photosmart C6180 will not start indicated print head failure or black cartage missing or defective

[Shane_R]

I'm sorry, but the printhead is not a replaceable part.  If it has gone out, you will need to get a new printer.

[rstef77777]

thanks for the come back on this problem.

The printer will finally boot up after many attempts and function properly. If left on all night if you try to print in the morning the print head failure message comes up and if you shut the printer off it will eventually reboot and function until the next morning.

Do you think this is a fatal problem and a replacement is warrented?

[Shane_R]

If you're okay with having to do that, then I wouldn't worry about it.  If you get tired of it, you'll have to replace the printer though.

[rstef77777]

Thanks again for the come back your input has been helpful and a comfort.

I have never had problems with hp printers before. The best printer I ever had was a photosmart 1000 but it was not compatable with my new vista 64 bit system so I had to change.

It is strange that the C6180 printer will indicate printer head failure one time and be operational the next. One would think that when it is broken it is broken and that is the end of that. Could this be a software problem?

Could after market ink be the problem? I am using some after market tanks.

You are right that restarts are a pain and I am considering a 7510 as a replacement. Any thoughts on this unit??

Thanks again

[Shane_R · Accepted solution]

Refilled inks can cause bad printhead problems.  It's always best to use new ink cartridges that are HP brand with HP printers.  The ink HP makes is designed to work with the HP printers, and refilled, or off-brand manufaturers, tend to use low quality pigments and mediums that can damage the printhead.  The 7510 is a good printer, but if you do a lot of faxing, you should look at something from the Officejet line.  The 7510 has eFax, which is free, but limited.  You only get 20 pages incoming and 20 pages outgoing per 30 days, so if your business depends on faxing, you're better off with something more like the Officejet 6700.  Other than the faxing part, the quality and efficentcy of the 7510 is exelent compared to older Photosmart printers.  If you print a lot of documents, I would go with the Officejet line again.  The Photosmart line is designed for photo printing, and print beautifully.  The newer ones use less ink per print than the older ones too, but when you compare the ink usage per print with an Officejet printer, the Officejet will beat the Photosmart by a lot.  The sacrifice you have with the low ink usage, is in photo quality.  The Officejet line cannot hold a candle to the Photosmart line when it comes to photo quality.  Hopefully that makes your desision a little easier now that you know more about the printer.

[rstef77777]

We went to Best Buy and looked at the 7510 and it looks like what we want our printing and photo loads are not that heavy.

We did find out that you can efax to a number rather than a web site which was news to the sales person who actually ownes one!!

I was in contact with HP tech service and was offered a deal for the 7510 @ $129.99 with free shipping and 2 years of warrenty. It also covers a return tag to send the old 6180 back to them. Sounds too good to be true but I will check it out again to close the deal.

Thanks for your help.

[Shane_R]

No problem.