Even the most inexpensive inkjet printer has a printhead. If a printhead breaks on a home printer, it’s usually more economical to simply buy a new printer. With expensive commercial printers, it’s cost-prohibitive to buy a new printer whenever the printhead is broken, which is why it’s replaced instead.

Printheads are fed ink from cartridges; this ink is sprayed onto the paper with tiny nozzles. Piezo inkjet printheads use electric charges and vibrations to push ink out of the nozzles, while thermal inkjet printheads use heat to boil the ink and produce ink vapor, which is forced through the nozzle of the printhead.

Signs You Need to Replace Your Printheads

If you notice a loss in print quality, it may be a sign that you need to replace a printhead. Unfortunately, it may also be a sign that your printhead needs to be cleaned. How do you know which is needed?

It’s simple: clean the printhead first. Your printing system could just be clogged and in need of a good thorough cleaning. Try using one of our approved cleaning systems to unclog your printhead. Run one or two cleaning cycles to clear out any dried ink. If you’ve done that and you’re still not seeing an improvement, the next step is to replace the ink cartridge. These two steps should resolve most printhead problems, but if they don’t, it’s likely time to replace your printhead.

Some printers make it even easier to diagnose a problem with the printhead—they state that there’s an issue with the printhead on their LCD screens. Naturally, this is also a sign that it's time to replace a printhead.