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Thread: cleaning Hp Deskjet F4180 cartridge without solvents

  1. #1
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    cleaning Hp Deskjet F4180 cartridge without solvents

    Hp Deskjet F4180


    So my black cartridge is full (because I recently had an injection )

    and I used to do these color injections to save some money instead of buying new cartridges!

    the problem is now it doesn't print. Actually every now and then it prints something but the quality is so poor like those poor qualities that you have to clean the cartridge using the automatic process in the printer's property menu...I have done this several time but it doesn't still print...

    Maybe it has been dried out but how can I make it work again? some one told me to put some Windex on a Kleenex and let the head soak on it for a while and see if it gets any better...I did it for 2 minutes but it still does not print ...

    Maybe it wasn't long enough? I don't know ... do you guys have any idea please? I appreciate...

  2. #2
    Just Another Geek
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    Quote Originally Posted by boyboy400 View Post
    and I used to do these color injections to save some money instead of buying new cartridges!
    Which have now ruined your printer.

    And forget about claiming warranty, as soon as HP figures out you haven't been using their ink they're going to void the warranty.
    Oliver's Law:
    Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

  3. #3
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    windex is not always the answer.

    what you would be better of doing, is getting more of your generic ink, and doing repeated cleanings. The ink has to pull the crap from the head there is no other option on the size and scale you (as a regular user) live.

    If you were in a business that made and manufactured printers, you might have additional resources, including chemicals to flush through the head, but after the chemicals have gone through, you're still left with having to flush ink through there to remove any other chemicals' residue out.

    The alternative, is to buy a new cartridge, your choice generic or HP .. and if that immediately works, then you know your old cartridge is finally at its deathbed, and is time to let it go. If replacing it with a generic doesn't yield significantly better output, then you have to question if its the head, or the electrical path of the printer, the contacts that touch the back face of the cartridge, etc.. and if for no other signs of problem you find nothing else to go on.. its possible the printer has died in a way that didn't cause it to alert you to that fact.

  4. #4
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    Hi there boyboy~,

    I have an HP 940c inkjet that I have given up on for pretty much the reasons you have described. As I recall, the original HP cartridges worked OK until they ran out, but when I had them refilled they worked OK until they seemed to dry out.

    My conclusion was that refilling works as long as you print enough regularly, and keep the ink moving.

    It might be something to do with the formulation of the ink, but I would say that it is more likely the design of the cartridge itself. It is factory sealed when you get it from HP but when it is refilled they have to drill a hole in it, and this compromises its integrity by letting air in.

    I know absolutely nothing about the technology as applied to ink cartridges, but if I were designing one, I would look at a semi-permeable membrane and evacuate the ink chamber with an inert gas to prevent oxidation.

    I have never taken one apart completely, but I did drill an inspection hole in one and they seem to be filled with a stiff sponge like material a bit like that "Oasis" stuff you use for flower arranging.

    If the ink dries up in that stuff then it is game over, believe me!

    My advice would be to get an inexpensive laser printer....................I have just replaced the cartridge in my HP6L after 12 years...........and I bought the replacement cartridge with the printer!!!.............it works just fine again

    The domestic inkjets seem to have all the clever stuff in the cartridge itself, which is probably one of the reasons why they are so expensive? I would suggest that this means that you can't really screw up the printer itself by using generic ink..........just the disposable cartridge?

    Incidentally, I have been told by people who do much more printing than myself that the refill is only successful for a limited number of times. I would suspect that is because the absorbent sponge loses its properties over time and use?


  5. #5
    Senior Member Cope57's Avatar
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    I used to use rubbing alcohol to clean ink cartridges, but as it has already been stated that if the cartridge has been completely dry, the cartridge may be ruined, and purchasing another is due.
    Computers do not have problems, they have users.
    ~Cope57

  6. #6
    They call me the Hunted foxyloxley's Avatar
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    forget cleaning
    once you refill them, you go over the 'BIOS' [Built In ObSolescence]
    the way an inkjet works is by physically squeezing a tube at base of ink holder, to create the bubble, or by pressurizing tube, again, at base of ink to create the jet
    this is all done electronically, so although the cartridge can be replaced, the electronic C+C is in the printer
    the generic ink is NOT the same as the real McCoy, so has problems from day one, but the real issue is that the electronics can only make the tubes operate so many times before expiring

    either way, ink jet or bubblejet, they can only work so many times
    refilling is only a maybe option
    some cartridges will work once, others will work as new for 10 / 20 times
    but, likewise, some will NOT work at all

    best practice is the expensive one
    replace cartridges as and when they are empty

    if you don't do a lot of colour
    get mono
    if you only do a very small amount of printing
    get a mono laser

    these will stay print-able for years
    just power them up when needed

    just stop being feckin cheap
    it isn't worth it
    in long OR short term

    and yes, you HAVE invalidated the warranty
    and, yes, they CAN tell

    fortunately, the cartridges are self contained, so replacing them should clear issue
    but it might not, so be prepared to bite the bullet, and shell out for a new printer
    Last edited by foxyloxley; October 13th, 2011 at 12:00 AM. Reason: adding to post
    so now I'm in my SIXTIES FFS
    WTAF, how did that happen, so no more alterations to the sig, it will remain as is now

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  7. #7
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
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    if you only do a very small amount of printing
    get a mono laser

    these will stay print-able for years
    just power them up when needed
    I can certainly vouch for that!

    I have an HP 6P and 6L; both are over 10 years old and work just fine. The 6P still has its original toner cartridge in it

    To begin with lasers look expensive, particularly the cartridges, but they just last and last, probably 10,000 sides of A4 or more. In the long term they are much more economical than ink/bubble jets.

    The wet printers are a bit like Polaroid cameras. You got the camera at pretty much manufactured and shipped cost....................they made the money out of selling the film................. it's pretty much the same with wet ink printers.

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