The Do and Dont's of Inkjet Printer Repair
What to do and what not to do!
Quick Fixes
For all your inkjet printer problems a basic tune-up as described below should or must be done first! 97% of all problems can be solved by a tune-up done properly and you can do it!
Be sure to lay down newspapers under your printer and wear rubber gloves to keep the ink off of your hands. You will need Q tips, Alcohol, Water, Rags , and Simple Green or 409. Oops and scotch bright pad for HP printers.
Lift up the printer cover. On HP printers the carriage comes to the center. For Epson you need to start your cleaning function and when the cartridges move
Unplug the machine. Be sure to unplug your machine. Safety first!
Now with the carriage and cartridges in the middle take a rag or paper towel
with 409 or simple green on it and clean the carriage shaft. Kind of floss the carriage so as to get the underside too. Start from the left and works around
Moving the carriage around and out of your way to get the right side.
Clean this till little or no dirt shows up on a clean spot on your rag or towel.
On HP printers locate the encoder strip. Using just water and a truly clean rag
pinch and wipe/clean the encoder strip. Be sure to do this well and be careful not to break it or pull it out. You have to be a bit gentle with this. You can do it!
Now locate your service station, this is located below where the cartridges usually rest when not in use. Use a lint free cloth that wont leave fiber. We need to remove the ink and fiber build up on and around the service station. Some HP service stations literally have a mountain of ink in them hitting up against the bottom of the cartridges and clogging up the nozzles. After cleaning you may still need to replace the cartridges. I recommend using Q-tips to remove the ink build up.
On HP printers you can remove the cartridges and clean the bottom of the cartridges with water and a rag. Just be gentle. Once you have the cartridges out take your rag and clean the underside of the carriage real good! (This is what causes funny streaks on pages). Ink and paper fiber create an unwanted paintbrush and as a result leaves unwanted streaks.
Now, the Paper pickup rollers; Use your 409 or simple green on a rag and clean the rollers. HP printers use the scotch bright and turn the rollers as best you can and rough them up. I will sometimes do this after I have the machine back on and turn the roller with the machines help to complete this step. Continue after this and clean the rollers. I will need to repeat this step a couple of times if a feed problem remains.
Special note for EPSON Service Stations; apply a few drops of Windex or ammonia to
the Service Station pad for both the black and color pads. If the pads soak up the solution
this is a good sign. If it does not just let it sit for 20 min. and repeat. If it does not soak it indicates a clog and it needs to be handled. (This is what can cause blank prints).
After this is done run your cleaning procedure for both colors at least 5 times.
I know this is a complete bore but it has to be done. It is either you or the repair shop.
Do’s and Don’ts
Paper feed problems:
Do: Put fresh paper in the printer.
Do not: Think you have or did, but did not. Just do it.
Do: Check your paper path for obstructions. I have found muffins, paper clips, leaves, pens, pencils, tacs, jewelry, paper, and some unidentifiable things in the paper paths of inkjet printers.
Do: When looking check from several angles so as to really look.
Do: Be careful if you feel you have to tip the printer not to tip it too much to cause waste ink to spill. (Waste ink is ink that the machine collects that does not go on the page).
Do: Clean the Paper pick-up rollers with Simple Green or 409. Rotate them the best you can.
Do not: Do not use alcohol. This will dry the rollers out.
Do: Use a scotch bright pad to rough up the rollers for a better grip. (Repair shops do exactly this). Note this is for HP Printers only!
Print Image problems and defects in quality:
1. Perform a standard tune-up as described above.
2. Perform a standard tune-up as described above.
3. Replace the ink cartridges.
4. Lets get some more help contact Tech Support.
Communications Errors: With out Error lights on printer.
Check Cables.
Restart Printer and Computer
Reinstall drivers.
Contact Tech Support.
Communication Errors: With Error lights on printer.
Perform standard tune-up as described earlier.
Replace ink cartridges.Contact Tech Support.
For all your inkjet printer problems a basic tune-up as described below should or must be done first! 97% of all problems can be solved by a tune-up done properly and you can do it!
Be sure to lay down newspapers under your printer and wear rubber gloves to keep the ink off of your hands. You will need Q tips, Alcohol, Water, Rags , and Simple Green or 409. Oops and scotch bright pad for HP printers.
Lift up the printer cover. On HP printers the carriage comes to the center. For Epson you need to start your cleaning function and when the cartridges move
Unplug the machine. Be sure to unplug your machine. Safety first!
Now with the carriage and cartridges in the middle take a rag or paper towel
with 409 or simple green on it and clean the carriage shaft. Kind of floss the carriage so as to get the underside too. Start from the left and works around
Moving the carriage around and out of your way to get the right side.
Clean this till little or no dirt shows up on a clean spot on your rag or towel.
On HP printers locate the encoder strip. Using just water and a truly clean rag
pinch and wipe/clean the encoder strip. Be sure to do this well and be careful not to break it or pull it out. You have to be a bit gentle with this. You can do it!
Now locate your service station, this is located below where the cartridges usually rest when not in use. Use a lint free cloth that wont leave fiber. We need to remove the ink and fiber build up on and around the service station. Some HP service stations literally have a mountain of ink in them hitting up against the bottom of the cartridges and clogging up the nozzles. After cleaning you may still need to replace the cartridges. I recommend using Q-tips to remove the ink build up.
On HP printers you can remove the cartridges and clean the bottom of the cartridges with water and a rag. Just be gentle. Once you have the cartridges out take your rag and clean the underside of the carriage real good! (This is what causes funny streaks on pages). Ink and paper fiber create an unwanted paintbrush and as a result leaves unwanted streaks.
Now, the Paper pickup rollers; Use your 409 or simple green on a rag and clean the rollers. HP printers use the scotch bright and turn the rollers as best you can and rough them up. I will sometimes do this after I have the machine back on and turn the roller with the machines help to complete this step. Continue after this and clean the rollers. I will need to repeat this step a couple of times if a feed problem remains.
Special note for EPSON Service Stations; apply a few drops of Windex or ammonia to
the Service Station pad for both the black and color pads. If the pads soak up the solution
this is a good sign. If it does not just let it sit for 20 min. and repeat. If it does not soak it indicates a clog and it needs to be handled. (This is what can cause blank prints).
After this is done run your cleaning procedure for both colors at least 5 times.
I know this is a complete bore but it has to be done. It is either you or the repair shop.
Do’s and Don’ts
Paper feed problems:
Do: Put fresh paper in the printer.
Do not: Think you have or did, but did not. Just do it.
Do: Check your paper path for obstructions. I have found muffins, paper clips, leaves, pens, pencils, tacs, jewelry, paper, and some unidentifiable things in the paper paths of inkjet printers.
Do: When looking check from several angles so as to really look.
Do: Be careful if you feel you have to tip the printer not to tip it too much to cause waste ink to spill. (Waste ink is ink that the machine collects that does not go on the page).
Do: Clean the Paper pick-up rollers with Simple Green or 409. Rotate them the best you can.
Do not: Do not use alcohol. This will dry the rollers out.
Do: Use a scotch bright pad to rough up the rollers for a better grip. (Repair shops do exactly this). Note this is for HP Printers only!
Print Image problems and defects in quality:
1. Perform a standard tune-up as described above.
2. Perform a standard tune-up as described above.
3. Replace the ink cartridges.
4. Lets get some more help contact Tech Support.
Communications Errors: With out Error lights on printer.
Check Cables.
Restart Printer and Computer
Reinstall drivers.
Contact Tech Support.
Communication Errors: With Error lights on printer.
Perform standard tune-up as described earlier.
Replace ink cartridges.Contact Tech Support.
posted by Webster @ 4:55 PM
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