Follow-on for HP Deskjet 1220?

[Matti Partonen]

My old Deskjet 1220 finally stopped printing photos, thanks to HP's product
development.

For a couple of years, the only photo paper it has been able to feed has
been HP Everyday Photo Paper, because the backside of that paper was rather
coarsely textured. Today I had to buy a new pack, and found that it is
different than before(*). The backside is very smooth, and my printer cannot
do anything at all with it. HP does not service this printer in my country,
and sending it to Germany and fixing it there would probably cost more than
a new printer.

It appears that HP's follow-on for the Deskjet 1220 is today Officejet Pro
K8600. The reviews that I have seen of this printer have been somewhat
mixed, so if there are in this NG people who have actual experience of
K8600, I would like to hear those experiences. One particular point of
interest is the "rear feed" feature, which was easy and foolproof to operate
in Deskjet 1120 and completely broken in the 1220. Does it work in the
K8600?


For those that may wish to recommend printers of other manufacturers, my
requirements are:
(1) A3 size printing (but not much larger);
(2) excellent black text quality;
(3) good or excellent photo quality;
(4) booklet printing an absolute must;
(5) non-clogging printheads;
(6) operating costs not higher than those of the HP printers;
(7) oh yes, must be compatible with Windows XP.


Thanks,
Matti P.

(*) It was advertised as "fast drying". Some 3-5 years ago fast drying
papers were also fast fading. Is this still true?

 

[Arthur Entlich]

All inkjet printers tend to develop glazed paper transport rollers over
time, causing paper loading issues because the paper has coatings that
slowly transfer onto the rollers which makes them more slick or hardens
them, so they loss their traction.

There are a few fixes I can suggest, which I know work well with Epson
inkjet printers, and probably the other brands as well.

If you'd like to try to save your printer, email me and I can send you a
copy of my paper slippage manual. It is written for Epson printers, but
most of the info is probably useful for other brands.

If you would like a copy, just ask for the Paper Slippage Manual. It is
free, and I'm not spamming or selling anything.

Just email me at:

e-printerhelp(at)mvps(dot)org

(at) = @
(dot) = .

Art


If you are interested in issues surrounding e-waste,
I invite you to enter the discussion at my blog:

http://e-trashtalk.spaces.live.com/

 

[Al]

My old Deskjet 1220 finally stopped printing photos, thanks to HP's product
development.

For a couple of years, the only photo paper it has been able to feed has
been HP Everyday Photo Paper, because the backside of that paper was rather
coarsely textured. Today I had to buy a new pack, and found that it is
different than before(*). The backside is very smooth, and my printer cannot
do anything at all with it. HP does not service this printer in my country,
and sending it to Germany and fixing it there would probably cost more than
a new printer.

It appears that HP's follow-on for the Deskjet 1220 is today Officejet Pro
K8600. The reviews that I have seen of this printer have been somewhat
mixed, so if there are in this NG people who have actual experience of
K8600, I would like to hear those experiences. One particular point of
interest is the "rear feed" feature, which was easy and foolproof to operate
in Deskjet 1120 and completely broken in the 1220. Does it work in the
K8600?

For those that may wish to recommend printers of other manufacturers, my
requirements are:
(1) A3 size printing (but not much larger);
(2) excellent black text quality;
(3) good or excellent photo quality;
(4) booklet printing an absolute must;
(5) non-clogging printheads;
(6) operating costs not higher than those of the HP printers;
(7) oh yes, must be compatible with Windows XP.

Thanks,
Matti P.

(*) It was advertised as "fast drying". Some 3-5 years ago fast drying
papers were also fast fading. Is this still true?

If you can reach the rubber rollers by hand or with a rag on the end
of a screwdriver, clean them with naphtha(lighter fluid) or alcohol if
that's what you have. For more aggressive action, run some light
sandpaper through it on both sides and even hold it back a bit as it
tries to pull it through. Your's is not a problem that should mean a
new printer.

 

[Matti Partonen]

All inkjet printers tend to develop glazed paper transport rollers over
time, causing paper loading issues because the paper has coatings that
slowly transfer onto the rollers which makes them more slick or hardens
them, so they loss their traction.

There are a few fixes I can suggest, which I know work well with Epson
inkjet printers, and probably the other brands as well.

If you'd like to try to save your printer, email me and I can send you a
copy of my paper slippage manual. It is written for Epson printers, but
most of the info is probably useful for other brands.

Now, after some 20-30 runs of watercolor paper soaked with isopropanol
through the printer (and almost a bottle of isopropanol), no observable dirt
is coming out of it any more, but it is still not possible to use any photo
papers. At best the printer grabs the paper and pulls it a couple of inches
in, and the paper stops there.

As to the somewhat negative reviews of the K8600, it would appear that there
was a manufacturing problem that affected some units, so basically the
printer would seem to be ok. And the user guide says that the rear feed is
operated in the same way it was in the old 1120, so chances are that it will
work properly.

I consider switching to the K8600.

Matti P.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

You may wish to try using either rubber renewer, as described in the
manual, or slightly roughen the surface of the wheels with a fairly fine
grade of sandpaper/wet and dry, and see if that helps at all.

Other than that it is certainly possible a spec or tolerance wasn't
fully met in the manufacturing techniques.

Art


If you are interested in issues surrounding e-waste,
I invite you to enter the discussion at my blog:

http://e-trashtalk.spaces.live.com/