Cartridges are designed to be changed by whoever owns the printer, without tools, in about a minute. The steps below are the general procedure for each type of part.
Your printer's own instructions win. Layouts differ between models, and most printers walk you through the swap on their own display or in the manual that came in the box. Treat this page as the shape of the job, not as model-specific steps.
Before you start
- Leave the printer powered on unless its manual says otherwise — many machines move the carriage into position for you when you open the cover, and forcing it by hand can damage it.
- Have the new cartridge to hand and still in its packaging.
- Work over a hard surface rather than carpet. Toner is a fine powder and ink stains.
- Handle cartridges by the plastic body. Do not touch the drum surface, the roller, or the copper contacts.
- Check the number on the new cartridge against the one you removed before you go any further. If they do not match, stop — see the Compatibility Guide.
Toner cartridges (laser printers)
- Open the front cover and locate the cartridge.
- Pull the spent cartridge straight out. Keep it level — a used cartridge still holds loose toner.
- Unwrap the new one and remove all protective material. There is normally a sealing strip with a pull tab, plus a plastic cover over the drum.
- If the instructions with the cartridge call for it, rock it gently side-to-side a few times to distribute the toner. Do not shake it hard and do not stand it on end.
- Slide it in until it seats and clicks, then close the cover.
- Wait for the printer to finish its startup routine, then print a test page.
If toner spills, wipe it up with a dry cloth or vacuum it with a machine rated for fine powder — warm water sets it into fabric.
Ink cartridges (inkjet printers)
- Open the access cover and wait for the carriage to stop moving.
- Press down or in on the old cartridge to release the catch, then lift it out. Most inkjets clip rather than pull straight up.
- Unwrap the new cartridge and remove the protective tape. Leave any label on the top in place if the instructions say to — some cover an air vent that needs to stay open.
- Do not touch the copper contacts or the ink nozzles.
- Seat the cartridge at the angle the slot expects and press until it clicks. It should not need force.
- Close the cover and let the printer run its alignment or charging routine. It uses a little ink; that is normal and unavoidable.
EcoTank and other tank-based printers work differently — you refill tanks from bottles rather than swapping cartridges. Follow the fill instructions printed on the printer and the bottle.
Drum units
On many laser printers the toner cartridge and the drum come out together as one assembly, and only one of the two is being replaced.
- Open the front cover and slide the drum and toner out together as one unit.
- Release the toner cartridge from the old drum — there is usually a green lever or a catch on the side.
- Clip the toner cartridge into the new drum until it locks.
- Slide the assembly back in until it seats, then close the cover.
- If your printer asks you to reset the drum counter, do that from its own menu. The printer counts pages rather than sensing the drum, so without the reset it will keep reporting the old drum as worn.
Never touch the green drum surface and do not leave it in daylight longer than necessary.
Maintenance boxes and waste ink boxes
- Open the maintenance-box hatch — usually at the back or side.
- Pull the used box straight out and keep it upright. It holds waste ink.
- Push the new one in until it seats and the cover closes flush.
- Seal the used box in the bag the new one arrived in before disposing of it.
When the printer will not recognize a new cartridge
This is the one step that genuinely trips people up, and it is almost always one of the first three items below.
- Check you removed every piece of packaging, especially the sealing strip and any orange or blue transit clips. A cartridge that is not unsealed reads as empty.
- Reseat it. Take it out and put it back firmly until it clicks. A cartridge that is 2mm out of position is invisible to the eye and invisible to the printer.
- Wipe the contacts. Power the printer off, remove the cartridge, and clean the copper contacts on the cartridge and inside the slot with a dry lint-free cloth. No liquid, no abrasives.
- Power cycle properly. Turn the printer off at its own button, unplug it for a minute, plug it back in and turn it on. This clears a cached supply error that a soft restart will not.
- Expect a non-genuine warning. Printers are built to flag any supply that is not the manufacturer's own. The message is normally dismissible with OK or Continue, and the cartridge prints. That is not a fault.
- Check the number one more time against the Compatibility Guide.
If it still will not print after all of that, it is on us. Email support@example.com with your order number, the printer model and the exact wording of the message on the display. A cartridge a compatible printer refuses to recognize is covered — see the Warranty and the Return Policy.
What to do with the old one
Spent cartridges are mostly plastic and metal and should not go in household waste. See Recycling.
Video guides
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