CIS Ink System Works, But Colors are Missing

Today we’ll go over how to troubleshoot your printer when it says it recognizes the CIS cartridges you’ve inserted, but one or more of the colors aren’t coming out. To start with, reinstall the Epson OEM ink cartridge and see if the printhead is clogged. If the printer prints missing colors with the OEM cartridges, then the printhead is good, but the CIS cartridge cannot supply enough ink to the printer to work correctly.

For today, we will focus on troubleshooting the ink supply issue. You can watch this video on my YouTube channel for a visual demonstration. As you can see, the prints I tried for the demonstration didn’t exactly come out perfect. I used the CIS cartridge printed black, magenta, and yellow, but the cyan was entirely missing from the print.

Is the air hole open?

First, check if the air hole is open. A new CIS cartridge will come with the air hole plugged. You must remove the plug from the air hole and put it in the holding spot. If you don’t do this, the CIS cartridge will create a vacuum during the printing process, preventing the ink from getting where it needs to go.

Once the air hole is unplugged, we need to check if the cartridge can get the ink from the ink tank. Remove the top plug from the CIS and use a syringe to attempt to draw ink from the top hole of the cartridge. If the ink flows into the syringe easily, then there is no problem with the ink supply.

Is there a problem with the ink intake?

Another method you could use is to make a tool to simulate the normal ink intake process. Take a regular, standard needle and break it off at the base, but leave a tiny bit of the steel on the top. Use it to suck the ink from the bottom. If there doesn’t appear to be a problem with the ink supply, try to resolve the clogging issue again.

If that’s not it, try looking for signs of dry ink in the supply tubes. It is normal for new CIS to come with a bit of air in the supply tubes. This air can cause bits of ink to dry, preventing it from flowing properly. If the tube also looks fine, we need to check the tank.

Start by plugging all of the air holes. Pull the tank from its case by the top. Make sure one more time that all the holes are plugged before flipping the tank upside down. Check that none of the tubes are poorly connected or kinked at a weird angle. If they are, a few minor adjustments should get it working again in no time.

I hope this blog helped! For more DIY printer tips and tricks, follow me on YouTube at Kevin at BCH. Happy printing!