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- HP Community
- Printers
- Scanning, Faxing, and Copying
- Ink cartridges keep drying out

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12-05-2019 11:24 AM
Hi,
I purchased a HP DeskJet 2630 printer and keep having to replace the ink in it as the sheets of paper coming out are faint in colour.
I use only the ink cartridges bought from the HP store online and have had to replace the ink twice with new cartridges with each time the cartridges producing faint sheets of info. The 2nd time I put in the newly purchased cartridges it did the same thing. The printer used to work perfectly fine when first purchased but no more.
Due to personal reasons I could not contact HP Customer Support before the printer warranty expired and am slightly frustrated as what to do with this issue now.
Could anyone give me a heads up as what I can do?
12-07-2019 03:09 PM
Welcome to HP support community.
Manually clean the area around the ink nozzles
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Gather the following materials:
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A clean, lint-free cloth or a clean, dry cotton swab
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Distilled or bottled water
CAUTION:
Do not use tap water because it might contain contaminants that can damage the printhead.
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Open the ink cartridge access door.
The carriage moves to the center of the printer.
Figure : Opening the ink cartridge access door
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Wait until the printer is idle and silent before you continue.
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Lightly press down on one of the ink cartridges to release it, and then pull the ink cartridge toward you out of its slot.
Figure : Removing the ink cartridge
CAUTION:
Do not remove both ink cartridges at the same time. Remove and then clean each ink cartridge one at a time. Do not leave an ink cartridge outside the printer for more than 30 minutes.
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Hold the ink cartridge by its sides.
Figure : Holding the ink cartridge by its sides
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Lightly dampen a clean, lint-free cloth or swab with bottled or distilled water.
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Clean the face and edges around the ink nozzle with the cloth or swab.
CAUTION:
Do not clean the ink nozzle plate.
Figure : Cleaning the area around the ink nozzle
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Nozzle plate - Do not clean -
Area surrounding ink nozzle - Do clean
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Ink cartridge contacts - Do not clean
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Wait 10 minutes for the cleaned area to dry before you continue.
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Hold the ink cartridge by its sides with the contacts toward the printer, insert the ink cartridge into its slot, and then gently push the ink cartridge until it snaps into place.
Figure : Snapping the ink cartridge into place
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Repeat these steps to clean around the nozzles on the other ink cartridge.
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Close the ink cartridge access door.
You can refer this HP document for more assistance:- Click here
I hope that helps.
To thank me for my efforts to help you, please mark my post as an accepted solution so that it benefits several others.
Cheers.
Sandytechy20
I am an HP Employee