HP cp1700 series color inkjet, faulty cartridges, maybe?

[Fordace]

Hi, Our HP cp1700 series color inkjet printer has been eating ink cartridges. They are new cartridges. They last about 4 days and then we get error messages, "replace Cyan, or "Replace yellow" cartridge.
This is a new problem, we have never had any problem with this machine until now.
In a time frame of 4 days, I had to replace 4 cartridges, but it's been good for a week now with no problems. All the Cartridges were brand new sealed units. I hate throwing away 160.00 worth of ink, they are still full. Is there a way I can use these? Or does anyone have a clue as to why this might have just started happening. We've had the printer for about 4 years with no problems.

Thanks in advance......Rich

[LaserSharp]

What does a status page tell you about the condition of the printheads?

[Fordace]

Not sure what you mean, I'm not a tech, but the lcd display just said "replace Cyan cartridge" and so on.....sorry for the lack of knowledge. I would replace the cartridge, close the cover and all would be well, for a little while.

[LaserSharp]

you should be able to print a information or configuration page for the printer...If you've had the printer for 4 years there's a good chance the Print heads need to be replaced...if they are not fireing correctly or worse..just letting ink seep out of them you could have problems.

[Fordace]

Ok, I'll look into that, can a power failure cause this glitch? We lost power here for a few hours, and the day after this started happening. It's been ok for a week now.....Thanks for the replies....Rich

[LaserSharp]

Power issues can do lots of weird things to printers...

[CanonHPTech]

Before you waste any more money on that, know that this model was always a junker. First off the cert test was nearly impossible to take just to be able to work on it (answers did not exist), when called HP for tech support (dealer support), got transfered to Compaq India tech support who were there to tell you to "insert the restore cd and reboot your computer", ony this wasn't a computer and it was business grade printer but somehow HP let their whole business inkjet line slip between cracks, and I had to service exchange a few of them only to get once back from HP that were in worst shape (broken parts, registration off, etc.) than the one I was sending back. The way it ran? Well, not sure. Most of the ones I saw were down. Messages like you are getting, error messages with no meanings in the manual or per tech support. Not to mention the service manual had absolutely no troubleshooting information in it. This machine was a huge mistake and it surprises me when someone on here actually still is running one. If you love it, buy a junker you can scrap from on ebay. Good luck.

[LaserSharp]

Well I will not dismiss the above post in anyway, although I have run across more than a couple clients with an attachment to these machines based on the amount of amount of money spent on them.

That said most problems boil down to problems with the printhead carriage assemble...or a broken spring on the ink bogos.