Replacment inks trying to use non oem inks. the printer wont recognise the new cartridges still sating that they are empty . do i need to dwnload any kind of sftware ?.thanks in advance for any help and time.

I have just made the same mistake on my Brother MFC-J470DW printer. I allowed it to upgrade the firmware, and two of my ink cartridges, which were previously nearly full (and not OEM original equipment), started to display as "Cannot Detect" on the printer display. I contacted Brother and they directed me to a site that basically says you HAVE to use original Brother ink cartridges after the firmware update to version H.

In other words, Brother has found a way to limit our machines so that we cannot use non-original ink cartridges. I found a way to work around this problem, but it only works because I have the original cartridges that were nearly empty. You can carefully open the plastic case of the cartridge, being careful to note where the springs are located and to not lose them. Then you can see the reservoir for the ink. You can use an empty syringe, minus the needle, to suck out the ink from a non-oem cartridge. You have to press the upper release prong (spring-loaded thingy at the top of the cartridge) while you suck out the ink into the syringe at the bottom port of the ink cartridge. When you see that the cartridge is empty, reverse the process by squeezing the ink into the original Brother cartridge in a similar manner. You don't have to open the cartridge to do this, but it helps to see the levels of ink before and after.

Hopefully Brother has not found a way to make their ink clash with compatible inks so that they damage the printing ports of your printer. I haven't done this on this machine yet, so be careful, because you might destroy the printer so that you cannot even use original inks anymore. Personally, I bought the printer on sale at Staples for $50, over a year ago, so if I ruin it by mixing oem and non-oem inks, then I will just buy a different brand next time and hope for a more ethical company policy on allowing non-oem inks (compatible inks).

On this printer, I have used non-oem inks ever since the starte inks ran out. They always work just fine! I get them at Meritline.com. Make sure to read the comments at meritline.com because if you have updated your firmware recently, then Brother has made it impossible for us to use non-oem inks anymore. They do not offer a method to downgrade the firmware! And I cannot find a site to find the older versions. The only download they offer is a firmware upgrade tool, and not the actual firmware versions.

Hope this helps.

clean the metal pins on the ink cartridge amd the pins in the printer were the ink cartridge geo's

1. New original ink tank will dried for several times of head cleaning procedure.

. ....ran a nozzle check and cleaned print heads because it wasn't printing any ink on the paper.... ???
Nothing at all? If yes, problem is in the printer main board. Lost electricity to the head.

This is a common problem encountered by printer users and is in fact not a bug but considered a feature by manufacturers who build this function into printers to encourage consumers to buy their expensive ink cartridges. To fix this problem I would buy a 3rd party ink cartridge for use when your ink cartridge is empty. This way you can use your scanner when out of ink (be careful printing with 3rd party ink cartridges, many have mangled or destroyed their printers by using non OEM ink).

I've had that problem with unfinished cartridges showing up as empty. I imagine that it could be a bad cartridge as well but I hear and feel the ink when I shake the cartridge. Therefore the ink is there. I also have a problem with some inks. I find the HP inks work perfectly whereas other manufacturers' inks work on and off. I need a solution as well. Right now I have full cartridges that are not picked up by the Designjet sensor. Any idea?

If you are not using OEM cartridges, the changes are that the ink cartridges are faulty. Some aftermarket and refilled cartridges do not have the chip to make them compatible with the OEM cartridges so that the are not recognized by the printer electronics. The first thing I would do is insert new OEM cartridges. If the problem goes away, I would return the faulty cartridges to the vendor for either an exchange or refund.
This should take care of the problem. If it doesn't let me know.
Thanks.

Are you using aftermarket or refilled cartridges? These inks do not always conform to the manufacturer's specifications and they gum up the nozzles and sensors.
The first thing I would do is put in OEM cartridges and run the deep cleaning printer utility to clear the nozzles. This may take multple tries depending upon how clogged and dried the nozzles are.
If this doesn't clear the problem, let me know and we'll look at other solutions.
Which model Epson do you have?
Please rate this solution. Thanks.

Just bought new MX318 one chamber gets finished after a few pages. No indicator for finished ink. One compartment of Ink cartridge looks empty the other still full. Tried cleening process but no improvement. Replaced Cartridge but it seems to behave the same as the first after a few prints.

Usually there is more than one cartridge empty when you receive this kind of problem. Try opening the top cover and check if the display changes - it should change to specify one (or more) of the color cartridges as empty. That one(s) should be changed too.

Try putting genuine ink it. If it still refuses to recognise the carts then it need to go back to Epson for a warranty repair. As an Epson eng 90% of the time, rubbish compatible cartridges are the source of such issues. They can even make the printer stop recognising genuine carts.

Do not mention to Epson that you used compatibles or they may refuse the warranty repair.