OK
let's just expand this topic a little, since it raises some very interesting points. Charles says that the oil he purchased, complete with HP part number on it, is in fact 3-in-1 oil, that we all know and love so well from childhood. If this is true, then we don't need the HP stuff, just the oil which I purchased in our local hardware store ten minutes ago at £1.92 for 100ml in a smart little tin. On the other hand, if Charles is wrong, I could use this oil and have my very expensive printers sieze up and disintegrate and it would be all my fault, because I used the wrong oil.
Now then. Just to add smoke to confusion, as far as I am aware none of the printer manufacturers specify that the carriage rod should be lubricated at any particular time interval, or at all, ever. It would seem pretty common sense that after a while, whatever lubricant they put there in the factory would be used up, dry out, and the printer would start to destroy itself along its major mechanical axis. But no mention of this, anywhere.
So, okay. Does anyone out there actually lubricate their carriage bar? If so, what with? And have they ever had an inkjet printer fail due to lack of carriage bar lubrication? (And an official statement from Epson, HP or Canon might be reassuring).
Worried of Cornwall