black ink cartridge gumming

[jim192]

i have an HP Envy 5530 printer. i use a Hp 61XL Black ink cartridge. the cartridge head collecting excessive ink. the printer is partially printing leaving horizontal lines of no ink throughout the printed page. i have replaced cartridges, i have cleaned the heads and printer receptor. it continues to have excessive buildup and skipped lines when printing. any suggestions?

[sandytechy20 · Accepted solution]

@jim192

Welcome to HP support community.

Clean the area around the ink nozzles

1. Gather the following materials:

   • Dry foam-rubber swabs, lint-free cloth, or any soft material that does not come apart or leave fibers (coffee filters work well)

   • Distilled, filtered, or bottled water (tap water might contain contaminants that can damage the ink cartridges)

        CAUTION: 

     Do not use platen cleaners or alcohol to clean the area. These can damage the ink cartridge or the printer.

2. Make sure the printer is on.

3. Open the scanner lid.

4. Open the ink cartridge access door.

   The carriage moves to the ink cartridge access area.

   Figure : Open the cartridge access door

   

5. Wait until the carriage is idle and silent before continuing.

6. To release the ink cartridge, lift the lid on the ink cartridge slot, and then gently push the lid back until it stops.

7. Pull up on the ink cartridge to remove it from the slot.

   Figure : Remove the ink cartridge

8. 1. 

      Lift the lid

   2. Gently push the lid back

   3. Pull up on the ink cartridge

      CAUTION: 

   Do not remove both ink cartridges at the same time. Remove and clean each ink cartridge one at a time. Do not leave an ink cartridge outside the printer for more than 30 minutes.

9. Hold the ink cartridge by its sides.

   Figure : Hold the ink cartridge by its sides

   

10. Inspect the ink cartridge contacts for ink and debris buildup.

       CAUTION: 

    Do not touch the copper-colored contacts or the ink nozzles. Touching these parts can result in clogs, ink failure, and bad electrical connections.

    Figure : Do not touch the contacts or nozzles

    

11. Lightly moisten a clean, foam-rubber swab with distilled water, and then squeeze any excess water from it.

12. Clean the face and edges around the ink nozzle with the swab.

       CAUTION: 

    Do not clean the ink nozzle plate.

    Figure : Clean the area around the ink nozzle

13. 1. 

       Nozzle plate - Do not clean

    2. Area surrounding ink nozzle - Do clean

    3. Ink cartridge contacts - Do not clean

14. Either let the ink cartridge sit for 10 minutes to allow the cleaned area to dry, or use a new swab to dry it.

15. Hold the ink cartridge at a slight upward angle with the ink cartridge contacts facing the rear of the printer, and then slide the ink cartridge into the empty slot.

    Figure : Reinstall the ink cartridge

    

16. Close the ink cartridge lid to secure the ink cartridge into place.

    Figure : Close the ink cartridge lid

    

17. Repeat these steps to clean the area surrounding the ink nozzle on the other ink cartridge.

18. Close the ink cartridge access door.

    Figure : Close the ink cartridge access door

    

19. Close the scanner lid.

20. Try printing again.

You can refer this HP document for more assistance:- Click here

I hope that helps.

If this helps, please mark the public post as an accepted solution so that it benefits several others.

Cheers.

[jim192]

I performed the cleaning as instructed. Doing so resolved the problem for about 5 printed pages. Then it returned as the ink cartridge began again to accumulate much ink on it's head and produced printed pages with streaks of missing text. Are there any ideas as to root cause of the gumming problem? (Cleaning the ink cartridge head every 5 pages printed is not realistic.)

thanks you,

Jim192

[Riddle_Decipher]

@jim192 Cleaning it every 5 prints is not a solution for sure, I suggest you follow the rest of the steps from the link attached at the bottom of the post,

If that doesn't help, consider upgrading the printer firmware: click here for steps.

If you wish to thank me for my efforts, you could click on "Accept as solution" on my post as the solution should help others too.