Back from the dead... restoring an old inkjet printer

[Rob Mayercik]

Found myself an interesting little project last weekend:

While cleaning up my computer desk (used for my desktop system), I took a notion to pull out, dust off, and fire up the first printer I ever owned - a Digital (DEC) MultiJet 1000 inkjet.

<historical sidestep>
I got this thing back in '93 when I started college, as it was smaller and quieter than a DMP - the printer itself is only about 14Wx5Hx5D, and weighs slightly less than my 600. It had no built-in sheet feeder, but there was an optional one that I later acquired that allowed me to load up to 70 sheets of paper underneath it (printer docked onto the top of the unit).

Never had a lick of trouble with it, except for the rollers in the ASF module eventually losing their ability to grab the paper properly. About a year after graduating, I mothballed it in favor of a color DeskJet.
<end historical sidestep>

Anyhow, when I pulled it out this past weekend, I noticed that I had tucked the instruction manual into the sheet feeder (rather clever of myself, I thought), so I found a couple sheets of blank paper, plugged it in, and tried to run the standalone self test.

That worked nearly as well as I had hoped - the mechanicals seemed to come up and work flawlessly, but the ink cartridge (installed somewhere in 1996 or 1997) was so dry I couldn't even get dust out of it. I also tried the second ink reservoir that I had on hand (this particular print cartridge was also for a Multijet 1500 - it had a reusable head/nozzle module with replaceable ink reservoirs), and got similar results. Ok, no biggie, the nozzles are gunked up after all these years - I can always buy a new HP cartridge (DJ500 cartridges were compatible, though a shade too tall - thinking of trying the DJ340 cartridge (type 33) this time around, it's supposed to be identical aside from 10ml less ink reservoir capacity and thus slightly shorter).

The sheet feeder is another story, though - the rollers that do the paper grabbing appear to have started life as a blue-green color, but were pretty badly caked up with white dust from paper. I tried a rubdown with a damp sponge, and even pulled out the last of my inkjet cleaning sheets/solution. Neither was of any help. I tried drugstore isopropyl alcohol once on another printer with a similar problem, but it didn't seem like it worked all that well. The rubber doesn't appear to have gotten hard - there's just a LOT of dust on them, and it's not coming off.

I don't have much of a plan yet for this thing, other than getting it printing again - I have a nice color printer on my desktop, but thought getting this back up to snuff would be fun. It would be great for setting up as the default printer if I were to set up my computer as an incoming fax machine, or perhaps I'd move it upstairs for using with my 600, when I don't feel like lugging the laptop down to the basement (no, I don't have an in-home network). Of course, it would be infinitely more useful with a working sheet feeder. Drivers aren't a problem - it predates the dreaded "windows printer" concept, and if Windows no longer remembers it as itself, I can install the DeskJet Plus driver and windows will never know the difference.

So, any thoughts on what might work better on getting these rollers back into shape?

[JHEM]

So, any thoughts on what might work better on getting these rollers back into shape?

Howdy neighbor,

Don't laugh, but a short soak in clean brake fluid will restore your rollers to like new condition!

Alcohol is counter productive as it tends to dry out and harden the rubber.

Regards,

James

[GomJabbar]

I might have to give that brake fluid a try. I have an old HP Deskjet 500 that I use with my HP200LX Palm PC. The HP200LX has a serial port and likewise the Deskjet 500. I still print from my HP200LX to the Deskjet, but the rollers don't grab the paper too good. If I clean them in alcohol, it will work for a short time, but it doesn't last.

The HP200LX also supports printing via IR. But I really haven't seen any printers with an IR port. I guess they must have been made at some time.

[JHEM]

The HP200LX also supports printing via IR. But I really haven't seen any printers with an IR port. I guess they must have been made at some time.

My venerable Laserjet 6MP has an IR port, used to use it all the time until I put the printer on my WiFi network.

Regards,

James

[schen]

I'll have to give that a try as well. Although I haven't tried using brake fluid for that, I'm not all the surprise (I used to use it all the time to take paint off of models without hurting plastics).

I'll also have to add the the HP 5p/6p/2100 printers are AWESOME! They seem to be able to go on for ever with a toner cartridge and everyone seems to be constantly amazed that it has a built in infrared receiver (great for a household of ThinkPad users)!

[christopher_wolf]

My Uncle worked at IBM for quite awhile, and he also put the first IR port on an IBM desktop (I think any desktop for that matter, not completely sure); guess what was one of the main things they wanted to use it for?

Simply put; Print Jobs

Some sort of way to come up with a wireless office was the main goal.

Unfortuanately, it didn't seem like anybody much used it for that purpose per se; perhaps the sticking point was telling the printer manufacturers about the Grand Plan. I can't find too many printers out there like those HPs anymore. Nowadays there are more and more printers that would frankly be more efficient if they ground up dollar bills for ink and toner rather than requiring you to buy them every 2 weeks even for a low usage situation.

[Rob Mayercik]

Don't laugh, but a short soak in clean brake fluid will restore your rollers to like new condition!

Kinda hard not to chuckle, James - I'm beginning to wonder if the list of uses for brake fluid is getting as long as the one for WD-40!

By soaking, do you mean actual immersion? I have only gotten as far as pulling the cover off, and haven't yet figured out how to get the roller/axle assembly out of its plastic mounts without risking breakage. I'll try to take a closer look at the thing tonight to see if I can discern how to get it out, but as a backup plan, can I just "paint" the fluid on with a Q-tip or something?

I'm guessing it'll cut/loosen/dissolve the remaining buildup?

Thanks for the tip!

[Kyocera]

This is what we use, Rubber Rejuvinator.

I do networking for a copier company and this is some good stuff for old dryed out printer rollers.
If you are going to use the brake fluid put some on a rag and rub the surface of the rollers real hard, you should see dirt coming off on the rag.

[BruisedQuasar]

There are people who share your fascination with inkjet printers. Inkjet or bubblejet technology, and not the PC, is the supreme creation of the 20th century.

Some technologically savy physicians have recycled old inkjet printers to do some amazing things such as build artificial noses and such from skin cells in fluid immersion. Inkjet technology has been harassed with Fax & copy machine technology to send engineer 3D models of projects in development and a company sells an inkjet-fax machine altered to produce gaskets, among other things. The device is advertised with a full page ad in the back of most major computing magazines.

Jewelry designers have special bubblejet machines that print out 3D models of peices they are designing. Burn centers are beginning to use special inkjets converted to printing out skin cells to form live skin cell replacement tissue for burn victims.

[JHEM]

This is what we use, Rubber Rejuvinator.

Hold your breath when you do!

Have you read the MSDS for that stuff?

Xylene
Methanol
Mineral Spirit
Acetone
Isopropanol
Propane
Butane

Regards,

James

[JHEM]

Kinda hard not to chuckle, James - I'm beginning to wonder if the list of uses for brake fluid is getting as long as the one for WD-40!

WD-40 is a better starting fluid for recalcitrant engines than ether!

Doesn't strip the oil from the cylinder walls like ether and the propane propellant is an excellent combustion agent. Works on autos, lawn mowers, etc. and especially well on boat diesels when just waking them from their winter nap.

Just wet the printer rollers with the brake fluid using a Q-Tip or similar, let sit for a while and wipe off.

Brake fluid is also an excellent penetrating agent for freeing rusted parts, as well as a superior cutting oil on your lathe or drill press due to its tolerance for high heat.

Regards,

James

[Rob Mayercik]

Just wet the printer rollers with the brake fluid using a Q-Tip or similar, let sit for a while and wipe off.

Brake fluid is also an excellent penetrating agent for freeing rusted parts, as well as a superior cutting oil on your lathe or drill press due to its tolerance for high heat.

Regards,

James

WD40 is also good for drying out distributors and purging water from Jeep engines that have stalled by sucking water (not my rig, but seen it happen). I didn't know it was a penetrant - I have a can of PB Blaster for those jobs - but will keep it in mind. I will also have to remember that I can use it to lube my drill if/when I get around to buying and installing rocker panel armor for the aforementioned Jeep.

I'm still trying to get to doing this, but between a class I'm taking after work and doing my taxes (beware the ides of April, my dear Brutus), it's slipped down to the bottom of the priority heap. That, and I haven't gotten around to buying a new print cartridge yet (soaking the nozzles of the old one in hot water didn't work - it was too far gone).

I'll get to it eventually, though.

[Kyocera]

Hold your breath when you do!

Have you read the MSDS for that stuff?

Xylene
Methanol
Mineral Spirit
Acetone
Isopropanol
Propane
Butane

Well, it cleans the oils, toners and ink off of rubber rollers and belts. It does not bring them back to new condition, nothing does that, rollers need to be replaced in printers on a specified maintenance schedule, the very tiny rollers in small inkjet printers will probably last in the area of 10K prints.

Chemicals in paper, texture, and bond, all cause rollers to wear. Thinking that old rollers slapped with any kind of chemicals are going to bring them back to new is not reality. They will pull for a little longer then ultimately will fail. The chemicals in rubber rejuv clean and don't completely dry out the rollers like alchohol nor do they bring them back to new, nothing will do that not even cod liver oil. The key word is clean, rubber rollers wear away at the surface as they pull the paper through, the surface of paper is like sandpaper to rubber very rough, although to touch feels very smooth. Printers, copiers, faxes, anything that pulls paper through will need new rollers over time.

The chemicals in the can need to exit the can and a propellent much like any other spray cleaner is needed.

Click Kyocera, been doing this a while.

[AlphaKilo470]

After reading about these rollers, I look at the rollers on my 19 year old IBM Proprinter which has plastic instead of rubber (since it's a tractor feed dot matrix, not inkjet) and take note of the almost mint condition. Seems IBM really built this thing to last.

[JHEM]

The chemicals in the can need to exit the can and a propellent much like any other spray cleaner is needed.

That's what the propane and butane are for, they act as a propellant.

I was referring to the xylene, acetone and isopropanol when I cautioned you about inhaling that stuff Mike.

If your company supplies that stuff to you and hasn't shared and discussed the MSDS data with you, they're in serious violation of several labor laws.

Regards,

James

[Kyocera]

James, we are big boys Ever changed the brakes on a duece and a half? I have breathed much worse.

Seriously though you spray a tiny dot on a rag and rub the rollers clean, one can of this stuff will last a couple of years. You don't actually spray the rollers themselves or spray into the air. Thanks for caring

[tfflivemb2]

I was referring to the xylene, acetone and isopropanol when I cautioned you about inhaling that stuff Mike.

If your company supplies that stuff to you and hasn't shared and discussed the MSDS data with you, they're in serious violation of several labor laws.

Wow, James, between this post and the post about the contents of LCDs, are you sure that you don't work part time for OSHA?

Just kidding!

[JHEM]

Wow, James, between this post and the post about the contents of LCDs, are you sure that you don't work part time for OSHA?

Only part time, I train their trainers!

Regards,

James