the cartridges. I bought one from office depot, one of their lables instead of HP, and I got over 225 pages out of it.