Printer manufacturers like Epson/HP/Brother/Canon make relatively little profit from the printer itself, but a great deal from selling ink cartridges afterwards as this is the reoccuring cost for the end user. Their support pages state that their products are "designed to use only genuine branded print cartridges". Despite this, aftermarket cartridges usually work, but you may have to try a couple of workarounds.
It's important to recognise that a lot of the error messages you get with refilled or third-party cartridges are just advisory messages. The big printer-makers tolerate aftermarket cartridges but display "nag" or error messages as a way to discourage less knowledgeable users.
When your printer doesn't recognise a new cartridge, your first step should be to click OK or Accept on the error message and try again. If the error shows up on the printer's screen, use the built-in navigation keys to do the same. Sometimes, the printer works afterwards, but on occasion, you may need to try a few more steps.
Some Quick Troubleshooting
Before you delve into software, check the cartridge.
- Make sure it's clean and that all metal contacts are ink-free and don't have any tape or other debris such as a stray hair or piece of paper lint stuck to them.
- Snap the cartridge back into place and check that it fits tightly. Some cartridges may not be exactly the right size and shape, and you need to shim them in place with a piece of folded paper or card stock so that they make firm contact with the print head.
Ordinarily, you put an aftermarket cartridge into your printer because the old one runs out of ink. That means your printer might try to return an error message for non-genuine cartridge but get confused because the low-ink message is still in memory. That's often the cause of the "ink cartridge not recognised" (or similar) error message.
To clear it, remove all the ink cartridges and restart the printer. That clears out the memory and gives you a "no cartridges installed" error. At this point, you can reinstall your cartridges, and unless there are other issues, your printer should recognise them.
Sometimes the Deck Is Loaded
Major printer manufacturers have pledged not to lock out aftermarket cartridges automatically, but their periodic updates to your printer's built-in software may cause your existing cartridges to stop working.
The software that runs and controls the printer is called 'firmware'. Almost all modern printers now update their own firmware automatically via your computer's internet connection.
Firmware/software updates can tell the printer how to communicate, how to move motors, fire nozzles and most important of all, how to recognise original versus compatible (non-original) cartridge chips. Unfortunately, some manufacturers are now are updating printers automatically, so unless you turn the auto-updates off on the printer, these will take place without you having to do anything. Firmware updates are being released frequently and messages such as 'Cannot Detect Ink' or 'Ink Cartridge Cannot Be Recognised', are tell-tale signs that your printer has updated its firmware/driver.
It is worth knowing that compatible cartridges are sold for current machine software/firmware/drivers at the time of purchase. If you have updated firmware/drivers etc. it makes the compatible cartridge 'incompatible' with your printer and is obviously beyond our control.
By using compatible or remanufactured cartridges you are cutting into the manufacturer’s primary source of profit. Because of this, they update the firmware and this may interfere with the printer operations if using compatible or remanufactured cartridges. Firmware on the printer can then produce the message regarding low or zero ink levels if the machine detects a cartridge that is not a manufacturer's original cartridge. It can on occasion prevent the printer from accepting the cartridges completely.
It is a good idea to block the automatic installation of new printer firmware versions to avoid these issues. This can be done by following the procedure in your printer manual.
If you find that after following this procedure you are still having a problem or if you suspect a software update is at fault, contact our Customer Services team through our contact page - not the printer manufacturers - for a solution. When a workaround becomes available, we normally know.