How to Check if Your Printer Has Run out of Ink

Last Updated: December 3, 2021

If you’re running into printer problems and you’re wondering if your ink or toner levels are to blame, you may be wondering how you can check them. The good news is that this it’s extremely easy to check the cartridge’s ink levels. Unfortunately, this process is a little different from printer brand to printer brand. Still, it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out where your ink levels are at, and we’ll show you how to check!

Steps

1
Double click on the printer icon in the tray on the bottom right of your screen.
2
Click on the "estimated ink levels" tab

Method 1

Method 1 of 1:

Alternate Method

1
Go into Microsoft Word (or a similar program).
2
Create four small rectangles.
3
Color one of them black, another Blue, the next Red, and the last yellow.
4
Print!
5
If all of the colors have come out clearly, it means you have enough of each color. If one or more are not clear, you need to change them.
6
Save the file in My Documents to run whenever you need to test your printer cartridges.
7
Run occasionally to work print head if printer is not used very often.

Community Q&A

Question

What if it prints completely blank?

Community Answer

It's probably out of ink, unless there was some printing error. Try printing out something different to make sure.
Question

Will I get a warning on my computer when I am out of ink?

Community Answer

It depends on the type of computer that you are using. Many current models will give you a warning.