DesignJet Z6200 Ink Tube system | Can I manually clean/recondition it?

[ChrisQuinto]

I recently purchased a DesignJet 60" printer for some home hobby creative projects that I am doing. The printer has been off for several years while it was stored. While I get it all cleaned up, I was wondering how you might approach the In Tube System, which has old ink in there. Questions:

1. Can I keep the Ink Supply Tubes in there and do a "Refill Ink Tubes" under System Test Menu or does the  Ink Supply Tubes and Trailing Cable need to come out and reconditioned (including chemically flushed, replacing buna seals) 

2. How might you approach the task of cleaning the Supply tubes?

3. What is the recommended chemical (thinner) I should use to clean the tubes?

Thanks for all the help. I am also looking for on-line service support. Is there something through HP that I can pay for? 

[D Hook]

Couple of options.  You can purchase a reconditioned/refurbished ink supply system from LPS computers (https://www.lpscomputer.com/products/q6652-60125-designjet-z6200-ink-tube-system-for-60-plotters?_po...) and replace the one you have.  They'll give you $100 back when you send in your used one.  I've done this for other printers and have had good luck using LPS to replace ink systems in the past.  They rebuild the whole tube system and replace all the seals.  There's probably other companies that sell them but I've only used LPS so that's all I can speak to.

How long has it been sitting unused?  I've had machines that have sat for 2-3 years and had no problems with ink drying in the lines.  Usually it's the seals that dry out and will let air in to the ink system.  If you look at the tubes and see only solid color, there's a good chance the ink hasn't dried up.  I've never come across an ink system that's actually dried in the lines.  If you do decide to try cleaning the tubes, use only water because the ink is water soluble.  You'll need to remove the tubes from both ends, using a hair dryer to warm the tubes and gently pulling them off and rinsing them out.  Getting them out is not too bad but requires quite a bit of tear down.  Just be warned that there will be quite a bit of mess when you start down this road.  The first time I tried this I was wishing I had one of those paper disposable hazmat suit.  (Available on Amazon).

Using the priming feature requires you to purchase setup printheads first, usually can be found on Ebay.  If it was my machine, I'd try this route first before doing a tear down to remove the tubes.  Don't use the priming feature without having the setup heads available because once you get into the priming function, you can't get out of it until the setup printheads are inserted.

Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

[ChrisQuinto]

D Hook, I have researched and came across LPS to buy the ink tubes assembly. I may do that to avoid hassle. To answer some of your questions, it’s been sitting for about 6-7 years. I think there is dry ink in the supply lines. See pictures below, (unless I can’t insert photos in the chat on my phone. And will try to post from my computer tomorrow)

you said I should change the print heads first? I already have the supply lines removed as per the photos. I was going to clean the print heads, but do you recommend I buy those as well? Would it make sense to clean the heads first to see what I can get out of them before ordering new heads? 

[ChrisQuinto]

@DHook - I was able to attach the photos of the dry ink into my original thread above. One more thing…I’m kind of thinking that the air in the supply lines is pointing towards bad seals so getting the Ink Supply Tubes and Trailing Cable from LPS would be this wisest choice. Agree?

[D Hook · Accepted solution]

Yes, that's a good choice.  Replacing the lines would fix the seal problem that it appears is happening in the ink system.  Getting air into the printheads will ruin them.  The whole system needs to be as air tight as possible to prevent problems and seals are usually the cause.  Six to seven years of non-use is a long time and you're right about the ink drying out in the lines, judging from the pictures.  But even if you were able to clean the lines, you'd still have to deal with the seal problem at the ink supply station.  The new seals that LPS uses are better than the originals and less prone to drying out, IMO.

One other option is to buy the syringe kit from LPS that will let you pull ink through the lines to eliminate the air in the lines before putting in new printheads.  But if the seals are bad, you'll have the same problem down the road.  Having the syringe kit on hand anyway would be a benefit for trouble shooting in the future.  It works very well.  The new lines can be primed using the priming menu option but you'll still need the setup heads to prime them.  I looked at Ebay and they're available there.  LPS usually includes very good instructions for installing and priming a new ink system.  If you have any questions, send an email to LPS or call them and they can give guidance on the replacement option.  I've found them to be very helpful.

I would also plan to replace all the printheads when you install new ink supply lines.  Trying to just clean the old ones is usually a futile excercise in my experience.  Check Ebay for genuine HP printheads.  You can use expired printheads in these printers which will save some money but try to find some that aren't too old.  Four or five years from the expiration date will work fine.  I've used some that were ten years old and had no problems but newer is better.  (I was desperate.)   Don't bother with "rebuilt" or "remanufactured" printheads.  They seldom give good results.  Don't ignore the printhead cleaners or maintenance cartridge either.  The dried ink there can cause damage when it wipes the bottom of the printhead.  Replacement is best.  I believe this model came with a maintenance tray, which will be filled with dried ink probably but don't tip it, just in case the ink isn't dried out.  

Over all, this could be an expensive rebuild but when you get finished you'll have a practically brand new printer that should give you years of satisfactory results.   

[ChrisQuinto]

@ Dr HOOK:

This is all great info! I will order the supply lines today. I will get print heads and the maintenance tray as well. There's actually nearly no ink in the maintenance tray because the machine was nearly unused before it was stored. I may have mentioned that the original ink cartridges are all nearly full!  question, would you clean the printheads and see if they work before getting new ones, considering they've had little use, or just pick up print heads? I did get a syringe kt but I will plan to get one from LPS if they have one they recommend. Thanks for everything!

[D Hook]

It can be an expensive proposition to replace all the printheads since there's eight of them.  If it was me, I would try using the old printheads first, after priming the new ink system.  It won't hurt anything. If it was my printer, I would pull out the maintenance tray and take a look to see if there's any dried ink on it.  If so, you can try rinsing with warm water to soften up the sponges.  The reason I say this is because I THINK you have to have working printheads when you replace the maintenance tray because it shoots ink on the tray to mark it and those marks are read by the carriage to initialize the tray.  So using the old tray would be a way to get around that until you have all printheads working.  But you don't want it wiping the bottom of the printheads with crusty, dried ink because it can/will damage the jets.

If you decide to try to clean the printheads, you can use a small bowl, put a paper towel in the bottom of the bowl to cushion the jets, then add about 1/2" of hot water, about the temperature of coffee/tea and let them soak 30-60 minutes.  Don't fill the bowl with too much water to avoid getting the copper connection strips on the back damp.  Remove them and gently set them on a coffee filter or some other lint-free fabric.  You will be looking for two stripes of color to see if the ink is flowing.  Gently dab them off with the coffee filter, especially the copper connections on the back  and give them a try in the printer.  I would leave the power off until you have all eight inserted back into the printer.  (With the power off you can pull the maintenance tray out and then move the carriage out to access the printheads.  When you power up the printer, the carriage will move to the correct location over the tray, which is it's home spot.)

You can check the menu for the "clean printheads" function and let it do a cleaning on all printheads.  Then do a test print and see if you've had any success.  I think this menu has a "image quality" function so you can use this as a test, which will show you which printheads are firing correctly.  You might get lucky and see some of the printheads come back.  If they were nearly new you might see good results. 

Read over the service manual on the ink supplies section re: the printheads.  Others may have some other tips and hopefully will chime in with other suggestions.  Let us know how it comes out.

[ChrisQuinto]

@DR Hook

this is great. I will try this! Once the ink tubes come in and I can get them installed, and see if I have to reclean or buy a new print head. Thanks for all the great and timely advice! I’ll let you know!