Smears/streaks and ink spillage on HP Z3200

[JulianH]

Hi all,
I have neglected my HP Z3200ps a lot over the last years and now it shows some problems that I can't solve on my own. Therefore I hope that someone of you can help me.

First of all, I had to replace all print heads, because despite countless automatic and manual cleanings, they no longer functioned reliably and colors sporadically simply failed completely. Likewise, I had to replace the carrier belt because it disintegrated.

So by now everything should be new, unfortunately the printer still doesn't work as it once did. Currently, dark streaks are forming on all papers in the front of the prints on the right side. At first I thought of the "Horizontal smears on the front of coated paper" issue from the manual. However, this also occurs with the HP Premium Instant-dry Gloss Photo Paper Q7991A, which should not actually soak that much ink. Also I am using paper from rolls only. Reducing the amount of ink on the paper did not improve it. What could be the cause of this problem?

Similarly, I have noticed that ink collects on the top of the printheads. Especially when cleaning the print heads. How can this happen? The sides of the printheads are clean. At what point can ink leak out here and why?

Thanks!
Julian

[Kyle D Jackson]

Hi Julian, hope in the months since you posted this you sorted things out. In case you didn't (or for others this might help), I suspect you most likely have ink residue buildup on the right-side servicing station that's getting onto the carriage and heads and then dragging it across on the edge of the paper. The best analogy for this is the cat sh*t on the floor and the Roomba tried to clean it up 

On the printer menu select the option to replace printheads. When the carriage moves over and it says to open the lid, turn off the power on the printer (rear switch by power cord). Then you can freely slide the carriage to the left and see into the right-side service area. You'll probably see gunk "everywhere". You want to wipe that up as much as you can. A bit messy but with patience you'll get it good enough. It doesn't need to be spotless (impossible), just getting rid of excessive buildup.

You can make it a lot easier to see/access by removing the right-side cover off the printer. This will also let you move the position of the service / capping station for a more thorough cleaning.

Also wipe any buildup off the bottoms of the heads (carefully!) and the carriage edges. Also check closely around the paper rollers at the right side, etc. Just make sure there's no ink globs sitting anywhere.

Check the left-side area as well, but it should be nowhere near as bad. Just make sure a glob didn't fall off the carriage somewhere over there.

After it's cleaned up you shouldn't have any more streaks like this.

Some pics from my Z3100... showing the right side cover removed, then the ink sludge on the servicing / capping station, and then the capping station after it's been cleaned.

Cheers!