HP Printer is printing faints lines rather than the whole page.

[LightningsalesUK]

Hi,

I am not sure this belongs here however my HP F2480 is showing good ink levels however is printing pages like this (http://i.imgur.com/MPtFuNa.jpg)

Any suggestions of what could be going on with the printer.

Thanks

 

[grimfox]

There are two options that I'm aware of. A)the printer is in a poorly implemented "draft mode" which saves ink. Or B) the cartridge nozzles are clogged. This can happen if the cartridge sits unused for a couple months. I think there is a way to clean them but I don't know how effective or easy it is.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

Or the nozzles in the printer's printhead may be clogged with old ink (which can also happen, as grimfox says, when you leave the printer unused for a long time, especially an Epson printer).

The printhead is a component part of the printer which is located under under the cartridges, so even buying new cartridges won't fix a blocked printhead.

 

[LightningsalesUK]

Or the nozzles in the printer's printhead may be clogged with old ink (which can also happen, as grimfox says, when you leave the printer unused for a long time, especially an Epson printer).

The printhead is a component part of the printer which is located under under the cartridges, so even buying new cartridges won't fix a blocked printhead.

The printer has been unused for several months so I guess the ink could be clogging up however if I were to remove the print head would I be able to unclog it or will I have to buy a new one?

 

[TMTOWTSAC]

Doesn't HP still build their print heads into their ink cartridges? It was an oft debated design decision. On the one hand it made the cartridges more expensive. On the other hand, if they got clogged or damaged you got a fresh head every cartridge. Epson had a permanent print head with a more precise (supposedly) piezoelectric thermal head, but if they got clogged you'd be there for 10 minutes using a q-tip and rubbing alcohol to dissolve the ink.

To clean an HP print head, we usually just poured some boiling water over the cartridge. The shiny copper part on the bottom. It's probably better to soak it like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ztl_SiUdPLw

But back in the day we had literally hundreds of deskjet 500's that sat idle 2 months out of the year so we streamlined a bit. While you're soaking it, check inside the printer. There's usually a bit of rubber that looks a little like one slat from a picket fence. It rubs backs and forth across the cartridge to clean it, but they get pretty grungy with dried ink, so wipe it off with a wet paper towel so it doesn't transfer any back to the cartridge. Then just pop it back in and run the cleaning utility once or twice and see if it gets better. If it doesn't, time to replace the cartridge.

 

[mcnumpty23]

silly as it sounds if nothing else works

glass cleaner may help you out--this isnt a wind up glass cleaner--especially the cheap whizz brand have a chemical in them that dissolves printer ink

if its a model where the cartridge gets punctured by a spike when you put it in

those spikes have little holes in them for the ink to go through those are notorious for clogging up

i have fixed loads of printers by taking cartridges out

spray glass cleaner onto paper towel/kitchen roll

put that where the spikes are and gently press it around them so its making contact with them

leave it half an hour then take the paper towel/kitchen roll off it will be covered in ink

use dry paper towel/kitchen roll around the spike area to clean any left on there and to make sure the area is dry

then put cartridges back

and again i am not winding you up--i have a friend who is an ink specialist chemist for fuji film who showed me this trick years ago

 

[LightningsalesUK]

silly as it sounds if nothing else works

glass cleaner may help you out--this isnt a wind up glass cleaner--especially the cheap whizz brand have a chemical in them that dissolves printer ink

if its a model where the cartridge gets punctured by a spike when you put it in

those spikes have little holes in them for the ink to go through those are notorious for clogging up

i have fixed loads of printers by taking cartridges out

spray glass cleaner onto paper towel/kitchen roll

put that where the spikes are and gently press it around them so its making contact with them

leave it half an hour then take the paper towel/kitchen roll off it will be covered in ink

use dry paper towel/kitchen roll around the spike area to clean any left on there and to make sure the area is dry

then put cartridges back

and again i am not winding you up--i have a friend who is an ink specialist chemist for fuji film who showed me this trick years ago

Hi,

I tried a suggested method and the ink seemed to be clean from around the area, I have put them back in however no it is printing half a line very faint and thats it.

 

[mcnumpty23]

silly as it sounds if nothing else works

glass cleaner may help you out--this isnt a wind up glass cleaner--especially the cheap whizz brand have a chemical in them that dissolves printer ink

if its a model where the cartridge gets punctured by a spike when you put it in

those spikes have little holes in them for the ink to go through those are notorious for clogging up

i have fixed loads of printers by taking cartridges out

spray glass cleaner onto paper towel/kitchen roll

put that where the spikes are and gently press it around them so its making contact with them

leave it half an hour then take the paper towel/kitchen roll off it will be covered in ink

use dry paper towel/kitchen roll around the spike area to clean any left on there and to make sure the area is dry

then put cartridges back

and again i am not winding you up--i have a friend who is an ink specialist chemist for fuji film who showed me this trick years ago

Hi,

I tried a suggested method and the ink seemed to be clean from around the area, I have put them back in however no it is printing half a line very faint and thats it.

you tried my suggestion?

if so you didnt leave it half an hour

sometimes may take more than 1 go

did the paper towel have ink on it?

 

[LightningsalesUK]

silly as it sounds if nothing else works

glass cleaner may help you out--this isnt a wind up glass cleaner--especially the cheap whizz brand have a chemical in them that dissolves printer ink

if its a model where the cartridge gets punctured by a spike when you put it in

those spikes have little holes in them for the ink to go through those are notorious for clogging up

i have fixed loads of printers by taking cartridges out

spray glass cleaner onto paper towel/kitchen roll

put that where the spikes are and gently press it around them so its making contact with them

leave it half an hour then take the paper towel/kitchen roll off it will be covered in ink

use dry paper towel/kitchen roll around the spike area to clean any left on there and to make sure the area is dry

then put cartridges back

and again i am not winding you up--i have a friend who is an ink specialist chemist for fuji film who showed me this trick years ago

Hi,

I tried a suggested method and the ink seemed to be clean from around the area, I have put them back in however no it is printing half a line very faint and thats it.

you tried my suggestion?

if so you didnt leave it half an hour

sometimes may take more than 1 go

did the paper towel have ink on it?

Yes I cleaned it with a paper towel and I cleared the dry ink from the surrounding area however it seems to have stumped it.

 

[mcnumpty23]

need too make sure the paper towel with the glass cleaner is pressed against/around the spikes so it touches the little holes in them where ink is clogged

i do it once see if get a lot of ink on the paper towel

if i think it needs it i repeat until not getting any ink on the paper towel

if no ink on the paper towel then either you got all the ink or its just not going to work with this method

paper towel has to be reasonably damp with glass cleaner--but not dripping with it

 

[LightningsalesUK]

need too make sure the paper towel with the glass cleaner is pressed against/around the spikes so it touches the little holes in them where ink is clogged

i do it once see if get a lot of ink on the paper towel

if i think it needs it i repeat until not getting any ink on the paper towel

if no ink on the paper towel then either you got all the ink or its just not going to work with this method

paper towel has to be reasonably damp with glass cleaner--but not dripping with it

I used a damp cloth with glass cleaner and I tried again, there is next to nothing on the page like 1/5th of each line makes it onto the page (Horizontally)

 

[mcnumpty23]

need too make sure the paper towel with the glass cleaner is pressed against/around the spikes so it touches the little holes in them where ink is clogged

i do it once see if get a lot of ink on the paper towel

if i think it needs it i repeat until not getting any ink on the paper towel

if no ink on the paper towel then either you got all the ink or its just not going to work with this method

paper towel has to be reasonably damp with glass cleaner--but not dripping with it

I used a damp cloth with glass cleaner and I tried again, there is next to nothing on the page like 1/5th of each line makes it onto the page (Horizontally)

then guess this method might not help in your case

will have to try something different

 

[LightningsalesUK]

need too make sure the paper towel with the glass cleaner is pressed against/around the spikes so it touches the little holes in them where ink is clogged

i do it once see if get a lot of ink on the paper towel

if i think it needs it i repeat until not getting any ink on the paper towel

if no ink on the paper towel then either you got all the ink or its just not going to work with this method

paper towel has to be reasonably damp with glass cleaner--but not dripping with it

I used a damp cloth with glass cleaner and I tried again, there is next to nothing on the page like 1/5th of each line makes it onto the page (Horizontally)

then guess this method might not help in your case

will have to try something different

http://www.inkguides.com/images/ink-cartridge-recycling-explanation.gif

This is printhead on this cartridge, There seems to be more colour ink coming out than black ink when cleaning.

 

[mcnumpty23]

need too make sure the paper towel with the glass cleaner is pressed against/around the spikes so it touches the little holes in them where ink is clogged

i do it once see if get a lot of ink on the paper towel

if i think it needs it i repeat until not getting any ink on the paper towel

if no ink on the paper towel then either you got all the ink or its just not going to work with this method

paper towel has to be reasonably damp with glass cleaner--but not dripping with it

I used a damp cloth with glass cleaner and I tried again, there is next to nothing on the page like 1/5th of each line makes it onto the page (Horizontally)

then guess this method might not help in your case

will have to try something different

http://www.inkguides.com/images/ink-cartridge-recycling-explanation.gif

This is printhead on this cartridge, There seems to be more colour ink coming out than black ink when cleaning.

well since thats not a cartridge that gets punctured the way i said not surprising glass cleaner didnt work

submerge the bottom 25% of it--ie the part with the print head--in boiling water for couple of minutes

then dry it off

 

[LightningsalesUK]

need too make sure the paper towel with the glass cleaner is pressed against/around the spikes so it touches the little holes in them where ink is clogged

i do it once see if get a lot of ink on the paper towel

if i think it needs it i repeat until not getting any ink on the paper towel

if no ink on the paper towel then either you got all the ink or its just not going to work with this method

paper towel has to be reasonably damp with glass cleaner--but not dripping with it

I used a damp cloth with glass cleaner and I tried again, there is next to nothing on the page like 1/5th of each line makes it onto the page (Horizontally)

then guess this method might not help in your case

will have to try something different

http://www.inkguides.com/images/ink-cartridge-recycling-explanation.gif

This is printhead on this cartridge, There seems to be more colour ink coming out than black ink when cleaning.

well since thats not a cartridge that gets punctured the way i said not surprising glass cleaner didnt work

submerge the bottom 25% of it--ie the part with the print head--in boiling water for couple of minutes

then dry it off

This is the result after the hot water treatment, more readable however still with lines through.
(http://i.imgur.com/jJ7H2Au.jpg)

Thanks

 

[LightningsalesUK]

need too make sure the paper towel with the glass cleaner is pressed against/around the spikes so it touches the little holes in them where ink is clogged

i do it once see if get a lot of ink on the paper towel

if i think it needs it i repeat until not getting any ink on the paper towel

if no ink on the paper towel then either you got all the ink or its just not going to work with this method

paper towel has to be reasonably damp with glass cleaner--but not dripping with it

I used a damp cloth with glass cleaner and I tried again, there is next to nothing on the page like 1/5th of each line makes it onto the page (Horizontally)

then guess this method might not help in your case

will have to try something different

http://www.inkguides.com/images/ink-cartridge-recycling-explanation.gif

This is printhead on this cartridge, There seems to be more colour ink coming out than black ink when cleaning.

well since thats not a cartridge that gets punctured the way i said not surprising glass cleaner didnt work

submerge the bottom 25% of it--ie the part with the print head--in boiling water for couple of minutes

then dry it off

I tried a second time and it seemed to have improved a little more, should I keep repeating every now and then until it works like it should?

 

[mcnumpty23]

need too make sure the paper towel with the glass cleaner is pressed against/around the spikes so it touches the little holes in them where ink is clogged

i do it once see if get a lot of ink on the paper towel

if i think it needs it i repeat until not getting any ink on the paper towel

if no ink on the paper towel then either you got all the ink or its just not going to work with this method

paper towel has to be reasonably damp with glass cleaner--but not dripping with it

I used a damp cloth with glass cleaner and I tried again, there is next to nothing on the page like 1/5th of each line makes it onto the page (Horizontally)

then guess this method might not help in your case

will have to try something different

http://www.inkguides.com/images/ink-cartridge-recycling-explanation.gif

This is printhead on this cartridge, There seems to be more colour ink coming out than black ink when cleaning.

well since thats not a cartridge that gets punctured the way i said not surprising glass cleaner didnt work

submerge the bottom 25% of it--ie the part with the print head--in boiling water for couple of minutes

then dry it off

I tried a second time and it seemed to have improved a little more, should I keep repeating every now and then until it works like it should?

if its improving keep doing it or leave it in a bit longer