How to correct a stopped HP print head

[hseeng]

I read somewhere there was a tip on refilling an empty HP 3 color cartridge
I have one of those HP 3 color cartridges where the 3 colors are all in one cartridge.
The yellow has run out about 2 weeks ago but didnt have time to fill it. I have the ink to refill it but I read that once the cartridge runs out of ink its done.
Is it true once it runs out of ink the cartridge self-destructs?

Does any one know of how to revive a HP cartridge where the print head is built in?
Soak it in something?
Run compressed air through it?

Any info or links would be helpful. Thanks

 

[Grandad35]

Running out of ink on a HP cartridge is usually the kiss of death, as it is VERY difficult to get the air out of the system. Here is a trick that sometimes helps, but usually only after a lot of playing around. Refill all 3 colors as per the usual instructions, but:
1. Inject a little ink back into the bottle before starting to make sure that all of the air is removed from the needle.
2. Insert the needle so that it reaches into one of the bottom corners of the sponge and inject about 1 cc of ink into the corner to help push the air out of the corner.
3. Insert the needle so that it reaches into the other bottom corner and slowly fill the rest of the sponge.
4. Clean the top of the cart and cut a piece of duct tape the same size as the original sticker that covered the holes. Position the tape so that the little depressions at the end of each air vent passage are uncovered but the air vent passages are covered.
5. After the cart finishes dripping, put it in the bottom of an old tube sock (that you don't want), with the print head toward the bottom. You may also want to place a folded paper towel under the print head to absorb most of the ink Go outside in an area away from anything that won't benefit from some ink droplets (including your clothes). Swing the sock in a circle for 20-50 revolutions as fast as you can (until your arm hurts). This will generate several "G's" and force ink down into the head as well as forcing air bubbles in the sponge to rise. Compressed air can also force the ink down, but it may damage the print heads. It will not have any effect on air bubbles in the sponge.
6. Put the cart in the printer and run the Clean/Clean/Prime series of procedures.
7. Try a test print of various colors (http://www.inkrepublic.com/members/nozzle/) to see if you have a good print pattern.

If these tests still show an air-locked cart, you can repeat the process (including refilling) or throw the cart away.

Even if you have a good printing pattern, top off the ink in the cart to replace what was lost during the previous procedures. It is important that these carts NEVER be allowed to run dry. I adopted a very conservative procedure of printing only 10 sheets of 8.5x11 paper on the high quality setting before refilling, and was able to get over 10 refills on a set of carts. Depending on what you print, you will only get 15-25 sheets on a refilled set of carts in any case, so dont push your luck. If you have several sets of carts, you can wait until they are all empty before refilling them.

All carts should always be stored in their upright position once the protective tape is pulled from the head of a new cart to prevent air from getting into the heads. Some replacement carts come with a storage cradle to make this easy. If the head actually touches something, it will wick ink out of the cart.

Running a print head without ink can cause physical damage (http://www.atlascopy.com/newsletters/Avoiding_Printhead_Burnout.htm), so it is possible that some of the nozzles may not function, even after all of this (as seen on the test patterns printed by the cleaning and head recalibration routines). If only a few nozzles are damaged, print some test images and see if you can see streaks in these images there is a chance that you can still use the cart if the damage is minor.

After struggling with refilling HP carts for 2 years, I finally gave up and bought a Canon printer (you can get a good printer for less than the cost of 2 sets of HP carts).

Hope this helps. Good luck!