Questions about service and parts for my newly acquired C6095V

[AntonioBonomo]

Hi.  I have a PC with Windows 10 64 bit, and I'm hoping I won't have an issue connecting to the printer, so that's item 1.  The other things I'm trying to figure out is where I can get ink/dye, print heads, rollers, etc for this model (C6095V), and I'd like to know who to contact if I need local service.  It might be fine, but I'm going to need at least a couple of ink cartridges, if not all 6 (four still have ink but I'm not sure if they expire, and they were sitting in a basement for some time...), and two are empty.  Any help/direction is appreciated

[ShlomiL]

Hi,

Following your description I would suggest getting all ink cartridges and printheads in hand, following such a long period and a movement of the plotter following as well, Ink cartridges and printheads should be purchased from a local retailer.

Please visit the support page for your plotter and make sure you are logged in to your HP Account, then click Business Support >> Create a new case to contact the local support center which should be able to better direct you with any further steps you may need, or provide you any further service as you need:

https://support.hp.com/ca-en/product/hp-designjet-5000-printer-series/25300/model/28244

Regards,

Shlomi

[D Hook]

How do you plan to hook the printer up to the computer?

Also, how long has it been sitting?

And one other question; do you live int the States or elsewhere?  I ask because purchasing supplies can be different, depending on what country you live in.

[AntonioBonomo]

I'm in Winnipeg (Canada).  I had mentioned that in my question when I originally wrote it, but had to re-write it when registering, and forgot to reiterate it.  I am considering hooking it up via Ethernet, to my router, if it will work that way - it does have the connection on the back of the printer, so I'm hoping that will work.  I assume the system will think of my home computer as a Windows NT machine.  I don't know exactly how long it has been sitting.  I know that when I moved it yesterday, to get it home from where I acquired it, there was some blue UV ink / dye that came off onto my hand - the tanks are UV, so maybe that's proof that they are still working as expected, as it wasn't dry to the touch.

[AntonioBonomo]

Thank you - I went to the support pages but wasn't sure where to look first - I am just hoping there is some local support

[D Hook]

These are great printers.   Hooking up to the computer via  TCP/IP will work great and is quicker data transfer.  You can also access the Embedded Web Service that way (EWS) and print remotely and keep track of supplies and paper/ink usage.

You shouldn't have any problems finding supplies on Ebay for them and they're usually a lot less expensive.  As far as the expired ink, it should still be good to use.  Maybe tilt it back and forth gently before inserting the cartridges.  I've used ink that was over 10 years old and had no problems.  Seldom does the ink actually dry up in the lines unless we're talking 15-20 years of non-use.  Sometimes you can find deals that include a full ink cartridge and a new printhead in one package as it came from the factory that way.  Do a search on Ebay for "HP 83 ink" and you'll see a few from about $30 and up right now.  You can buy a syringe tool that will let you pull ink from the cartridge to the printhead through the tubes safely.  (See LPS Computer link below.)  This will help you confirm the ink lines are not clogged and you have good feed to the printheads. 

While the ink is probably just fine, you may have problems with the printheads since they really don't like being left unused as they have a tendency to dry out on the tiny nozzles.  You can try to bring them back to like using the cleaning function on the printer first.  If that doesn't do it, you can remove them and place the bottom in some very warm water and let them soak for a couple hours.  Use a small container like a cool-whip tub and place a paper towel in the bottom to protect the printhead, then put about 1/2" of water in the tub and gently set each printhead in the water.  You're only trying to get the bottom of the printhead wet, not the whole thing.  After it sits, take it out and set it on a paper coffee filter and gently dab the bottom.  Don't rub.  If ink flows you should see a couple lines of ink.  If not, repeat.  But you only want to do this AFTER you've tried the cleaning function in the printer so you know there is ink in the printhead to begin with.  You can try this a few times and if it doesn't work then you'll probably be looking at a new printhead for that color.  Don't be surprised it you have to replace all six.  Do NOT use the "Purge" function on the front panel.  This is only if you've replaced the ink system entirely and you have to have special dummy printheads in the carriage to carry out this function.  But once you've enter the "Purge" mode, you can't get out of it unless you buy and install the purge printheads.

The printheads are still available also on Ebay, or they were last time I looked.  If you can't find the UV supplies you could consider switching the printer over to using dye ink but that involves buying new or refurbished ink system made for dye ink.  You cannot mix dye and UV ink/printheads or ink supples.  A good source for this is LPS Computers (https://www.lpscomputer.com/).  They also have the service manual for this model that you'll need for replacing other parts and for good trouble shooting procedures and reading any error codes you might get.  I've probably bought 3-4 refurbished ink systems from them and have always been satisfied.  (No affiliation, just a satisfied customer.)  They're also happy to answer questions you might have.

I believe there are a couple other members on this board that may be able to access supplies but not certain and don't want to speak for them.

Another thing to look out for is hard drives and power supplies.  Power supplies are pretty ubiquitous and they fit all the 5000 and 5500 series machines.  Both new and refurbished are available and LPS will give you credit for your old one.  (Same for the ink system tubes.)  The hard drives are available also but be sure you specify whether it's a PS (Post Script) model or not.  The PS hard drive is different from the non-PS and they're not interchangeable.  There's a few sellers on Ebay that sell them new.  

I doubt you'll find any supplies on the HP website, though I've haven't checked myself for a few years now.

These printers are pretty easy to work on if you have the service manual and changing the ink supply system is something designed to be done by the owner.  But be aware you'll spend a bit on all new supplies plus the tubes and carriage head where the printheads sit.  If you're not afraid to get your hands inky (vinyl gloves highly recommended) it's an easy machine to refurbish.  Most major parts like carriage, encoders, circuit boards are readily available.

I've probably rebuilt about 7-8 of these and would be happy to answer questions if you have trouble.  Like I said these are great printers, make beautiful photo prints and line drawings.  I owned one for about 7 years when I was working and kinda' miss it.   Always glad to see someone try to put one back into service.

One other thing; you might be tempted to buy refill ink carts or refurbished printheads.  Try to avoid if possible.  The ink refills can take a toll on the HP printheads and cause problems with them.  And I've never seen a rebuilt or refurbished printhead work for more than a few weeks, if even that.  Try to stick to the genuine HP supplies it you can.

Good luck!

[AntonioBonomo]

I very much appreciate the highly detailed answer - I'll have to read it in its entirety more than once!  🙂  That's not a complaint - I am glad for the help.  I am blessed to have this printer, as someone was moving out of their home and wanted to be rid of it - it sat in their basement for years, and it belonged to their ex, so they had planned on just getting the moving company to bring it to the dump for her, and I got it for free, along with 4 or 5 rolls of media (including vinyl glossy paper, and stick back paper - haven't even looked at the others yet.  When I booted it up in the garage, a message came on about checking print head alignment, but I had just brought it in and put it down on a workbench, so I'll worry about going over everything at once, to see what needs tweaking/work.  It is not a PS model, it came with UV ink - and four of the cartridges feel pretty full (maybe I mentioned that in my first post?  sorry, I can't see it right now..)  Anyway, one of the feeder rolls is broken, but there are also some extra rollers in the box she gave me, so maybe there's something there I can sort out - it is still cold outside here, and the printer is going to have to sit in the garage until it gets a bit warmer, and until I get a chance to move it into my office in the house - it is 7.5' long, and 243 lbs, so I don't want to have to move it more than once!  I may be repeating myself, but I can't see my initial post - It will be a matter of getting the hardware I need to connect/mount to printer to the stand, and then whatever else I need to refurbish the interior ; I hope the print head thing isn't a big deal...  I believe it has a 4GB hard drive, or disk, whatever, and 256mb ram, so if I'm printing from my computer, using Lightroom or Photoshop, I shouldn't need more than that, I hope?   So many questions - so many things to learn - but so worth it, especially since I have the camera gear and knowledge required to get high quality prints, I just couldn't afford to print massive images before - and now, hopefully, all I have to do is invest some money into refurbishing this baby, and I'm golden.  Can you tell how excited I am?  

[D Hook]

Sounds good!   Once you get it in the house, be sure to let it get up to room temperature before you plug it in.  Maybe open the cover so warm air can circulate.

You can ignore the calibration error for now since you'll need to check over the ink system before trying to do any calibrations.  Let us know when it's in the house and warmed up.

Should be a 40 gig hard drive that came from the factory and yes, 256m memory.  Should handle your photos easily but if not, let us know because there's an easy workaround for that.

By "feeder rolls" are you talking about the paper spindles.  Or the little rollers that are on the bed of the printer?  When you get a chance, see if you can download the service manual for it.  Here's a link to the PDF:  https://tonerinkprint.com/5000-5500.pdf

And here's a link to the Owners Manual:  http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/bpp03370.pdf

It's not the best one HP has ever put out but it will help you understand better how the printer should work.

There's only 4 bolts that connect the printer to the stand.  If you don't already have a Torx screwdriver set you may want to pick one up since that's all that's used on most of HP's printers.  You might check the bottom of the printer because maybe, when they took it off the stand, they replaced the bolts in the bottom for safe-keeping.  If not, might have to pick up 4 bolts at the hardware store.

Once you get it warmed up and have the service manual you might want to check out the belt condition also.  

If you're going to do a lot of photo printing, you might want to try to stick with the UV ink and get it working as a UV printer.  The dye ink fades easily.  

[AntonioBonomo]

Thanks again for everything - I will keep the UV because I do plan on doing primarily photos, at least for now.  If things go well, maybe I can sell it as a service to print banners, but I don't want to get way ahead of myself.  I will definitely let it warm up once it gets in the house. I think we've had our last cold snap, so I'll be able to start moving tools back outside, from my office, into the garage, and then arrange the space for the printer.  It will be weeks, at least, before everything is ready, mostly because there is so much stuff to move and reorganize.  About the roller, there's one at the front, bottom, with a big hole in it - the plastic cracked, so maybe that's just an empty media roll. 

Oh, and it came with a wrench - I didn't look closely at it, but it must be a Torx (though I already had some of my own). I'll just have to figure out what size hardware I need.

I worked for HP (the computer side) in Kamloops, 20 years ago - I was in IT for ~25 years. I have a different 'job' now, but I'm pretty good with doing whatever needs to be done to get things running, hardware and software wise.  

When you said that the 40GB HDD will handle my photos, but if not, there's a workaround - do you mean that I have to upload the image from the computer onto the printer's HDD for it to print?  That makes sense, I'm just asking because my images are quite large, but I've never created an image larger than 2GB, and that was just because it was a TIF composite of multiple photos that I ended up exporting to a manageable size.

I got the impression that they didn't do a lot of printing with it, so I'm hoping most of the hardware is still pristine, though I know materials degrade over time, so they may still need to be replaced, even if they look great - I'll know once I get some test prints going. 

I'll post again once I get it into the house, after I've had a chance to follow all the steps of your advice. 

[D Hook]

When you get the driver loaded there should be an option to process the job in the computer instead of the printer.  I've printed some pretty large files on these printers and didn't have to use that option in the past but others have.  

Sounds like you've got plenty of resources for getting it working.  Let us know how you come out.