Top tip - you can use a fingernail to swap the little identifier chip. It is just held on with the same kind of glue as holds credit cards to the sheet of paper when you get them in the mail.
Then you can use the instant ink for free.
People like me are probably the reason they started charging $0.99/month...
I'm intrigued.
Not sure how that gets you free ink though - I presume printer tracks usage in software through what it prints and logs that against the chip to guess what's in the associated cart.
So if say I switched the chip on my instant ink cart for a 'regular' chip I won't be charged for printing, but once that cart's empty they won't send me a new one as the 'instant chip' thinks it's unused.
Or if I put the instant chip on a regular cart, I'll be charged for printing, but I'll be left with ink in.. nope, can't work it out.
Put the insta ink chip on an empty cartridge and tell it to print an alignment/test page from the menu. It uses a tiny LED and light sensor on the print head to see the printed ink on the page during the alignment process. If that sees no ink, it marks the cartridge as empty and orders another.
The same will happen if you pull the half-printed paper out of the printer midway through the alignment process, which is how I discovered it.
That makes complete sense. I remember being slightly confused when I did the alignment test and rather than it prompting me to "type which column looks good" it just said "looks good to me"
Thank you. You've planted a seed of evil in me, I shall now try to resist (a little bit)
Then you can use the instant ink for free.
People like me are probably the reason they started charging $0.99/month...