How does an HP Printhead self-clean and what is the waste ink assembly?

This video explains how HP's waste ink assembly works. If a printer is not used frequently, ink can dry out and cause problems. HP designed a series of self-cleaning mechanisms. This video explains how they work.
Related Topics:
hp 8022 hp printhead failure hp printhead problem hp 8022 problem

[@danarepouille1381]

@BCHTechnologies I removed the peristaltic pump, disassembled it, and cleaned it. Now I have to remember how to reassemble it and reinstall it! I believe one end of the clear tube on the color side of the pump had disconnected itself, since I have not found any clogs in any tubes.
It is really amazing that such a tiny fault can prevent the printer from working, causing owners to toss them into the trash. In my case, the pump was not turning smoothly, causing the printer to display an error message, and prevent any printing.
Thank you for this video.

[@nextnext8902]

Thank you!

[@lukewilhelm356]

Thank you

[@danarepouille1381]

@BCHTechnologies Kevin, thank you so much! I watched this video frame by frame, and I was able to reassemble the peristaltic pump, and then reassemble everything. The repeated 0x61000048 and 0x6100004a error codes are GONE! My printers works again! It really amazes me how little HP Customer Support helps people. They just want to sell more printers.

[@Craig1967]

Hi Kevin! I have been looking forever on the internet for an explanation of how the print head cleaning works. I took one apart and figured it was vacuumed out, but did not go as far as figuring out where the wasted ink goes. Great video and explanation. What happens when the waste ink container fills up? Have you ever seen this happen, and what is the end result? Someone told me that HP inkjet printers have a predetermined number of cleanings it can do, and then it bricks. Is that true? Thank you again for your video, and your red premium cleaner works great! I can only hope that more businesses will take on your attitude about right to repair and E-Waste.

[@robertshreffler6155]

Me too! I see the pump, but without further disassembly, I do not see the waste tank. It must overfill eventually. I wonder is this why there is soo much goo below this sled?

[@speedboxx]

Thanks for this video! I was servicing some Brother inkjets to clean out the waste ink box and to my surprise, they have both a "flushing" box and a "waste absorber" box. Not sure what the difference is? The waste absorber box is connected to the standard vacuum cleaning assembly but I'm not sure what the other box does?

[@zo1820]

Hi Kevin. You are so helpful. Thank you. I have an HP 8035. I must have run the cartridges too low and the heads got clogged. I was suppose to receive ink when the levels were low but apparently it wasn’t detecting it correctly. The black worked fine before now it doesn’t want to work right. I was low on ink so I begrudgingly bought more cartridges to try and save it. 2 more levels of cleaning and I’m not getting much darker than charcoal grey. The colors are fine. Did I mess up the black print head…? 😫

[@Orlanzepol123]

I’m just curious… can running your ink cartridges too low clog your print head? I thought not running your printer 🖨️ often can dry the ink on the print head . That’s why I print a page at least every week of a heavily saturated color photo . I refill my cartridges myself on my hp 8020 so it’s very inexpensive to use lots of ink.

[@TheCasinetto]

Hi Kevin. I just saw your video and I believed this HP model is the same with my Printer HP 6510 "in Europe" uses cartridge 364. I appreciate it very must if you could give me hint how to reset my Printer. The ink has run out and replace them with used cartridge I did refill my self after I saw one of your video"Twin chamber refill" i believed that was 954 cartridge. After installing the said cartridge my Printer giving an error messages " Missing cartridge or damages" Again thank for any hint to solve the problem

[@MrMorisoh]

Hello, please assist me to know whether the pump system is the cause if this error 0x61011bed in hp officejet 7510, or else help me solf the problem

[@BCHTechnologies]

I think 0x61011bed is mostly associated with the carriage return movement. The malfunction capping station will certainly stop the movement and thus cause the error.

[@zsoltibitter8761]

And where does the waste ink go? is there any container for it? how is it possible that it never gets full? because there isnt any way to empty it. This confuses me.

[@robertshreffler6155]

He does show the waste tank, 2 of them. But about overfilling, let's hope he can answer in wabbit hole's post ABOVE

[@amandaripanykhazova1798]

Extremely clearly and well explained video. I also wondered about where the ink goes after someone commented on another video that turning an 8710 on its side will result in that waste ink going all over the place!

[@Orlanzepol123]

@amandaripanykhazova1798 if a dummy like me understood everything he explained then anyone should understand. I also thought my HP8020 would spill ink if turned on its side . I clearly had no idea how the cleaning mechanism worked until now. I was just very curious.