hp J6480 left cover hinge broken while changing cartridge. How could I replace that?

[DerLudwig]

Ditto on both the problem with not being able to open the cover fully from day one (I assumed it was a design flaw) and with the breaking of these silly plastic hinges holding a heavy lid on the printer.   I followed the advice of the person who describes removing the hinges, and the machine can at least function.   Missing from those directions, though is that after removing the hinge screw that can be reached from the back of the printer, there is a small plastic clip that needs to be pulled off when the lid is open to expose two the hinge screws that otherwise can't be reached.  

It is not surprising, but still outrageous that a piece of equipment like this is produced with a critical part that bears heavy weight and will be used frequently to be made from thin and fragile plastic that will predictably fail - obviously a design feature, not a flaw from HP's point of view, parted of the planned obsolescence (see Veblen) to keep HP and Best Buy in business.

[Pbroken]

I am going to attempt to glue a new hinge on the outside to see if that will help when changing cartridges. Because so many are breaking, {Content Removed: legal discussion}

I have HP printer that is over 10 years old and still works. If they could build them then to last why not now. Which means the new they where going to fail which seams to me to be a criminal act are design flaw. The least HP could do is replace the hinges. After taking the old one out i could replace it with a new one if i had one. All that HP would do is sell me another one printer.

[DerLudwig]

Everything is designed to have a period of utility, but this kind of flaw, whether purposeful or not, is just too stupid. I've seen similar flaws on cars where a glass sunroof is held in place with a plastic clip that costs a bundle to replace. We need better independent testing of devices and neutral reviews.

[Kenoray]

Unless both hinges are apart (as in broken) you can not place flat hinges on the case. swivel point of the hinge sits about 1/4 inch inside the case causing the lid to move in as it swivels upwards. If one is placed on the outside (say the right) it will cause the lid to **bleep** one sided binding on the remaining hinge. I used short tips for a screw gun and a 1/4 in wrench to turn it with. Tedious but do able.

[Cuteprinter]

I found this website after the same happened to me early this morning.  Both hinges broke.  I tried to remove the screws as described but after removing 3 screws, I couldn't remove the 4th because the screw top was already damaged and the screwdriver cannot turn it.  In fact, I found 2-3 other screws that wouldn't have come out.

From the posts, seems like my printer is pretty much done since I couldn't remove the screws and put the cover on.  Out of desperation, I thought I'll try force the cover down which of course would not work.  However, I did notice the bottom hinges had some give.  Upon closer inspection, the bottom hinge is actually 2 pieces - a sort of rolling pin thing inside a U-shaped trough-like piece of plastic.

So, took a normal thin flathead screwdriver and "popped" the rolling pin thing out and revealed 2 long metal springs underneath.  Took everything out and there's enough room for the top hinge to go in!  Repeated the same on the other side.  The cover can then be placed back on the printer and everything works again!  So, actually no unscrewing of anything necessary.

Yes, seems silly that the hinges broke but my printer is actually over 5 years so I'm not going to complain.  I wouldn't even have minded buying a new printer except last time I looked, the newer models don't have all the same functions this one has.

It's not a fix but it's ok, it's only 2-3 times a year I need to change the catridge and just have to be a little careful so not the worst that can happen.

[fmcd]

After removing what screws I could from the hinges (2 were stripped and couldn't be removed)  I used a medium sized set of pliers to beat/break off the stubborn hinges.  Plugged everything back in and now can use copier and printer again.  I enjoyed taking my anger out on the machine and the fact that it still worked after all that abuse actually impressed me.

[valerieroberts]

price of hing

[whatapiece]

You hit the nail on the head - "planned obsolescence". So tired of these corporations pulling this %^&*. And the bigger they get, the less competition there is, and the less each individual customer matters to them - people feel like there's nothing they can do about it, throw up their hands, and go out and buy another one. It's win-win for the execs and lose-lose for us.

[mommateeh]

I want everybody to know the same thing happened to me, the hinge broke when changing the ink, so HP should step up and replace. Obviously this is a defective printer that has this problem. Has anybody contacted HP about it. With so many people having the same problem, that goes to show you something is wrong with this picture.

Very disappointed.

[morhorsepwr]

I know its been 10 months since you posted this but mine just did the same thing and boy oh boy was I suprised when I did this search on hinges for this printer, but anyway after all of this time would you happen to know who you contacted for the replacement?  I am going to try the same route as I have done this for other items through Samsung as well as a few other companies and it went pretty smooth each time.

Thank you so much for any help

Kenny