Computer chip in printer ink cartridge?

**Lady Hobbs** · 11-15-2009, 05:39 PM

Never heard of it until this week. Dell has it in their ink cartridges and since I bought refurbished cartridges that have no chip, I now constantly get a message my ink is out. I had to disable the message options to stop looking at it.

What's next?

**smaug** · 11-15-2009, 05:42 PM

Computer chips in your toilet paper is whats next

**neilp** · 11-15-2009, 05:58 PM

The printer manufacturers spin this as being for print quality. This is BS. It's so that they can control where you get the ink cartridges, and limit the number of pages per cartridge. The page limit prevents you refilling the cartridge or it being recycled.

I got a "free" printer with a PC at Circuit City before they went bust. The printer, a Lexmark, is a special version for CC and cartridges where only available from CC or Lexmark.

Many years a ago I was a printer tech so I intended to see if I can make the thing work with regular cartridges before I throw it out. But with printers so cheap it hardly seems worth the effort.

I am surprised your non-chipped cartridge works at all they usually don't....

**Lady Hobbs** · 11-15-2009, 06:11 PM

Difference in price was $22 and $10. Bugs me when a company tries to monopolize further inks sales, tho. Cartridges fit fine and stated to work with this printer. What wasn't said was Dell would send you messages due to the ink chip and I'd have an error message flashing on my printer forever.

**Aeonflame** · 11-15-2009, 06:34 PM

You can reset the status on the ink cartridge. Its usually a complicated process though. I prefer to stick with cheap printers whose cartridges allow me to refill easily.

**neilp** · 11-15-2009, 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by Aeonflame

You can reset the status on the ink cartridge. Its usually a complicated process though. I prefer to stick with cheap printers whose cartridges allow me to refill easily.

Unfortunately it's the cheapest printers that are likely to have this issue. They virtually give away the printers to get the profit on the ink refills. You end up paying one way or another.

Resetting inkjet cartridges is OK, you can buy tools to do it. I recommend against doing it to laser printer cartridges as you are risking the printer by doing so.

**Lady Hobbs** · 11-15-2009, 08:59 PM

It prints fine so will leave it alone for now. Next time I will just buy the Dell to keep the printer happy. lol

I only print documents now and then.

**labnjab** · 11-15-2009, 09:26 PM

We have a dell printer and had to buy new cartridges shortly after getting it. We ordered the extra capacity cartridges from Dell and they said we were low after printing 15 pages or less. This was a year ago and a few hundred pages later and it still says its low and it still prints just as good as when they were new. I think its a scam to get you to buy more. I'm not buying anymore until the color fades