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Common Printing Terminology

My ink cartridge is dead on arrival.......

My ink cartridge has early end of life........

My printing fades out after 1/3 of the page.....

My color cartridge is producing color mix........

My printout has streaks..........

What is considered ink leakage?

What is a test page?

We always come across these terms when we are reading articles about cartridge performance.  So what are they?

Dead on Arrival (DOA) - Usually, this refers to cartridges that fail to print upon installation, or print less than 10 pages before end of life. 

End of Life - Fade, streak, reduction in density are seen on the diagnostic page even after streak removal procedures have been used.  Significant leakage occurs during printing.  The diagnostic page shows color mix.  Cartridges stop printing and cannot be recovered.  When any of these occurs, the cartridge has reached the end of life.

Fade - Significant reduction in density on the bands or blocks of the diagnostic page.  This reduction in density can occur in any part of the page.

Color Mix - The colors cyan, magenta and yellow are mixed unintentionally.

Streak - Very thin lines of color or lack of color in the blocks of diagnostic page.  Unlike fade which is caused by low ink, streaks can be caused by clogged nozzles.

Ink Leakage - Ink seen in the packaging bag, on the pint head nozzles or on the printout.