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Author Topic: PLEASE HELP! HP z3100 LG Head not printing? Maintenance Kit? Service in Toronto?  (Read 4706 times)

lenergy

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I have a 44" z3100 I have been using quite heavily for the past few years. I have had to replace the belt (on my own) and other than a few fussy things...it has mostly been smooth sailing considering the amount I have been printing. I use a bulk ink system to save money on ink.
Since I moved it to a new office the LG printhead is not firing. I have tried cleaning it multiple times. Taking it out and swabbing it.Nada. I replaced it with a new one ,and after the ink is used in the new head,(as it comes 'charged ' with ink) it stops working. I replaced the bulk cartridge with an original OEM just in case there was a problem with the ink cartridge.I ran a utility ink purge with some 'setup printheads' I picked up. Strangely the setup ink printheads would not all 'fill' with ink, even after multiple tries...and not JUST on the LG printhead nozzle but on a few others as well.
I think I have exhausted everything I can try..unless someone here has any ideas?
What is the "maintenance kit" I have heard about and where can I get one...pronto.
Does anyone know antone that services these printers here in Toronto? HP has been completely useless helping me with anything....as it is out of warranty and not a printer they suport any longer.

If anyone please has ANY ideas. I imagine servicing this printer may not be "worth it" at $250 an hour....especially if the fix is an expensive part.
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Ernst Dinkla

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Why not pull ink through the LG channel with a syringe on the head connector seal? Something seems to block that channel if I interpret your message correctly or it could be air trapped in that line and the head became ineffective in pumping.


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Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

Dinkla Grafische Techniek
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lenergy

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Can you elaborate a bit? I don't know how the tubes ,ink delivery exactly works. i bought some hypodermic needles as I was thinking I might "push" ink through from where the ink carts are to force any blockages. I suppose if I could visualise better how the ink delivery works I could avoid doing something stupid and damaging the unit thus making problem worse.
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Ernst Dinkla

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Pulling ink through the line is a safer approach than applying pressure, you will not exceed 1 bar pressure that way. There has to be a cart to keep the line filled otherwise you pull air into the ink channel. If you park the head carriage for a head exchange and take the LG head out you will get an idea how a syringe with a blunt needle may fit the LG side head connector, possibly with a tube between needle and syringe, Luer connectors. Or sacrifice one of the heads to make an adapter. Switch the power off at the backside of the printer anyway, it may take some time to do it right. I do not think there are valves in the ink channel that will block any ink flow you want to create with the "vacuum". I have used this method on a HP office printer to fill the lines with a quad ink and most of the parts from cart to head are very similar but shorter and smaller.


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Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

Dinkla Grafische Techniek
Quad,piëzografie,giclée
www.pigment-print.com
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lenergy

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Havent tried this yet. To be clear though...where is the "head connector seal".
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Ernst Dinkla

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If you look at an HP cartridge, the connector side, the side that plugs on to the ink channel in the cart slot, you will see something similar to the head connector at the other end of the ink channel where the head is connected on in the heads carriage. Between the two connectors at either end of the ink channel there probably is nothing else than a long tube. I doubt there is a valve in between. The basic ink supply is done by the membrane pumps in the carts themselves, actuators in the printer's cart slots push against the soft black rubber ball on the carts and a small disc valve inside the cart makes that a pump delivering ink when demanded to the head ink buffer.

You have used a bulk ink system with I guess third party inks. If that system does not have a pump system but relies on gravity only it could be one of the reasons you have that issue now. Probably an ink channel that does not have flow anymore. Third party inks that have a pigment settling faster than the OEM inks is another factor.

As written before try to pull ink from a cart through that ink line by using a syringe that pulls a vacuum at the head side connector. If the channel is blocked or has too much air in it you can solve it that way.

You have to do it with this information. Someone with some DIY skills will be able to visualise how it works and deal with it. Otherwise it may not be a good idea to do it yourself.

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Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

Dinkla Grafische Techniek
Quad,piëzografie,giclée
www.pigment-print.com
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lenergy

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Ok..I get what you are saying. Draw out air/ink where the printhead is. When I take out printhead, the carriage is over from the where it recieves the ink (I dont know the name for it). Would it not have to be parked in this station when I do this? Otherwise the nozzle is not attached to anything is it? I would have to take off case etc...no?
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Ernst Dinkla

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Are you kidding me? Never seen those thick tubes that run to the head carriage?  There is a continuous supply of ink to the heads at all times whether parked or printing. More than 12000 nozzles that need ink to print.


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Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

340+ paper white spectral plots:
http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
update april 2012: Harman by Hahnemühle, Innova IFA45 and more




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lenergy

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Oh right...gotcha. I thought it was an odd design...lol.
I seem to have no problem with the flow of ink on the light grey channel. It is,however , still not printing anything. It is a new printhead. Some of the others...it seems to be all the 6 inks that are on the rightside of printer, are also intermittently not working. I run a clean and get them working a bit...get one working and then another seems to be faulty. All the while the LG not firing at all.
I think im done with this printer...lol. Anyone in the market for a z3100 with inks,paper,bulk ink system, APS and...well...a few quirks that need to be sorted out?
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Ernst Dinkla

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In what way was that bulk system substituting the cart chips?  Could the failure of the right side have anything to do with some modifications done to the printer to overcome the cart chips checks by the printer?


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Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

Dinkla Grafische Techniek
Quad,piëzografie,giclée
www.pigment-print.com
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lenergy

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Got it all sorted. Must have been from the move. Ot it working except needs some heads replaced. Thx for the help.
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Ernst Dinkla

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The best way to thank me is by explaining what was wrong. Could help me and others in the future.


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Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

Dinkla Grafische Techniek
Quad,piëzografie,giclée
www.pigment-print.com
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