Light fast blinking on cartridge. How long can I keep printing. Will it harm my printer?

Question

I have a Canon MX882 using cartridges 226.  Most times we have extra cartridges, but on occasion, an ink cartridge has started fast blinking before I can purchase new and what I am printing I need done.  The print is still good, clear, dark. I have gone approximately 30 pages over and ink still not looking faded.  Am I harming the printer by continuing to print?
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Answer 1

Hi enimary,
Let me start with the quick answer: We never recommend printing once the ink indicator shows that an ink is "out".
Since the ink level detection is mostly optical, some trace amounts of ink may still be in the ink tank when the "out" warning appears.  Let's say your cyan ink is "out".  If you print a picture with very little cyan, the print might appear fine since you are using so little of that specific ink.
During each print, the printhead (element used to "jet" the ink onto the paper) will heat up.  As the ink passes through the nozzles of the printhead, it will cool the printhead and the cycle will repeat with each pass.  When the printhead tries to pull ink from an empty tank, it does not cool the printhead and can result in damage or clogging of the nozzles.
It's very much a gamble to continue printing under these circumstances, but I certainly understand the need to print in a crunch.  Keep an eye out for "low ink" warnings when printing.  When a "low" warning appears, you will have about 25% of the ink still in the tanks.  This is a good prompt to have a spare ink tank available for when it finally reaches the "out" stage.
Also, don't confuse the "low" warning with the "out" warning.  I recommend viewing the following article from our Knowledge Base: Checking the Ink status - MX882.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to Contact Us!
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