Ink Cartridge Carrier will not move from right side. Cannot open top of cradle to install cartridge. How do I move it?

Hello jgw_cansdale,
Welcome to Fixya.com!
If the Ink light () is flashing that means one or more of your ink cartridge is low on ink, and if it's steady it means one or more is out of ink. For Epson printers, there are lots of ways to identify whether your printer is out or low on ink. For today let's just stick with the printer itself.\
Remember: A flashing means LOW ON INK, and a steady means OUT OF INK.
1. Open the scanner bed by lifting it up just like opening a brief case. By doing this you should now be able to see the carrier area this is the area were the ink carrier or ink holder moves left and right,
2. Press the Ink button. Now remember flashing means LOW and steady means OUT of ink.
If the Ink light is flashing, and you pressed the Ink button the carrier or ink hold will move under a small arrow just right above the carrier to point to you which ink cartridge is low on ink. pressing it again will point to another if you have multiple cartridges that are running low, if not it moves directly to the ink cartridge replacement area were you can pop the carrier's lid open to access the inks.
If the Ink light is steady, and you pressed the Ink button the carrier or ink hold will move under a small arrow just right above the carrier to point to you which ink cartridge is out of ink. pressing it again will point to another if you have multiple cartridges that are out of ink, if not it moves directly to the ink cartridge replacement area were you can pop the carrier's lid open to access the inks.

Regards,
Deathschythe33

These are the steps on how to install/replace cartridge(s) on Hp Deskjet 5550.

• Press the POWER button to turn on the printer.
• Open the top cover. The cradle moves to the center of the printer.
• Open the cradle latch.
• Slide the print cartridge out of the print cartridge cradle and discard it.
• Remove the replacement print cartridge from its packaging and carefully remove the plastic tape. Hold the print cartridge so that the copper strip is on the bottom.
• Slide the print cartridge firmly into the cradle. Ensure that the copper contacts of the print cartridge meet the copper contacts of the print cartridge cradle.
• Close the cradle latch.

If you need further help, let me know.

Good luck.

Thanks for using FixYa.

Removing an empty print cartridges Follow the steps below to remove an empty print cartridge:

1. Press the Access Cartridge button on the control panel. The cartridge carrier moves to the remove/install position. Figure 1: HP Fax 1040/1050 control panel 1 - Access Cartridge button
2. Open the control panel and cartridge compartment cover (it will click and remain open). Figure 2: Opening the control panel and the compartment cover 1 - Control panel 2 - Cartridge compartment cover
3. Pull the cartridge toward you until it releases from the print cartridge cradle and then remove it. Figure 3: Removing an empty print cartridge 1 - Pull cartridge towards you 2 - Remove cartridge from print cartridge cradle

Installing a new print cartridge Follow the steps below to install a print cartridge.

1. Remove the new print cartridge from its packaging and, being careful to touch only the black plastic, gently remove the plastic tape using the pull tab. CAUTION: Do not touch the copper-colored contacts or ink nozzles. Touching these parts can result in clogs, ink failure, and bad electrical connections. Figure 4: HP 20 print cartridge
2. With the cartridge compartment cover open, insert the print cartridge into the print cartridge cradle with the contacts facing into the unit. When the cartridge is seated in the print cartridge cradle, push the top of the cartridge towards the back of the unit until the print cartridge clicks into place. Figure 5: Inserting a new print cartridge 1 - Insert the print cartridge into the print cartridge cradle 2 - Push the top of the cartridge until it clicks into place NOTE: If the cartridge moves loosely in the carrier, it has not clicked into place. Repeat this step.
3. Close the cartridge compartment cover and control panel.
4. Press the Start/Enter button.
5. On the keypad, press 1 if the replacement print cartridge is new or 2 if the replacement print cartridge is old. NOTE: When you put in a new cartridge, you must choose 1: New .When you put in a used cartridge, choose 2: Used . This helps you to check the correct amount of ink you have left.

for more information follow the link:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00253364&tmp_task=useCategory&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=ca&lang=en&product=425911

1 - Open the top lid 2 - Open the ink cartridge carrier 3 - Shake the ink cartridges 4 - Unpack the ink cartridges 5 - Remove the yellow tape from each cartridge as you get ready to install it, but not before 6 - Install each color cartridge into its corresponding color slot pressing down all the way until it "clicks" 7 - Close the ink cartridge carrier 8 - Close the top lid
At this point the printer should charge its ink cartridges. Let this finish before using your printer.
Hope this helps!

Hi,

• Make sure cartridge is placed in properly,
• Re seat the cartridge and check.
• It should work

Please rate my response!!

Install the ink cartridges.

1. Turn on the printer.
2. Lift the top cover.
3. Open both ink cartridge cradle latches by pulling each latch forward and then up.
4. Pull the pink pull-tab to remove the clear tape from each ink cartridge. Do not touch or remove the copper contacts.
5. Insert the HP #57 tri-color ink cartridge in the left stall. Insert the HP #58 photo ink cartridge in the right stall.
6. Close both ink cartridge cradle latches by pushing down on each latch until it snaps into place.
7. Close the top cover and press the OK button to print a calibration page. This verifies that the print cartridges are installed correctly.

With printer on and connected to computer do the following:

Open top cover.
Fix top cover on open position, using the plastic sustain part located on the right side inside the printer.
Wait for ink carriage for taking position in the middle of the printer rail.
Open cartridge top cover.
Pull cartridge toward yourself and snap it out.
Do the same in reverse order to fit new cartridge.

Remember to remove cello tape strip from new cartridge nozzle.

Do alignment procedure after replacement.

Error 0502-Carrier Stall indicates a physically blocked carrier. This condition can occur for many possible reasons. Most often, the carrier is blocked because the ink cartridge lids are open while the printer is on (Figure 1).


Figure 1: Open Ink Cartridge Lids

Reseat the Ink Cartridges and Make Sure the Lids Are in Place

1. Make sure the printer is turned on.
   
2. Lift the printer's front cover.
   
   Note: The ink cartridge should be in the up/loading position unless the printer is busy.

1. Squeeze the tabs on the cartridge lids and lift the cartridge lids up. The cartridge pops up when the lid is fully lifted.
   
2. Remove the cartridges.
   
3. Make sure that all of the protective tape has been removed from the contacts on the ink cartridge.
   
4. Replace the cartridges.
   
5. Snap the lids closed.
   
6. Close the printer's front cover.
   
7. When prompted on the printer's LCD to choose New or Old, choose Old.
   
8. Press Select.

Note: For more information about reseating ink cartridges, refer to the Maintenance or Ink Cartridge Maintenance section in the Online User's Guide.

Back to Top
» Reposition the Encoder Strip

1. Remove the power cord from the printer.
   
2. Lift the scanner unit to expose the inside, where the printer cartridges are located.
   
3. Gently slide the ink cartridge carrier to the middle of the printer.
   
4. Gently move the top part of the printer belt to the right.
   
5. Using an index finger, gently push encoder strip (Figure 1) down and then back up, to get it back into the slot located on the back of the ink cartridge carrier.
   
   
   Figure 1: Inkjet Printer Encoder Strip
   
   
6. Gently press the strip first to the rear, and then forward, to ensure that it is seated correctly.
   
7. Manually move the ink cartridge carrier to the left, then to the right, to check the positioning of the encoder strip.
   
8. Once the encoder strip has been re-seated, close the scanner lid.
   
9. Re-connect the power cord to the printer.

Here is the procedure to change the ink cartridge

• First Press the POWER button to turn on the printer.

• Open the top cover.The cradle moves to the center of the printer.Open the cradle latch.

• Slide the print cartridge out of the print cartridge cradle and discard it.

• Remove the replacement print cartridge from its packaging and carefully remove the plastic tape. Hold the print cartridge so that the copper strip is on the bottom
  

• Slide the print cartridge firmly into the cradle. Ensure that the copper contacts the print cartridge meet the copper contacts of the print cartridge cradle

• Close the cradle latch.

• Verify white paper is loaded in the printer, then close the top cover. The printer automatically prints a calibration page for optimum print quality.

good luck:-)

There could be 4 possibilities.

1. Ink cartridges lids are open which is not allowing cartridges to move freely.
2. Ink cartridges carriage will not move from its original position(left) when front cover is opened
3. Encoder strip is Dirty.
4. Encoder strip is Out of position.

Solution:
1. Open the front cover and check if ink cartridges lids are properly snapped in.

2. Turn the printer off and pull out the power cable from power socket, open the front cover and manually center the ink cartridges carriage.
Clean the metallic rod inside the printer using WD40 or Kleenex from Left corner to right corner properly.

3. Cleaning the encoder strip:
a. printer should be off and disconnected from power.
b. open the front cover.
c. Using a dry, lint free cloth, pinch the encoder strip on the right-hand side of the cartridge carriage and pull your fingers across it toward the right-hand side of the printer and you can move the cartridges carriage to clean the strip completely.
d. Note: The encoder strip is a narrow band of clear plastic and can be difficult to see without direct lighting running parallel to metallic rod.
e. Close the printer and try again to print.

4. Repositioning the Encoder strip.
a. Remove the power cord from the printer.
b. Open the front cover.
c. Gently slide the ink cartridge carrier to the middle of the printer.
d. Gently move the top part of the printer belt to the right.
e. Using an index finger, gently push encoder strip down and then back up, to get it back into the slot located on the back of the ink cartridge carrier.
f. Gently press the strip first to the rear, and then forward, to ensure that it is seated correctly.
g. Manually move the ink cartridge carrier to the left, then to the right, to check the positioning of the encoder strip.
h. Once the encoder strip has been re-seated, close the scanner lid.
i. Re-connect the power cord to the printer and try again to print.



Incorrect position of encoder strip




Correct position of Encoder strip




Hope it should fix the issue.