Using new HP printhead & starter Ink to fix error

[The-Mick7]

I own two (2) HP OfficeJet printers. An HP OfficeJet Pro 8600 Premium (machine I’ve used lightly on a daily basis in home office) as well as an HP OfficeJet Pro 8630 (backup for the 8600 that was used once few years ago and then shutdown with cartridges removed).

Experienced problem with 8600 not printing colors properly (blue and lime green boxes on unit’s test printouts show up very faded/light), so did several machine-based printhead cleanings & alignments to no avail. Removed and cleaned printhead unit with warm water & rubbing alcohol, reinstalled and get “There is a problem with the printer or ink System.”  Given it age and years of use, I suspected this printhead was due for replacement, so ordered new printhead and starter ink cartridges from HP (#  CR322A @ $160.45). Some questions:

1.            Do you agree that printhead is likely the problem here?
2.            Any chance this is a problem caused by an HP firmware update (Thought I blocked that option, but no longer certain)? To be safe, how do I revert back to an earlier firmware version?
3.           If new printhead and ink cartridges doesn’t fix the 8600’s problem, can I simply remove them from the 8600 and insert the printhead and starter cartridges into the 8630 and expect them to work in that machine?      

[Valsimot · Accepted solution]

1. Yes, very likely. Turning the printer OFF without ink cartridges installed can damage the printhead. It's explained in the user manual. 

2. No, the firmware update has nothing to do with your issue.

3. Those two models can use the same printhead, if the printhead is properly initialized you can swap them.

[The-Mick7]

Thank you Valismot!

[The-Mick7]

I received the new HP Printhead and starter cartridges, and since both my OfficeJets use the same printhead/cartridges, I decided to install them in the HP OfficeJet Pro 8630, making the newer model my everyday printer. That printer is now working properly.

Now I want to determine if a new printhead solves the problem I had with my HP OfficeJet Pro Premium 8600 unit. I have the following questions:

1. Want to take the new printhead and starter cartridges out of the 8630 unit and install them in the 8600 to see if that fixes the problem with the 8600 (described in original post above). Can I do that without harming the new printhead or cartridges? If so, what is the safe procedure for removing from the 8630 and installing in the 8600 so I don’t damage the circuitry in the new printhead (read to be careful of this) or damage the starter ink cartridges?
2.  If above confirms that the 8600 unit’s problem was the printhead and not some other problem with an old unit, then I’d like to test the 2 old, none-working printheads (one that as noted in original post above that I cleaned & the other that I didn’t) using the starter cartridges to see if they work.  Can I do that w/o damaging the starter cartridges?   What is procedure I should follow?
3.  If it turns out that the 8600 does in fact only needs a new printhead, then I want to keep it as a backup for the 8630.       What do I need to do to store this unit, the old printheads (if either works) and the starter cartridges so all will be ready to go when it’s need again?

Thanks for your help.