Technical information

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f. Install ink cartridges and retest printer. You should observe a New PRINTHEAD alert message
followed by an approx. 4-minute preparation countdown prompt.
g. If permissible, activate the ‘Clean Printhead’. This can be done from the printer’s control panel
or software printer driver (for example, by selecting ‘Tools’ – ‘Clean Printhead’, or similar).
h. If you have reached this point of the troubleshooting and all the previous troubleshooting steps
did not work, then the printhead could be electrically damaged or at end of life* and may need
to be replaced. To check the electrical state of the HP564 printhead, perform the PRINTHEAD
Health Diagnostics Test procedure ( refer to Diagnostic’s pdf file at link below, refer to your
printer model for specific testing instructions: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1813 )
---- If you do perform the printhead flush we suggest you return to Costco and request a free refill (of all
cartridges) since a large quantity (i.e. >20%) of ink will be consumed whenever the printhead is removed
and reinstalled into the printer as the ink system needs to full reprime/recharge. We apologize for the
inconvenience here.
Non-removable PRINTHEAD Flushing Steps:
a. Remove suspect ink cartridge(s).
b. Take a damp towel and repeatedly blot/saturate the respective color ink port with water
(distilled water is recommended). Ink should be visible (fully saturated) on towel.
c. Place a paper towel under the PRINTHEAD assembly.
d. You’ll see a round mesh ink port where ink flows into the PRINTHEAD.
e. Thoroughly dampen the ink port with 0.5 to 1 teaspoon of distilled water (use an eye -dropper,
small spoon, or similar – pour or drip water directly into the ink port).
f. Remove towel from below PRINTHEAD.
g. Reinstall ink cartridge(s).
h. Activate the ‘Clean Printhead’ routine once or twice (2X) to see if the respective color(s) has
recovered.
6) Worst case scenario the PRINTHEAD may simply be damaged or at end-of-life and may require
replacement, but usually you will see error messages like "Incompatible Printhead" or "Ink Delivery
System Failure" when this occurs. Please note that a failure of the PRINTHEAD is unrelated to the
refilled cartridges as the PRINTHEAD will eventually fail in time*. For more information on the how
the PRINTHEAD works, watch the video here: http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1983
NOTE 2: A dirty service station can cause poor image quality and/or ink cross-contamination between
different colors. http://inkjet411.com/?page_id=1451 (564 service station cleaning)
* The HP 564 printer models have an electronic PRINTHEAD (most of which are customer replaceable)
within the base of the carriage assembly (responsible for pulling ink from the 4 (or 5) ink cartridges and
then firing the ink droplets onto the paper) – these will eventually fail depending on print usage type
and printer duty cycle (i.e. rated for max. of ~12,000 printed pages over life, but the average PRINTHEAD
life under typical consumer printing conditions is more in the neighborhood of ~6000+ pages, or