HP 890C printer problem

[bobster]

My HP890C printer will not print yellow. I have tried all the various
nozzle cleaning tests and have tried 3 different new genuine HP color
cartridges.

The test page always prints out with the yellow line and yellow blocks
blank.

At the low cost of new printers, I'm reluctant to take this 5 year old
printer to a repair shop but other than the yellow problem, it works fine.

I have reloaded the HP printer software and drivers to no avail.

Win 98
PII 300 MHz
320 MHz RAM
20 & 5 GIG HDs

Any ideas?

TIA

 

[Bob Headrick]

My HP890C printer will not print yellow. I have tried all the various
nozzle cleaning tests and have tried 3 different new genuine HP color
cartridges.

The problem is likely to be very old cartridges. Check the box for an "install
by" date, or if you do not still have the boxes check the warranty date (six
months beyond the "install by" date) as shown at the following:
http://www.hp.com/cposupport/printers/support_doc/bpa02014.html . If the
cartridges are within the warranty period then contact your dealer or HP for a
replacement. If the cartridges are beyond their useful shelf life replace them
with fresh cartridges which should solve your problem.

You can verify it is the cartridge and not the printer by carefully blotting on
a damp lint free tissue. You will likely see cyan and magenta (but not yellow)
stripes.

It may be possible to recover the cartridge by forcing air into the vent in
the back of the cartridge. Use the blotter to see which chamber is the
(missing) yellow, then with the cartridge held upright and a blotter over the
nozzles to prevent a mess carefully blow some air into the back or the
cartridge.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

 

[bobster]

Bob Headrick,

Voila! Your suggested "fix" worked fine!

I bought a 3 pack of cartridges from Costco over a year ago and did not
realize they had a shelf life. Apparently each one had the yellow nozzle
clogged as I have been able to get yellow by using the procedure you
suggested. Many, many thanks as I was about to go spend a couple hundred
bucks for nothing. BTW as you are an HP (stealth) employee, I would like to
pass on that my HP890-C printer has been a 5- year flawless performer until
this yellow clogging episode.

 

[Bob Headrick]

Bob Headrick,

Voila! Your suggested "fix" worked fine!

I bought a 3 pack of cartridges from Costco over a year ago and did not
realize they had a shelf life. Apparently each one had the yellow nozzle
clogged as I have been able to get yellow by using the procedure you
suggested. Many, many thanks as I was about to go spend a couple hundred
bucks for nothing. BTW as you are an HP (stealth) employee, I would like to
pass on that my HP890-C printer has been a 5- year flawless performer until
this yellow clogging episode.

I am glad to hear that it fixed your problem, and also about your reliable
DeskJet 890. Since it is 5 years old you may want to look at the instructions
at the following about cleaning the spittoon:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=bua02019
If you have done much printing over the years this is one area that may need
some preventative maintenance. Cleaning the spittoon is a rather
straightforward and should help you get another 5 years out of your printer.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

 

[bobster]

Bob Headrick,

Thanks for the tip on spittoon cleaning. Mine had a fair amount of black
sludge in it. Also, the bulletin on cleaning mentioned not to leave
cartridges out of the printer for more than 30 minutes without protection
over the nozzles or they would dry up. First I'd ever heard of that. It
was not with any of the literature that came with the printer or cartridges.
I fear I may have ruined 2 or 3 unused cartridges as I left the protective
tape off of them after trying them out in the printer. Oh well, they were
all well out of date and probably were pretty well dried up anyway.

Thanks again for you kind help.

 

[Bob Headrick]

Bob Headrick,

Thanks for the tip on spittoon cleaning. Mine had a fair amount of black
sludge in it. Also, the bulletin on cleaning mentioned not to leave
cartridges out of the printer for more than 30 minutes without protection
over the nozzles or they would dry up. First I'd ever heard of that. It
was not with any of the literature that came with the printer or cartridges.
I fear I may have ruined 2 or 3 unused cartridges as I left the protective
tape off of them after trying them out in the printer. Oh well, they were
all well out of date and probably were pretty well dried up anyway.

Just one more point - never try to reapply the tape to a color cartrdige, as it
is nearly guaranteed that you will induce ink mixing due to capilarry action
and thus ruin the cartridge. If you need to store a cartrdige outside the
printer for long periods of time put it in a tupperware container on a small
peice of damp paper towel making sure not to let the nozzles touch the sides or
top.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP