The cartridge cradle of my 3820 is jammed…will not move from home position on the right. Any fixes?

It is indeed a shame but there is nothing you can do. If it's out of warranty HP will not offer you any solution other than selling you a new printer. Consider the whole episode a learning experience. See my last post in this thread. If you get a DJ 6122 the cartridges will not be a loss.

I once got blamed for a DJ 3820 konking out because I had recently worked on the system that used it.

I repair printers for a living so casually putting them in the trash it not what I抦 all about. I encourage people to have their 'old' printers repaired because I genuinely believe it is a better value than buying a new printer, unless they need different capabilities. Why do you think I spend so much time on this forum? My only compensation is the satisfaction of saving repairable equipment from the landfill.

All DJ printers will eventually need service. I regularly repair models that are approaching 10 years old. All they generally need is a mechanical 'tune-up', but if the electronics has failed, fairly rare, they are instant parts machines. People will not spend $150-$200 to repair a typical inkjet printer.

The DJ 3820 was made for a price driven market, i.e. the customer wants a 'deal' and the seller 'throws in' a cheap printer with the computer. All HP and others are doing is filling the demand and making a profit by selling short-filled cartridges. If you have an argument with the repairability and reliability, take it up with HP. All I know is that you can't repair them without parts and/or documentation. Check for yourself.
http://partsurfer.hp.com/cgi-bin/spi/main?sel_flg=modinfo&model=DESKJE T_3820

I have two of these at work with the same problem.

I've found the problem is caused a by broken gear which is failing to lift the cleaning carriage up to the heads.
As there are no parts availible, both of these will be going in the trash. I agree its a waste but I have to agree the best thing to do in this situation is trash them. It was bareley worth my hourly rate to take the cover off in the first place./quote]
[quote]”out of paper” is DJ serials common problem,under the one pick up roller, that small separation pad assy,clips come out,need re-lock it.You have to remove the pick up roller assy, and press the pad than re-plug the black piece(under the bottom).
should be fixed!

DJ3820,and HP FAX1230, these new models all save one motor in ink purge unit, one small stick combine with gear (driven the clean unit) so weak, the common problem is here!but hp no part number.cann't fix it.they are all exchange machine.

This is really f*@#ed. I've had this printer for just over a year (long enough for the warrenty to run out) and it's the same problem as everyone else. The cartridge is stuck on the right, but I can't move it around at all… so now I have to buy a WHOLE new printer?! This angers me beyond belief.

I have read all posts. We have a fairly strong commitment to th 3820. I puzzle why some will run for years and others fail quickly. My testing confirms a design weekness in the cartridge service unit that destroys the nylon peg on the final drive gear. After repairing one unit twicw and watching the peg be destroyed each time I suspected the electronics. However I took the unit repaired for the third time and placed it in a printer that had an been operating another unit with no problems. The peg was destroyed again. Not the electronics. It is a problem with the mechanism not necessarily the peg. If it is the peg, yet to be proved with an original gear assembly, then it must be very strong. Maybe HP made cheaper batches gears that fail. Some say there are no parts But I have a copy of an HP document that states parts will be available for five years after production ceases. These printers are made in Singapore and they are still on their web site, so perhaps they are still in production. Anyway parts should be available. Any comments ????

Here is my advice…

Want a printer that will last, you can fix almost every problem with it because there are detailed instructions supplied and you don't have to pay the earth for ink?

Buy an Epson printer… They are by far the best producers of inkjet printers and i have had one that has lasted for in excess of seven years with few problems.

Forget HP – all their products lack support, breakdown in about a year or less and have appalling spec. I repair no end of HP printers, scanners, laptops without being able to access any useful troubleshooting information.

I'll never buy another HP product again. Two years ago I purchased an 1100 laser, it shorted and caught fire, it almost burned down the garage.
HP sent me another, it quit working, they never reimbursed me for the damages. I purchased a 610, it failed. I returned it to HP, they sent me a 3820. The 3820 has now failed. No warranty. 🙁
*Good News! Last week while at the auto junk yard looking for car parts, I found an Epson Stylus 640 and a Stylus 800 all dirty and greasy in the back of a wrecked truck. I paid $5 for both.
I cleaned them up and bought cartridges, they work just fine. I can see the quality difference just by opening them up and cleaning them. I'm sold on Epson from now on. HP is basically cheap junk. 🙂

I finally reached the cog wheel – yep broken. Guess HP has to pay for the Compaq takeover somehow. So what inexpensive (not cheap) printer are we all going to buy to replace it?

Hey, wish I'd found this website before buying an HP 3820.This printer absolutely SUCKS! After 6 months, it suddenly won't take up any paper–the wheels just spin and spin, and the paper won't go through. What a flimsy, cheap, worthless toy.

Same problems here with HP Deskjet 3820. I had it about 9 months and the carriage went to the right and just stayed. Also, does not center when cover is listed. Tried all the fixes, same results. Followed some fixes on HP website, no success. Called HP support, told them I had followed all directions on HP website. They told me, of course, out of warranty. Wanted me to talk to tech support for $30 and said would fix problem, I told them no way. For a $60 printer, who in their right mind is going to pay 50% of cost of ptr. to talk to someone for a possible fix and/or then pay for parts and/or service. The guy I got at HP just did not seem to understand why I wanted no help. I thanked him for his time and then threw out the 3820. It's a shame and a waste of resources. I kind of liked the printer when it worked, but I was amazed at its short life. Yep, it's best to buy a quality ptr. Also, I noticed when I filled the cartridge myself, I got a lot longer life than with new HP cartridges. It seemed they were only partially filled by HP and sold as new. I actually have an Apollo P-2200 I put on my sys and it seems a lot better built than the 3820, although cost was about same. Some have told me the Apollo P-2200 was based on the HP 600. Too bad Apollo corp. is no longer around for low end ptrs.

as i actually understand your printer is not picking the paper at all, but it seems that printer seems to be working fine. ok i will give u the steps to a stand alone self test and then try printing. if it works then there is absolutely no issues and it will continue to work. however in case this test fails then printer needs to be serviced.
steps to self test:
1. Power off the printer.
2. Unplug the printer cable from the back of the printer. This is the
cable that connects the computer to the printer.
3. Power on the printer.
4. Press and hold the Power button through step six.
5. Press the Cancel button eight times.
6. Press the Resume button four times.
7. Release the Power button.
8. Connect the printer cable to the printer, after the diagnostic page
prints.

Examine the printout it will print a report
containing the printer model and serial number followed by four grids.
Moving left to right, the grids are black, magenta, cyan, and yellow. if it prints fine then no props otherwise u r welcome to the elite group of disabled hp printers.