Ink running out after less than 200 pages

[will1281]

Last year in November 2017, I bought a OfficeJet Pro 6970 and have been generally happy with it.  As a last week, I have been getting an ink low message, and the printed pages have been streaky.

I've run a printer status report and a print quality report - screenshots of both are attached.

The printer status report shows that I have only printed 199 pages.  I only use the printer rarely and normally only to print some documents and no photos.

The print quality report shows very bad quality printing even though the printer status report still shows what looks like 20% of so ink remaining (in the picture).

I only switch the printer on when I need to use the printer and shut it down after using it.  These are the original HP ink catridges that came with the printer - I have not bought any new catridges.

My questions are:

1. I would not expect the ink to run out some quickly - is there a problem with the catridges?  Surely the catridges should last longer than 199 pages?

2. Given that the printer status report shows roughly 20% ink left in the black catridge and c.30% in the other catridges the print quality should  be much better? or at least not streaking making printer status report illegible?

3. I note that the Printer Status Report shows that the ink warranty ends 14/05/2015.  However, given I only bought the printer in November 2017, is there still a warranty?   

I believe that the catridges are faulty.  Is there anything that can be done?

[sabretooth04]

Here is a chart to help with Ink Cartridge Page Estimation.  All printer manufactures cartridges are based on a 5% coverage when new.

Coverage percentage (%)	Divide by to get approximate number of pages
5	1
10	2
20	4
30	6
50	10
100	20

Note:  A 5% coverage is about 6 single spaced lines of text on a page. No bold, graphics or pictures.  A full color photo would be 100% coverage.

A ‘regular’ page of text would be about 72 lines and give us 30% coverage (more realistic).  Don’t forget the font type and size you use will use more ink too.

Example: 564 Standard Black = 250 pages at 5% coverage.  

Let’s say your average page coverage you estimate is 30%.  So…250/6 = 41.

Therefore the number of pages expected (30% coverage) out of your cartridge would be about 40 pages.

A 564 Standard Color (300 pages) at 100% coverage yields – 300/20 = 15 pages.

********************

Your printer uses a black  HP 902 ink cartridges with a 300 page capacity at 5% coverage.

You say you just  print text and no photos so the estimate of your usage would be 30 %.

So here is your math.

300 / 6 = 50 pages black at 30% coverage.   Let's take this further...  let's say 20 % coverage...

300 / 4 = 75 pages black.

You are getting WAY more ink coverage with your cartridges are perfectly on track.

You need to change your cartridges.

[Bob_Headrick]

The page yields are actually based on an ISO standard for HP Printers introduced since 2005, printing the five pages in the test suite as described here.  The test is based on continuous printing.  There is some ink used in startup and other servicing as described in the For more information on how HP inkjet printers use ink see how ink is used.

ISO Test Pages

Based on your test page I would suspect the age of the ink is a factor.  I am not sure how you would have gotten such old ink, but based on the test page the ink cartridges were manufactured in 2013.  There is some loss due to evaporation as described in the "how ink is used document" above.

Some ink evaporates over time

Ink cartridges lose some ink to evaporation over time. This lowers the volume of ink available, and may change the chemistry of the inks. Cartridges cannot be completely sealed due to altitude variations during shipment and temperature variations during storage and use. HP cartridges are designed to operate reliably after a long pre-sale shelf life, and throughout many months of usage once installed in the printer.

If your printer was purchased in late 2017 it should still be under warranty.  You might contact HP and see if they will replace the cartridge.  

From a post by Sunshyn2005, to contact HP Support see the following link to create yourself a case number, then call and it may help speed up the call process:

Step 1. Open link: www.hp.com/contacthp/
Step 2. Enter Product number or select to auto detect
Step 3. Scroll down to "Still need help? Complete the form to select your contact options"
Step 4. Scroll down and click on: HP contact options - click on Get phone number
 
Case number and phone number appear.