HP Printer Problem

[Scott]

I have an HP 722C printer that's at least 7-8 years old. It's been a
real workhouse. I just installed a new black print cartridge. After
half a day, I started seeing light-colored horizontal bands on the
printed sheets. The black ink doesn't seem to go on as thick as
it always has. Also, the print head is pooling black ink on the head
(which is probably causing the lighter bands). When I clean it, it's
fine for awhile. Does this sound like the printer cartridge, or is
my trust old 722C starting to show it's age?

Thanks!
Scott

 

[Tony]

I have an HP 722C printer that's at least 7-8 years old. It's been a
real workhouse. I just installed a new black print cartridge. After
half a day, I started seeing light-colored horizontal bands on the
printed sheets. The black ink doesn't seem to go on as thick as
it always has. Also, the print head is pooling black ink on the head
(which is probably causing the lighter bands). When I clean it, it's
fine for awhile. Does this sound like the printer cartridge, or is
my trust old 722C starting to show it's age?

Thanks!
Scott

Scott
Almost certainly the print cartrdige, I suggest that you return it as faulty.
It is pretty unlikely that the printer itself would fail in that way
Tony

 

[Scott]

Scott
Almost certainly the print cartrdige, I suggest that you return it as faulty.
It is pretty unlikely that the printer itself would fail in that way
Tony

Tony,

Yes, that's what I thought, so I returned the cartridge to Wal-Mart. I then
went and re-purchased at Office Max. When I tried the new black cartridge, same
problem---black ink pooling on the print head, causing light printing. Color
prints fine. So that tells me it's the printer (manufactured April 1998).

Fortunately, about a year ago, I bought a used HP 722C on eBay, and I've kept
it as a backup. So I connected it, transferred the print cartridges, and all
is working well.

The question is, what would cause the black print cartridge to pool ink? The
only thing I've done differently lately on my old 722C is to run some four-fold
color brochures with glossy finish (folded in half--so it's double standard
paper thickness) through the printer to add some info to the brochure. I've
done this many times in the past with no problems. Could that have any effect
on the print cartridge? I've had the usual number of paper jams in the past,
also, but it hasn't seem to have had any effect on the printer operation or
the cartridges.

Scott

 

[Tony]

Tony,

Yes, that's what I thought, so I returned the cartridge to Wal-Mart. I then
went and re-purchased at Office Max. When I tried the new black cartridge,
same
problem---black ink pooling on the print head, causing light printing. Color
prints fine. So that tells me it's the printer (manufactured April 1998).

Fortunately, about a year ago, I bought a used HP 722C on eBay, and I've kept
it as a backup. So I connected it, transferred the print cartridges, and all
is working well.

The question is, what would cause the black print cartridge to pool ink? The
only thing I've done differently lately on my old 722C is to run some
four-fold
color brochures with glossy finish (folded in half--so it's double standard
paper thickness) through the printer to add some info to the brochure. I've
done this many times in the past with no problems. Could that have any effect
on the print cartridge? I've had the usual number of paper jams in the past,
also, but it hasn't seem to have had any effect on the printer operation or
the cartridges.

Scott

Scott I doubt that what you have done is the cause, nothing wrong with
reprinting if the paper feed can handle it.
I suspect the printer is telling the printhead to print at the incorrect time,
bad luck really. Glad you have a spare.
Tony

 

[Bob Headrick]

Yes, that's what I thought, so I returned the cartridge to Wal-Mart. I then
went and re-purchased at Office Max. When I tried the new black cartridge,
same
problem---black ink pooling on the print head, causing light printing. Color
prints fine. So that tells me it's the printer (manufactured April 1998).

Fortunately, about a year ago, I bought a used HP 722C on eBay, and I've kept
it as a backup. So I connected it, transferred the print cartridges, and all
is working well.

The question is, what would cause the black print cartridge to pool ink?

It is possible (but not likely) that there is a problem with the cartridge
contacts in the printer, causing the printer to operate the cartridge at the
wrong temperature. It is also possible that the service station has become
worn and is no longer properly wiping the cartridge. The service station is
the area to the right of the printer and includes a capping station and wipers
that clean the printhead. The specific part is shown in
http://partsurfer.hp.com/cgi-bin/sp...tspot=6&picture=DJ710C/4557931C&template=main
but it appears that it is no longer available. It is possible that the wipers
have become damaged or dislodged.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

 

[Scott]

Scott I doubt that what you have done is the cause, nothing wrong with
reprinting if the paper feed can handle it.
I suspect the printer is telling the printhead to print at the incorrect time,
bad luck really. Glad you have a spare.
Tony

Tony,

Yes, I suspect something has gone wrong with the internal electronics of the printer.
Since my HP722C is 7 years old, and I work it pretty hard 7 days a week, I'm not
surprised it's wearing out. In fact, I'm surprised it's lasted this long. The
spare that I have is very clean inside and appears to have very little use. So,
I'll just keep plugging along. The reason I like the 722C is that it prints to
DOS, and I have a DOS inventory/invoice program that I use constantly. It looks
like most new printers no longer print to DOS. Although, another computer I have,
a WinXP Pro model does print from DOS using a fairly new HP Photosmart printer
(I set it up for printer pooling). However, the text is somewhat lighter than it
should be, and there appears to be no way to adjust the darkness of the text.

Scott

 

[Scott]

It is possible (but not likely) that there is a problem with the cartridge
contacts in the printer, causing the printer to operate the cartridge at the
wrong temperature. It is also possible that the service station has become
worn and is no longer properly wiping the cartridge. The service station is
the area to the right of the printer and includes a capping station and wipers
that clean the printhead. The specific part is shown in
http://partsurfer.hp.com/cgi-bin/sp...tspot=6&picture=DJ710C/4557931C&template=main
but it appears that it is no longer available. It is possible that the wipers
have become damaged or dislodged.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

Bob,

Yeah, one thing I noticed when I swapped this printer out for a slightly used
722C that I bought on ebay is that my old 722C printer runs v-e-r-y quietly as
it prints, and the newer 722C is not noisy, but it has more noticeable mechanical
sounds. Can I assume that the quieter my HP has become, the more the mechanical
parts have worn down?

Scott

 

[Bob Headrick]

Yeah, one thing I noticed when I swapped this printer out for a slightly used
722C that I bought on ebay is that my old 722C printer runs v-e-r-y quietly
as
it prints, and the newer 722C is not noisy, but it has more noticeable
mechanical
sounds. Can I assume that the quieter my HP has become, the more the
mechanical
parts have worn down?

It is possible that things have worn a bit. They may also be getting coated
with a light layer of ink which can act as a lubricant.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

 

[Scott]

It is possible that things have worn a bit. They may also be getting coated
with a light layer of ink which can act as a lubricant.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

Yes, also, a couple of weeks before the old printer started pooling ink on the
print head, I found a pool of ink coming from underneath the printer. I cleaned
it up, and there was no more leakage after that. I wonder if it was the reservoir
from years of cleaning the print heads?

I had a similar thing happen to an older much-used Canon 610 printer. The ink reservoir
filled up, and I sent it in to have it drained. I suppose printers aren't supposed to
last that long

Scott