HP Photosmart 6510 Printhead Maintenance/Replacement?

[inkfunk]

Thanks for the best info yet. Sadly, still dead. Found enough black ink inside printer for several cartridges though. That's a # 10 torx. PS How do you get black ink off wife's microwave..??

[GRAMMYTEENCE]

I WAS ON THE PHONE WITH TECH SUPPORT THE OTHER DAY TO COMPLAIN ABOUT EXCESSIVE INK USAGE ON MY 6510.  I BOUGHT MY PRINTER ON MAY 11,2012.  THE PRINTER GOES THROUGH COLOR INK VERY QUICKLY.  BESIDES THE STARTER INK, I HAVE GONE THROUGH TWO SETS OF COLOR CARTRIDGES. I DON'T USE COLOR INK VERY OFTEN - I MAYBE PRINTED 10 4X6 PHOTOS ON NORMAL AND A FEW GREETING CARDS AND LABELS.  I MOSTLY PRINT DOCUMENTS USING THE BLACK INK ONLY SETTING AND DRAFT SETTING.  I THOUGHT MAYBE THE CARTRIDGES WERE BAD, BUT I WAS TOLD THAT THE PRINT  HEAD WAS PROBABLY NOT WORKING AND THE PRINTER WAS OUT OF WARRANTY FOR 22 DAYS.  I DIDN'T NOTICE THE INK USAGE UNTIL I WENT TO PRINT SOMETHING IN COLOR AND THE CARTRIDGES SHOWED LOW AMOUNT AND WOULD NOT PRINT PROPERLY.  SO I CALLED HP SUPPORT.  THEIR SOLUTION - PAY TO HAVE THE PRINTER REPAIRED OR BUY A NEW ONE AT A DISCOUNTED PRICE.  THE TECH DID MENTION THAT THE EXCESSIVE INK USE ISSUE WAS RESOLVED IN THE NEWER MODEL THE 7510 WHICH USES 564 CARTRIDGES.  IF THEY KNEW THERE WAS AN ISSUE WHY DIDN'T THEY NOTIFY THE 6510 REGISTERED OWNERS.  SOUNDS FISHY TO ME.  I WOULD LIKE TO CONTACT CORPORATE ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND SPEAK TO SOMEONE WHO IS IN THE US AND NOT INDIA.  BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW TO GET A HOLD OF SOMEONE BY PHONE OR EMAIL

[OrnahP]

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[GRAMMYTEENCE]

I AM GOING TO TRY THE CORPORATE OFFICESS IN HOUSTON.

[inkfunk]

Grammyteence, Still sitting here with a pool a black ink and my dead 6510...Did support offer a discount on buying a new 7510 or was it just for another 6510? If it's the 6510 only, I have a unit which I'll discount a great deal.

The Dec 12 Consumer Report shows the 7510 with an average monthly cost of $9.20 per month vs $9.90 a month for the 6510...So don't buy a new unit based on the ink savings.

[GRAMMYTEENCE]

IT WAS FOR THE NEW 7510 FOR $122.  I PAID $109 A YEAR AGO FOR MY 6510, AND SPENT OVER $100 FOR INK. THE BLACK INK LASTS, BUT THE COLOR INK GETS USED UP QUICKLY AND I DON'T PRINT IN COLOR VERY OFTEN.

[Sfish]

Schackbo I greatly appreciate that info. I am also just out of warranty and was beyond irritated to find that I couldn't remove the print head easily for cleaning. Definitely seems intentional on HP's part. I wasn't able to get it very clean with the swabbing method and went a step further by disconnecting the ribbons attached to the print head unit and removing the entire thing to run under hot water. After it thoroughly dried I reinserted everything just the way it had been (ribbons & two small springs), and snapped the print head back into place. Excitedly powering back on, there was no more ink failure message but I unfortunately received a carriage jam error for which there seems no solution. Everything is back into place exactly as it had been...I even disassembled and reassembled to make sure.

Like many others, I went out and purchased new ink attempting to solve the ink failure error. One thing is for sure, this was my first and last HP printer... What a waste of time, ink & money this thing has been for the past 14 months!

[MKJunke]

I can't agree with you more. Mine is 48 days over the warranty, replaced the black cartridge and whammo, no black ink. Ran all the tests recommended on here and still nothing. Customer Support says the printer head must be bad buy a new printer. Every forum I have been on has scores of people with this same problem, why can't they contact the users and let them know there is an issue like the auto makers do? IT'S A LEMMON!!! My biggest gripe is that HP cannot tell you WHY replacing an ink cartridge causes the printer head to fail. HOW DOES PERFORMING A ROUTINE TASK CAUSE A PRINTERHEAD TO FAIL?!!!! How do they NOT KNOW?! According to "Francis" even though it was printing beautifully until then it MUST have been already going bad. He also stated that they need to receive similar complaints from 5% of purchasers before they will research the failure.

To add insult to injury, my brother bought this for my daughter when she left for college last fall, he bought it because it was highly rated on Consumer Reports. He wanted something that would last her through college. My brother was killed in a motorcycle accident two months later, this was the last thing he bought her, she is going to be devistated that it needs replaced.  I'm not expecting this printer to last forever BUT it should last longer than 1 year and 48 days. We should not have to keep replacing printers every year. What a joke HP you should be ashamed.

[Ciara_B]

Hi MKJunke, 

I genuinely do appreciate your frustration. I presume you've already run a Printhead Clean & checked the vent area on the cartridge? (as per link here )

Can I ask approx how many pages per week your daughter printed?

There is one other thing, I don't if it'll work but it could be worth a try.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OjJDeRuJ10

Please let me know how you get on. 

Many thanks

Ciara

[DAVE-52]

Sfish, be sure the ribbon that reads the printhead as it travels is slipped back into the sensor on the back of the print head.

You have to lift the ribbon up slightly to get it in the correct place in the sensor.