Expired ink and printheads

[13bestbuds]

Recently purchased used Designjet Z3200 ps 44" and it was in storage for over 6 months.  All of the inks are 3+ years expired and I am going to replace them all.  The machine works well but there are obvious quality problems with 4 colors.  My question is this....shall  I also replace all of the print heads?  They are all 1-2 years expired also.  I don't want to use the machine with old thick ink, but is it as critical  to replace the print heads?  Or shall I just replace those that are not functioning properly?  

[Valsimot]

Take note that there is also a amount of "old" ink in ink tubes between ink cartridges and the print heads, when you install a new printhead it will be filled with "old" ink some period before the new fresh ink comes to the printhead. The 3+ years of expiration isn't that long, I have seen older ink and printhead printing just fine.

[13bestbuds]

Spoiler

Thanks for the quick response.
You must keep in mind that I am a complete newbie, bought the printer on a whim  and up until I purchased this printer I have never even been in the same room with a wide format printer!!   The printer was stored in harsh extreme heat, then moved twice and stored in bitter cold.  It is now set up and I have built a temperature controlled room around it.   I have done several print head cleanings and each subsequent quality print out is worse than the previous. 
Shall I clean the bad test print heads manually?  
any advise you have to offer is greatly appreciated.

[Repairatrooper]

Have you gone through the normal PQ maintenance procedures? Often a couple of head cleanings will work wonders and six months in storage is not awful if unit was properly powered off before storage. As for expired or thick ink, I have never ran into this in properly stored devices as the system is pretty much sealed. As already pointed out, expired inks typically work fine, but HP does not offer the print quality warranty after expiry.

[13bestbuds]

Thanks for the heads up.  I have another ink cartridge that is "faulty " and the machine won't allow me to do anything ...no cleaning, no printing etc.  I have new ink ordered.   

Unfortunately the printer was stored in extreme heat and then in extreme cold for months and months.

Not having ever owned a large format printer or for that matter even been in the same room with one this is a learning experience.  

I have all software, firmware etc working great and should be able to get a handle on this machine especially with the support group to turn to if I get stuck.

Thanks for your reply and I will definitely keep in mind that "old" ink is still in the lines.