So in my ongoing battle to get HP to fix my Z3200 and their finding any way possible not to do so, one thing they said was "You have expired printheads. That's why you're having your image quality problems". Now I know with 99% certainty that this is not the case. I pulled a diagnostic image after the problem print, and it came out nearly perfect, thus showing that all the heads are firing on just about all nozzles.
Now it turns out that I *do* have replacement printheads. I laid in a supply when I bought the printer. When I went through my supply, though, I found that half of my unopened printheads had also "expired". So much for planning in advance and laying in a supply...
So my question is: what exactly does the "expiration date" mean on HP printheads? Do they really only last for about two years unopened? What happens to them after that?
From HP:
Here's the official answer:
"On the box is the sell by/ expiration date. Somewhere in very small print
on the printhead is either the expire date or manufacture date. If it's the
manufacture date then there is no other wording on it and the printhead is
good for two years after the manufacture date. If it's the expire date it
usually starts with that "expire or install by XX/XX/XX. If the customer
has installed expired ink it does not void warranty of the whole printer
just whatever components that comes in contact with the ink. Which is ink
cart, ink tube system and prnitheads. And also any image or color quality
issues are not guaranteed until fresh ink is installed."
How's that for corporate BS?
"We spoke yesterday regarding ink cartridges for the
Z3200ps. I was able to pose a question to a colleague that works on the
supplies side of HP. My intent was to address the question of why there
can be such variance in the dates published
on ink cartridge boxes. I’ve highlighted his explanation below.
The warranty policy for ink supplies (and hence “dating” policy on the
retail boxes) can vary by product. For the HP 70 ink cartridges, the
end of warranty date, and hence the warranty policy, is set to be 30 months from the date of
manufacture. Nearly all supplies warranty and dating are based on when
the product was manufactured. This is why there can be a varying date
on these products, and why the customer sees these dates
be quite disparate. Manufacturing is done in batches, at certain times
of the month or quarter, and then they are dated 30 months out. As
they move thru the supply chain and distribution channel, they can get
intermixed and this will result in this variance in dates seen by the customer. HP does not have a “standard” window of
guarantee (or warranty), but we do try to ensure there is at least 6-12
months of “usable life” remaining (most often way more than this), once a
customer purchases the supplies."
The warranty policy for ink supplies (and hence “dating” policy on the
retail boxes) can vary by product. For the HP 70 ink cartridges, the
end of warranty date, and hence the warranty policy, is set to be 30 months from the date of
manufacture. Nearly all supplies warranty and dating are based on when
the product was manufactured. This is why there can be a varying date
on these products, and why the customer sees these dates
be quite disparate. Manufacturing is done in batches, at certain times
of the month or quarter, and then they are dated 30 months out. As
they move thru the supply chain and distribution channel, they can get
intermixed and this will result in this variance in dates seen by the customer.
HP does not have a “standard” window of guarantee (or warranty),
but we do try to ensure there is at least 6-12 months of “usable life” remaining (most often way more than this), once a
customer purchases the supplies."
_____________________________________________________________________
Long and short of it is that no matter what the dates are, HP does not have to honor their Care Pack obligations if your print heads and Cartridges are expired.
("If the customer has installed expired ink it does not void warranty of the whole printer
just whatever components that comes in contact with the ink. Which is ink
cart, ink tube system and prnitheads. And also any image or color quality
issues are not guaranteed until fresh ink is installed.")
Since I have several Z Series printers, I have one under 5 year Care Pack Warranty and I keep all my head and carts current. I take the ones just replaced and put them in the next oldest printer not under warranty, etc.
At this stage of the game, I'm afraid you have to play the game their way without a lot of wiggle room since the product is a hair's breath away from EOL (End of Life).
They'll be sending out the new Z9's at some point.
You could just get new inks and heads and pull the old ones and save them carefully for when the printer acts up or is out of warranty. (Or sell on eBay).
But for now - you are stuck with their rules (which seem somewhat arbitrary).
Hope this helps.
Mark