I Believe my HP5000 is going in the dumpster

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  • henry finley
    Trusted Tech

    100+ Posts
    • Feb 2011
    • 101
    #1

    I Believe my HP5000 is going in the dumpster

    I hate to think it. It's been since 2003 that I got the machine to make my laserplates for my Hamada 700 printing press. It was used at that time. I really don't know how old it really is. But my print shop is gone after 31 years, and now I'm a realtor. Nobody needs print shops any more. The old HP could still be handy to me, but it just has too many problems. I could conceivably rebuild it and fix all its problems, but the death knell seems to be the plastic case--it literally falls to pieces that can't be glued. Just touching it makes something else break. Why did HP use such sorry plastic on such a good machine? It really breaks my heart to pick this thing up and go throw it in the dumpster. But I'm afraid its just too far gone.
    Tags: dumpster, plastic, print
    • Kiran Otter
      Service Manager

      Site Contributor
      1,000+ Posts
      • Dec 2013
      • 1093
      #2
      Re: I Believe my HP5000 is going in the dumpster

      You could pull some parts out of it and sell them on ebay, if you were so inclined. The printer is worth more in parts than it is as a working machine. But most of my customers who had them have finally gotten rid of them in the last couple years. Off the top of my head I can only think of about 2 left that are running.

      And yes, the cover plastic deteriorates. I don't think HP intended the printer to last more than 7 years, so I consider it a testament to their quality.

      Kiran

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        • blackcat4866
          Master Of The Obvious

          Site Contributor
          10,000+ Posts
          • Jul 2007
          • 22698
          #3
          Re: I Believe my HP5000 is going in the dumpster

          I liked these machines. It's just a LJ4000 that can print ledger. Most of the ones I serviced are gone now. =^..^=
          If you'd like a serious answer to your request:
          1) demonstrate that you've read the manual
          2) demonstrate that you made some attempt to fix it.
          3) if you're going to ask about jams include the jam code.
          4) if you're going to ask about an error code include the error code.
          5) You are the person onsite. Only you can make observations.

          blackcat: Master Of The Obvious =^..^=

            Comment

            • Kiran Otter
              Service Manager

              Site Contributor
              1,000+ Posts
              • Dec 2013
              • 1093
              #4
              Re: I Believe my HP5000 is going in the dumpster

              Oops, I assumed he was talking about a HP Designjet 5000.

              Kiran

                Comment

                • henry finley
                  Trusted Tech

                  100+ Posts
                  • Feb 2011
                  • 101
                  #5
                  Re: I Believe my HP5000 is going in the dumpster

                  Originally posted by Kiran Otter
                  Oops, I assumed he was talking about a HP Designjet 5000.

                  Kiran
                  No I was talking about the Laserjet 5000gn. I took the tray 1 guides off and could put out Baseline polyester laser plates at 12 1/2 x 19. I had this bootleg PPD (as far as I knew) that I dragged into the Pagemaker 7.0 program files called HPPPPlate. First I'd print out my plate, then I'd create a second layer with just a tiny mark in the margin. Then I'd hide the first layer with my print copy on it and put the plate back through by choosing HPPPPlate and Prorez 1200 in the print menu. That would slow down the feed and heat up the fuser above normal temperature and really bake the heck out of the plate. Those plates lasted every bit as well as metal plates. I used to clean them and gum them and put them back in the file for the next time the customer ordered that job. After 100 or so impressions, the plates would stop sliding down the chrome cylinder (causing me to stop the press and pull the image up a hair). Since my Hamada 700 was a single color, I had to print multiple passes. I even got by with 4 color process. I was a dirt-poor 1 man print shop. But that HP 5000 was my saving grace when I got it back in '03.
                  Now, it prints way too light. I've cleaned the laser and lenses and such, but to no avail. And once again the JetDirect card is no good. I don't know how many of them I had bought off ebay over the years. Yes, i've tried the baking and propane torch bit, but always ended up buying another cheapo off Fleabay.
                  The plastic housing and the trays are all busted up. It prints too light, and needs another JetDirect card again. I really would restore it if I could, but the plastic housing is as brittle as brittle can be. Anything more than a mere touch breaks it. It needs both top trays, feed and exit. A toner lid. And I don't know what the light printing problem is. And yes, genuine HP brand new toner cartridges make little to no difference. Golly I hate to toss this machine. It's the only thing left from my print shop. All my other equipment ended up as scrap metal.
                  But I'm not giving up my Nikons F, F2, and Nikkormat. Screw digital.
                  Regards, HTF

                  PS: I wont tell the saga of those 2 Konica C500's I had. If those posts are still on the site, it was quite an ordeal. But by the time everything was said and done, I unwillingly became a copier technician.

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