Refilling HP Designjet CP series printers

[alx359]

Okay, was able to get the air out of the tubes in a few minutes, thanks to the method of @feedthisway on the first page. It works and it's quite straightforward! In his words:

By the way, I found I could get ink out of and into the CP cartridges using a fat syringe with the needle off - it was just right to depress the ball bearing and allow ink to pass - got to have a steady hand though! Also pretty hard to photograph, apologies admin!

I was able to make a couple photos of the process (have stained hands now lol). Really need a fat syringe because its head is quite different than the tiny ones:


The key part is to keep the head of the syringe tightly pressed to the tube nozzle. First push the head to open the vent of the tube nozzle and keep firmly to allow an air-tight coupling between both (use your belly as counterpoint )


In such a position one could get all air out of a tube in a matter of seconds. Then clean the syringe from all trapped air and inject the remaining ink back into the tube. Easy!

 

[alx359]

(Can edit the post above anymore.)
@AlienSteve: your approach looks more solid in the long-term indeed, but I have no idea yet where to buy such specialized medical supplies, and had a fat syringe to try that out at least.

 

[alx359]

(Sorry admin for talking alone).
Today, I finally turned the printer on. It's very quiet! Have a couple of initial questions to AlienSteve or someone with experience in this series:
- After some init noises, the screen stopped at "Missing ink system. Install -->" which is not there as I'm still waiting the arrival of the tool to clear the printheads. Would reaching this step imply that the hardware is reasonably working?
- During dis/assembly, noted there were 2 fans which do not seem to be working for now. Do they should work all the time (DJ130 fan does) or only at intervals when a T sensor says so?
Thanks.

 

[The Hat]

(Sorry admin for talking alone).

Carry on your doing just fine, we’re all here to learn and pick up tips ...

 

[alx359]

Just a final update: the printer's hdd crashed so with great regret decided it isn't worth the effort anymore and threw it away. Reworked the base though and it became a nice double-desk for other stuff. (Still have plenty of unclogged printheads if someone's interested to get them cheap.)
Thanks all posters for their help and see ya!

 

[AlienSteve]

Well, that's a shame. You didn't toss the print heads and such, did you? I'm interested.

 

[alx359]

No, as said I've saved them for someone like yourself. Contact me by PM to arrange how you could get them (mind I'm in Europe).

 

[decal dude]

Hi Im new here I just got a hp 3500cp will i need a xp operating system to run this printer or is there a way to get drivers for windows 7? Any advise on getting this old bird up and running would be appreciated

 

[The Hat]

The most convenient way to get an older printer to work under Win 7 is to power on the printer and connect the USB cable to the computer and wait, the O/S should pick up the printer itself and after a little time download and install the correct drivers from Microsoft.

This method has a high rate of success...

 

[PeterBJ]

If the Plug-and-play install fails, you could try downloading the Windows XP driver and install it under Windows 7 in compatibility mode for Windows XP. This method also works often.