When to change ink carts on a Pro 10

[Aleik]

Old topic and my apologies, but I wonder if someone can advise on the cut-off point for a cartridge? Only one cart indicates low, but the domino effect will begin to occur soon. For instance, would photo cyan and photo black be worth changing at the stage shown below? I don't like the idea of waiting til the red "X" appears, as I don't want to burn the printhead. I've managed to get 20 A5 images out on "!", but I don't dare take it further.

Windows doesn't offer the Canon IJ utility for Pro 10. Just trying my best not to waste expensive ink, while keeping the printer healthy. Many thanks!

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

I think this is something you can gauge based on use and the project.  You don't need to replace a "low' cartridge as soon as you are notified, but if I was doing a large project or making larger prints, I might consider changing a low cartridge sooner rather than later. 

You'll get a feel for it as you use it more.  Also based on what you are printing.       

[jrhoffman75]

I wait till the printer stops printing and the red X appears.

Then I replace any cartridges with an exclamation point.

As you pointed out, there's a lot of printing left once the exclamation point appears. Not all cartridges showing an exclamation point will have the domino effect, but I find it easier just to do a clean install and get rid of all warnings once printing stops.

[Aleik]

Thank you both! 

Specifically with the red X - that's quite illuminating. I've heard horror stories of burnt print heads (a replacement expense I don't want to face) from having let ink run totally dry...so the printer just straight up won't let you print any more? Unsure if that situation might be different on a Pro 10 with pigment inks, instead of dye-based. Sorry, I'm very new to this.

[jrhoffman75]

I can't state for sure that the printer would prevent going past the red x alert. I just never have tried.

Printer stops and the warning appears and I act as described above. My printer is 6 years old and no problems following that routine.