Need Ideas On How To Clean A Print Head Please

[Dipperman]

I have an HP Officejet Pro 8610 ink jet printer that is not working properly. I believe that the print head is plugged up with dried ink. My own fault for not printing regularly with the color ink. I hope that someone on the board has a method that works for cleaning the print head that they would share with me.

I have done a lot of searching on the internet and I am not too impressed with the ideas for cleaning the print head that I have found. I think that there must be a way to clean this without destroying it, but I have not found any ideas that do not contradict other ideas or information.

I have tried the print head cleaning process that is supposed to automatically clean the print head. I have tried soaking the print head in a mixture of warm water and isopropyl alcohol. Neither of these ideas did any good.

Thank you for reading through this, any ideas will be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Dipperman

[JSnover]

I've used full strength alcohol on some and contact cleaner on others but it was a while ago. I don't know if those are safe with modern printers (built in the last ten years).

[Jsm180]

The only fix I have found to work is to replace the print head. I tried soaking and scrubbing, alcohol worked best to dissolve the ink but didn't clear the clog. I only let it soak over night.

[n9tkf]

I have had some success with taking a syringe and injecting a small amount of 91% isopropyl alcohol through the vent into the cartridge.
Keep in mind some HP cartridges can detect this breach of the vent as a non genuine cartridge and disable it.

The best option is to replace it.

[Rapier]

When all else fails, watch for a sale, replace the entire printer with a new one. Most of the HP ink jet printers go on sale a couple times a year. Last time I had a problem with mine, in my home/office, I went to find a fix and just bought a new printer on sale with cartridges for a couple bucks more than a new color cartridge. More than one way to skin that cat.

[schutzen-jager]

home use only i have had 4 HP office jets in past 7 years + none have ever lasted more than 2 years - most have plugged up as soon as warrantee is up - tried both the water + alcohol fixes with little or no improvement - time for a new brand -

[bedbugbilly]

Like many above, I have tried alcohol in a syringe as well as other cleaners - with very limited good results. When we started spending the winter out here in Arizona, the first year I bought a HP printer and when we came back the second winter, it wouldn[t print. I tried alcohol - finally took it up to Best Buys in Tucson and had them take a look at it - at an over inflated price to be told that I needed a new printer. I replaced it, only to have the same issue with it two years later. In talking with others out here that are "snow birds", I ws advised to put the printer in a large garbage bag and put it in the refrigerator when we are not going to be here - evidently, the dry heat here will dry the ink on the head out (since the printer is nit being used for six months) and it is pretty much impossible to clean the head and get it working. Now, I do store it in the refrigerator and the last one I had to replace lasted something like eight or nine years. I now do the same with the sprinter we have back in Michigan when we leave to come out to AZ for the winter. I even store my ink cartridges in ziplock bag in the refrigerator until I need them. Just sharing that for those that may not be using a printer for an extene=ded length of time.

Unfortunately, it seems we live in a throw away society - and while I don't like having to buy a new printer, it seems to be the best solution sometimes wien on goes on the blitz when you compare the price of one as opposed to paying to have one repaired. If a person has the experience to work on one themselves - that's a different story.

[kerplode]

You can try to soak it in 91% Isopropyl (or 99% if you can find it). Isopropyl won't hurt the materials or electronics. Just flush it on there and let it air dry. Don't wipe it with anything or you risk damaging the nozzles. It might require a couple applications.

Now, that being said, modern ink jet printers are essentially disposable.

[MaryB]

Recycle it and buy a laser printer(works like a copy machine with toner). No color printing but no dried up print heads when you need it! When I was doing computer repairs this was the #1 failure people brought in to me. I would tell them get a new printer. By the time I replace print heads and the labor you are looking at $75+++. Now the bill would run around $125(my minimum labor charge is $100 now... yes it turns some people away *shrug* I am retired and don't want a bunch of little repairs sitting around! New computer builds, sure. Install a new O/S? Sure. Fix a printer? blech!!!)

[Cris T]

Recycle it and buy a laser printer(works like a copy machine with toner). No color printing but no dried up print heads when you need it! When I was doing computer repairs this was the #1 failure people brought in to me. I would tell them get a new printer. By the time I replace print heads and the labor you are looking at $75+++. Now the bill would run around $125(my minimum labor charge is $100 now... yes it turns some people away *shrug* I am retired and don't want a bunch of little repairs sitting around! New computer builds, sure. Install a new O/S? Sure. Fix a printer? blech!!!)

I use old printers that people discard. Been doing that for years. HP (especially) purposely designs their machines to have a limited lifetime, like others have said. If you want to futz with them a lot you can get them to keep working but it's a hassle. The one I have now is a Office Jet Pro 8710. The black head has the issue with skipping printing on the outside edge of the page. I did the syringe with pure alcohol thing and it worked about 70%. But it still misses a little on the edge occasionally. The way I deal with that is to always print with "best" quality selected. When doing that it prints very nicely.
But as Mary said ...The best thing to do is get a laser printer. They use toner (dry like a copying machine). You can get color ones but they are more money.
AND AGAIN the printer manufacturers play games to get your money. You have to do your homework. Many of these laser printers only hold a tiny amount of toner and they charge an arm and a leg for refills. HP especially. If you can get an old laser from a business that was made for high volume it is the best. I had one that would have probably never needed toner in my lifetime (black and white). But it was so old the newer computers wouldn't support it anymore. It is best to research on the internet for a good used commercial printer. You can often get them for less money than a new inkjet. They are usually pretty big though. You will need more room.

[Smoke4320]

This going to sound absolutely stupid (and I was told this on a service call to a ink cartridge MFG)
Soak the head in near boiling water for about 5 minutes reinstall as quickly as possible then print soon

[daengmei]

I worked in printing for a few years and letting ink dry caused many cleaning problems and this was industrial equipment. Once clogged a print head had to be rebuilt, off site of course. A home printer left idle, I've got one and know it's gonna test me, time to shop.

[DougGuy]

There are replacement print heads for the 8600 series printers on ebay, prices $30 to $55

Years ago I bought a Brother laser printer since all I ever print is b/w the demo toner cartridge lasted me 2yrs, and I replaced it with a new cartridge I think it was $80 from Staples, no issues since that been 4yrs ago.

I would never go back to an inkjet. The mfgrs have got you in the rabbit hole the first time you need ink. And they do NOT like aftermarket ink or the home user refilling cartridges, they design the inks to fail if you do it yourself b/c they can certainly detect that it isn't OEM ink in there.

Usually you can buy a whole new printer for the cost of the full array of inks.

[Handloader109]

Yep, just toss the cartridge and buy a new one. Hp will clog if not used fairly often, especially the cheap printers I've and 8710 that seems to be best hp ink jet in a long while. For my office, I finally had to put down my hp Laserjet from about 1998. It was a workhorse, but computers stopped seeing it. No USB was in existence then and I was using a parallel print to usb cable.
I bought a slightly used brother all in one laser that works great. Can get good scan to PC and prints well. Cartridges are cheap. I hate brother ink jets though

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[Snakeoil]

I've given up on inkjet printers. Everyone plugged up because I did not use it enough. I have laser printers now. Yeah, cost a bit more and cartridges can be pricey. But they can sit for years and still print a perfect page. And the cartridges do something like 40,000 copies. Mine are ancient HP units and I can buy cartridges dirt cheap on fleabay now.

[MaryB]

Yep, just toss the cartridge and buy a new one. Hp will clog if not used fairly often, especially the cheap printers I've and 8710 that seems to be best hp ink jet in a long while. For my office, I finally had to put down my hp Laserjet from about 1998. It was a workhorse, but computers stopped seeing it. No USB was in existence then and I was using a parallel print to usb cable.
I bought a slightly used brother all in one laser that works great. Can get good scan to PC and prints well. Cartridges are cheap. I hate brother ink jets though

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

I picked up a close out Brother all in one at Walmart 6 years ago... original cartridge went 3 years, replacement is still going strong... I will probably get another 3-4 years out of it before the drum unit goes bad. Double sided printing sure is nice!

[metricmonkeywrench]

Similar story here, it’s almost cheaper to buy clearance printers like cordwood than to keep up with the cartridges. About the time we get one that runs good the mfgr moves on to a “better” cartridge. Unfortunately mama likes to print pix here at home, so a photo quality printer stays around.

We also added a laser printer which is a workhouse for the house. Prints the first time every time