Monitoring Ink Levels

Monitoring the level of ink that is remaining in your inkjet cartridges of your printer is a fairly simple task that could make a world of difference, especially in an office environment.  Knowing how much ink is left allows you to gauge how soon replacements will be needed.  This is important in an office because running out of ink could halt production entirely and potentially waste an entire work day.

By using the supplies status feature, you can calculate the number of cartridges that will be used per month based on when a cartridge was installed and how much ink has been used since that time.  Users who print frequently should purchase enough replacement ink to support at least a month’s worth of printing.  This way, you will never run out and you can qualify for bulk discounts from vendors.  Even if you want to buy a year’s worth, most cartridges have a shelf life of 1-2 years.

There are a few different ways to access the ink level status information, depending on the make and model of your printer as well as the installation software features.  Though it is impossible to give you step-by-step instructions, the general processes are similar enough to guide you through.

Mac users are required to download the “Ink Level 1.22” utility from the Apple website to be able to monitor the ink levels of cartridges.

Via Printer

Using the navigation buttons on your printer, sort through the menu until you find an ‘information’ option.  Keep in mind, it could also be listed under diagnostics or maintenance.  Keep sorting until you find an option for checking status.  Some printers require you to print a status page, while others let you few the levels directly on the LCD screen.

This is an example of the ink levels being displayed on the LCD on the machine:

Via Computer (Windows OS)

Option 1: Using the Start Menu, select Printers and Faxes (or Devices and Printers on older models).  A list of the printers connected to your computer will come up.  Select the device you would like to check the ink levels for and open the Properties box.  Beyond this point, look for options such as Maintenance, Supplies Status, etc.

Option 2: Click on the printer icon that is in the bottom right corner of the monitor.  The box that pops up will either take you directly to a Maintenance option or Printer Settings.  Some printers will require you to dig down into the Toolbox, where there will be a tab for ink information.

Here is an example of what you might find once you have followed the steps above:

If this guide has not helped you, check your manual or search the internet for specific instructions based on your model number.  If your machine is extremely old, monitoring the status of ink levels may not be an option.