I'm amazed the # of pages I printed since my printer said it's out of ink

I've done I bet a good 100 pages in black ink, and have printed maybe 5 or so full page color photographs, and now I'm printing out copious amounts of color postcards for my artshow (May 17, BTW), and I've seen no degradation in color from the first page to the last.

But, i learned quite a few cartridges ago, that I use the cartridge until it actually stops delivering ink, and totally ignore whatever the system tells me. And it's funny, because the computer says the black ink cartridge is out of ink, but the cartridge itself has a nifty little meter and says it's still half full.

:shrug:

That's a good signal to buy ink -- but you're right. I used it for months before it finally ran out.

That's what's been telling me for a couple months that both cartridges are at 0%.

Its a measure of use. It has no idea how much ink is left in your system.

as the others have pointed out, intentionally misleading. And even if not intentional, not very accurate. Which is why I haven't listened to it for a couple years.

When I first bought the printer, it was fairly accurate. But somewhere along the line it just went to hell.

Oh, well. At least I'm smart enough to wait until it actually isn't printing before throwing the cartridge away. :-)

I think it's kind of like how when you look at a car manual it tells you to change the oil every 7,500 miles, but the oil change places tell you every 3,000 miles. Most mechanics I've asked say 5,000 miles is fine if the driving isn't really hard on the vehicle -- the 3,000 miles sells more oil changes, and not changing your oil until 7,500 miles wears out engines faster.

Most printer cartridges you can buy are made by the manufacturers of the printers. They make more money off cartridges than they do off the machines themselves. Encouraging people to change the cartridges out early makes them more money. Not only that, but according to Consumer Reports, there aren't many generic or remanufactured print cartridges that perform nearly as well as the OEM ones, so it's usually better to bite the bullet and get the OEM cartridge.

You'll get two more days out of it.

They don't put sensors in cartridges anymore to tell when they are getting low. Instead they now have counters that keep track of how many times you print. After the designated quantity of prints it flags itself as low on toner. Even if it has plenty of ink left.

From the cartridge industry.

I hate dealing with those extortionists in the HP printer Dept.

a polar bear in a snow storm? Just checking.

:-)