Your printer tells you it's time to change the cartridge, but you dismiss the message and keep printing. Days or weeks later, you're still using the same cartridge and thinking to yourself that rumors of its death were greatly exaggerated.
Many manufacturer-branded (OEM) and third-party (aftermarket) vendor cartridges leave a startling amount of ink unused when they read empty. In fact, some inkjet printers force users to replace black ink cartridges when the cartridge is nearly half full. When using ink of their own manufacturer's cartridges, the printers display several low-ink warning messages before finally shutting down due to low ink.
There are valid reasons for not draining an ink cartridge completely, printing experts say. Many inks, if they run dry, can cause significant damage to the printer. You always want to leave a buffer in the tank so that the printer never runs dry. There should always be a factor of safety included.
