I have a Lexmark printer which I seldom use, only everyone once in a while to print out receipts, or something else small. I find my ink constantly drying out, today I went to print something and they were dried so I had to spend $44 to get new cartridges. Is there anyway to keep them moist when I do not use my printer regularly?

It's important to always use the power switch to turn the printer off, for one. The printer should "cap" the cartridge when it's turned off, but the nozzles aren't capped.

If the cartridge contains the head too, you can usually take them out and with a damp paper towel wipe the head and put it back in.

If that fails to work, try finding the smallest air-tight container that will hold the cartridge.

Check out the following for information:

Troubleshooting Your Inkjet Cartridge - PacificInk.com

Preventing an Ink Cartridge From Drying Out

Inkspot: Ink Cartridge Care

Never use paper towels to clean the cartridge nozzles. Please use a Lint Free soft cloth that has been dampened.

My Lexmark printer will do a maintenance cycle once a week to keep the nozzles clear. I leave it plugged in all the time, but do turn it off. Even when it is off, it will do the maintenance at the appropriate time.

If your printer has this feature, make sure you leave power to it all the time (i.e. not on a power strip that you turn off). I have not had the dried up ink problem when using it this way.

Best of luck,
WallyH

Susanray,

I disagree with the use of refilled cartridges. Print quality will often suffer because the chemical components of the ink differ from the original cartridges.

There is zero quality control for refilled ink. Nor do the vendors of refilled cartridges warranty any damage they may cause to the printer. Also most printer companies void the warranty on their products if refilled cartridges are used.

Some cartridges, are "Smart Cartridges" meaning the know that they were empty and will report back to the printer that they are empty. The only way around that is to hack into the printer's code and change the value in the cartridge's id so that it now reports that it is full.

BTW- I base my reply on 15 years of printer technical support for Lexmark.

Depening on the model you have there is a little rubber cap type thing that sits uderneth the resting spot of the cartdriges when its not being used check if it has came undone.

Thanks for all of your answers.