Did you buy Lexmark cartridges, or some other off-brand? I've never used a Lexmark, but my HP printers have refused to work with anything other than a genuine HP cartridge. YMMV.

I think that most cartridges have a 'use by' date on the packaging.

I can't find a "use by date" on my HP cartridges, but they do have a "warranty ends date"...interesting.

I believe as long as the packaging is sealed your cartridges are good to use. I would be more concerned with the tiny nozzles on the printer itself gumming up through possible lack of use.

Do you get any messages on the screen on the printer? A model number might be helpful in solving the issue too.

Have you found the maintenance screen and done a nozzle cleaning and then tried printing a test page?

I've known users to keep unused cartridges in the refrigerator. Results? Varied.

I would like to have a further explanation of "about dry". If this claim is a result of an ink level report these reports are estimates, and notoriously inaccurate.

Is the printer still functioning satisfactory? If not, I like O's idea of cleaning the cartridge heads.

DA

I'll echo damccoy's explanation of the ink level reports. I have a HP printer, and the black has been showing almost empty for some time, yet it continues to print flawlessly with the same black cartridge.

It is a good idea to use it a bit more than you do. I have learned to check the expiration date and sometime it depends on your climate. If you are having warm weather it could dry out the cartridges. Also it might depend where you buy them. Someplaces like to keep them in unstable condidtions. They might have been in either very cold or very hot storage units.
Hope this helps you.