IP3000 internal maintenance

[kanonvater]

I have my IP3000 torn down to clean the drain sheets. It finally started giving 8 amber flashes, and the EEPROM test print said the drain sheets were at 94.9%.

It creaks when it raises the printhead. Otherwise it's working well.

With the printing engine sitting on the bench, this seems like a good time to lubricate things.

What should I lubricate, if anything, and with what kind of lubricant? Or should I just leave it alone and put it back together?

ALSO: I sometimes get ink smears if I don't set "prevent paper abrasion" in the driver. Any cleaning suggestions?

Thanks for the advice!

 

[PeterBJ]

The service manual for the iP3000 doesn't have any info about lubrication, but the service manual for the mechanically similar iP4000 has info about lubrication. See pages 1 - 12 and 1 - 13.

I would try cleaning the underside of the printhead carriage with some kitchen or tissue paper wetted with a window cleaner with ammonia. Also check the underside of the printhead and if necessary clean it by blotting it on a tissue paper handkerchief wetted with a window cleaner with ammonia. To avoid scratching the printhead don't wipe it against the paper, only blot it.

The recommended lubricant is Floil KG107A which is difficult to find. A good substitute is Molykote EM-30L which is silicone free and safe for plastics.

The ink smears could be caused by ink leaking, so check that the cartridges are not leaking, for instance from overfilling or a defective sealing of the refill hole if you refill.

Have you seen this excellent instruction from druckerchannel.de?

 

[kanonvater]

Outstanding information! Thank you, Peter, that's very helpful.

Someone (perhaps you) has previously posted here a link to the druckerchannel.de guide, and that's what I relied on for disassembly. The process wasn't at all difficult, just messy.

I seem to have shrunk the top layer drain sheet, but there was almost no ink in its left side, so I'll just set it to the right. I didn't see any dealers offering new drain sheets for this now ancient printer, so washing them was the only choice.