HP Z 3200 take a chance

[dseelig]

MY last shto at one of these got pulled off for sale, this one has been out of ink for months and sitting unused, si thsi a danger I am worried about the print heads and ink lines being clogged. What do you guys think

[Mark D Segal]

I suggest you call HP Tech support and ask them what the risks are.

[Mark Lindquist]

If you call HP, ask if you can buy a carepack for the printer.  They will likely ask if it's in good working condition.
Probably you won't be able to.

So if you are handy at fixing things, here's some of what you might be up against in terms of doing your own repairs.

REPAIRING THE Z3200 PRINTER

I did it, but the one I had to work on most was given to me -- no money out for it.

It is possible to fix your own printer, but it takes time and effort.  A lot can be wrong, a lot can go wrong.

If you can buy it really cheaply, printhead replacement is cheap compared to cartridges.  The gamble is the lines as you mentioned.  I got lucky and a printer that had been sitting unplugged for over a year came back for me and is running beautifully today.

[crwoo]

i once got a Z3200 off craigslist that was unused for about 8 months and only one color printed from the test charts. I ran about 30 headcleanings and all was well. i would have been much better replacing all the printheads because the printer was still on the starter cartridges and i would have had a new printer instead one that ran 30 headcleanings.

[Phil Indeblanc]

Maybe someone can suggest a manual method of cleaning the print heads, as I too have a clogged head on MK, (this is likely less active due to only running with matte paper).
I was able to clear it TEMPORARLY with distilled water, amonia, and alcohol mix ratio respectively about 2:1:1. A few days later of no use, it is clogged again. I did a couple cleaning cycles on the 2 pairs of heads, and no luck clearing the MK.

Maybe you will need to soak the heads for some time?

I have read Mark's repair guide and it is a superb documentation of his process and other links with very helpful guides in maintaining/trouble shooting the printer.
I didn't come across any info on how to manually clean the print heads, or how the ink lines would be cleared. I have seen the oem lines for sale around $200 on ebay.

I have read someplace about wiping the heads and leaving the heads on a wet surface with cleaning fluid to really loosen things up.  In you case I think a few attempts at manual cleaning in solution, and printer head cleaning cycles would be a good start before you swap out all the heads for a new set.  Maybe taking a bright light up against the ink lines would help you see if they are dried up. You can likely give them a squeeze and see if they are hard or soft.

[Mark Lindquist]

If you MUST do it, here is a thread about it:

PRINT HEAD CLEANING

Printheads are cheap - 1/2 the cost of a cartridge - just buy it and save yourself a lot of headaches.

So again, if you must:

7 Ways to Clean Printheads

Some of the methods work, some of the time.

None of the methods work ALL the time.

Good luck -

-Mark

[deanwork]

I would print out a head test pattern from the HP driver and look at what heads are not not cleaning and just replace them. I personally would replace them all. I would assume that they are damaged with dried ink over that period of time.

[Phil Indeblanc]

Maybe replacing them all would be the way to go, after you try and revive them. Particularly see how the ink is in the lines. If at all dried up, you maybe ruining new print heads.

My MK print head was brand new, and in 2 weeks time from obtaining the printer I had a clog, and still do. I will be using a couple of the methods from Marks post to clear it before I replace it.
I had thought of ultrasonic cleaner, and glad someone else was thinking along those lines. The video and the other thread are great help.
I don't see mention of which solution for Epson is recommended. Is there a model or part#, or link?

One thing I want to clarify, and I might be able to do that by asking ...

If you select Replace Print head on the printer options in ImageQuality, will a paper you use need recalibration? I would think it doesn't, but does the internal process force this?
Also, what is a good way to have the carriage move into position for print head removal without forcing any actions?

[Mark Lindquist]

My MK print head was brand new, and in 2 weeks time from obtaining the printer I had a clog, and still do.

Yes, but how OLD was the "new" print head?

I don't see mention of which solution for Epson is recommended. Is there a model or part#, or link?

Can't clean an Epson  print head.  It's in the beginning of that video.

One thing I want to clarify, and I might be able to do that by asking ...

If you select Replace Print head on the printer options in ImageQuality, will a paper you use need recalibration? I would think it doesn't, but does the internal process force this?
Also, what is a good way to have the carriage move into position for print head removal without forcing any actions?

When you select "replace printhead" the carriage automatically moves to a central position to enable access.  It goes through a routine and requires some paper to print a chart to read and calibrate the new head.  You don't need to recalibrate and reprofile the paper.  It works best to have some glossy paper, particularly as the spectrophotometer can read errors more easily, and you can inspect the errors more thoroughly.

To move the carriage, open the window, then reclose the window.  As the carriage moves to the left, quicly open the window again where you want it to stop.  This works, and is handy for inspection, but I don't recommend it.  I recommend replacing the printhead from the front panel according to the prompts.

[Phil Indeblanc]

The ones in the printer are expired, but seller had installed all expired "new" set a couple weeks before I picked it up. (I don't 100% trust that, since he also told me it was a PS printer).
Anyway,
Why can't you clean an Epson printhead?...Sure you can...

One of the videos says the Epson solution works very good on the HP heads.  Not that important as making a solution to clean the heads is more "kitchen chemistry", not so hard.

I see, so just the print head gets a calibration, good to know.

[Damir]

Try this

[Phil Indeblanc]

That is a great guide. At least to understand the way it works.
Step6 says to add 4ml in each tank and go to step8...What is it expecting us to fill it with? If its ink, how do we get ink out of the ink cart? :-)

[Damir]

I don't know - I have this PDF but never use this procedure. 

[deanwork]

There used to be aftermarket empty ink carts available for the Z printers that you can fill with anything I believe. Do a google search. If they are still available you could put flush fluid in them to break any clogs in the lines, if you have clogs in the lines. If these lines are not exposed to air I doubt they are dried up. The down side of doing that is that you will have to flush all the flush fluid out eventually with real ink which will be a waste if you don't have clogged lines.

john

[Phil Indeblanc]

Most of these situations if not cleared without having soaking the guts in fluids leads to buying a new printhead. Since they are about $22-25, the time alone doesn't make sense...particularly when you have the time to wait for a printhead to be shipped to you. Since they expire it makes little sense to buy them for stocking. I'm not sure what causes them to expire or why, other than $, for HP wants people to use current date heads.  

There is even a $10-12 device/ebay you can buy with a split funnel and head cap with syringe to clean the head.
In a pinch these article will help greatly.Thanks!