HP J6480 Ink Loss

[grubin]

I've used this printer over the last two years very little -- less than 2 pages per day average.  Often it sits idle for several days, and the ink cartridge outlet dries, necessitating cleaning and testing from the Printer Toolbox.  I've recently stated turning the printer off when not in use, thinking that the print head would nest against a foam pad to prevent this.

I have never gotten much production from the ink cartridges, often less than 20 color pages with very little color in the field.  The cartridge store confirms that the color cartridge is empty each time it quits working.  A new (refilled) color cartridge was installed four weeks ago, printed five normal pages with some color (not photographs), was removed from the machine, recaged, and sealed in a ziplock bag while I was on vacation for two weeks.  Now I get only one color, even when wiping with a cloth.

There appears to be liquid below the cartridges within the printer.  Is it possible, or probable, that the ink is actually leaking from the cartridge when sitting idle in the machine?  Or is there another more likely explanation?

Gary

[Bob_Headrick]

What exactly do you mean when you say "A new (refilled) color cartridge was installed four weeks ago, printed five normal pages with some color (not photographs), was removed from the machine, recaged, and sealed in a ziplock bag while I was on vacation for two weeks."? (emphasis mine)  It is best to NOT remove a cartridge once it is installed until it has been depleted.  If you remove the cartridge the nozzles may dry out.  If you retape the cartridge or allow the nozzles to contact the edge of a ziplock the colors will mix, ruining the cartridge.  The best place to store open cartridges is in the printer.  Make sure you only turn the printer off with its own power switch, using an external power switch can result in the cartridges not being properly parked.

The area you see the ink is normal, this is the service station where ink is "spit" to keep the nozzles clear before and after printing.

For a third party study of refill/reman reliability see this study by Quality Logic.  The results are generally poor with refill/reman cartridges.

[grubin]

Hello Bob,

The cartridges that I've used have been refilled by Cartridge World.  After I complained that limited or no ink transferred to the paper after a day or two of idle time, they suggested that I remove the cartridge, replace the plastic cage which presses a foam pad against the ink dispensers, and store the caged cartridge in a plastic bag until I returned to use the printer again.  The logic was that, while in the printer, the ink may dry, causing my problem. 

I observed that, when the printer is off, a similar foam pad rests against the cartridge and functions in the same manner.  So I've taken to turning the printer off when it sits idle for more than a few minutes.  But the lost (or dried) ink problem still persists.  That's why I thought ink may be leaking from the cartridge.

If you are convinced that the ink in the well below the cartridge is normal, then the only remaining explanation is defective refilled cartridges, as you allude to.  My next diagnostic step, then, is to purchase factory new cartridges to see if it solves the problem.  If not, I'll be baffled.

Gary

[Bob_Headrick]

I would say it is very possible you have poor ink.  It is also possible your capping station is not properly capping the cartridges but this is not likely.

The capping station in the printer does not actually touch the nozzles, it forms a seal around the edge of the nozzle plate (and also provides a vent path).   If the foam actaully touches the nozzles it is possible to force air into the nozzle architecture which could deprime individual colors.  It is also possible in this case to cause color mixing between adjacent chambers.  This can cause permanant damage to the cartridge.

[grubin]

Thanks for your comments, Bob.

Does the docking seal around the cartridge, even when the printer is on, but idle?  If so, it gains me nothing to turn the printer off between uses.

The relatively new color cartridge in the printer now delivers only magenta ink.  Even when I wipe the nozzles with a damp cloth, no other ink flows.  If the liquid I see below the cartridge carriage is normal, the yellow and cyan inks must be dried at the nozzles or otherwise fouled.

At this point, a factory new cartridge is in order.  Do you agree?

Gary

[Bob_Headrick]

The capping station seals the cartridges a short time after the print job finishes.  I typically leave my printers on 24/7, they go into a low power state automatically where they use very little power.

A fresh cartridge should resolve your issue.  I would suggest not using the external pad to store the cartridges, the best place for a good cartridge that has been opened is in the printer.

[grubin]

Bob,  I thought that I had this issue solved by trying a factory new cartridge.  However, I just was told by a local printer tech that the HP Office Jets do not cage the print cartridge, and ink dry-out is a common problem. He said that later 6500 and 8500 series Office jet printers using the 940 series cartridges solve the problem by enclosing the ink delivery system, preventing air from contacting the ink.  You mention a capping station that seals around the cartridges, but he disputes this.

His recommendation was to dump this nearly new HP printer in favor of those mentioned above.  If that's accurate advice, it's quite disappointing.

Can you confirm or deny this tech's comments please.

Gary

[Bob_Headrick]

The "printer tech" is incredibly misinformed.  Every single HP inkjet design since the original Thinkjet introduced nearly three decades ago has had some form of capping to keep the nozzles from drying out.  It is possible in some cases for this capping mechanism to fail, but this is not common.

I would certainly suggest you find a more competent repair technician.