4800/4880/7800/7880/9800/9880 family damper question

Besides the obvious (leaking at the exit port or around the seals) what are the visual indicators that a damper is bad? In visually examining a damper there is a filter area right at the inlet and then a series of “channels” that leads to the exit port. Should only this filter area / channels be filled with ink during normal operation? Or should the entire damper (the entire circular area + filter area) be filled with ink during normal operation? I have even tried playing around with a new one trying to figure out exactly how the one way internal valve works. For reference two photos:

Screen Shot 2021-04-03 at 10.14.27 AM Screen Shot 2021-04-03 at 10.14.35 AM