Why I will never buy another HP printer again. L26500 nightmare

[spudstr]

It all started with the purchase of a new L26500 from grimco. It arrived ahead of schedule they got it up and running and all was fine.. except it was running in a maintenance mode.. This is when it all went down hill.

So now the printer keeps telling us to perform maintenance and to clean it.. so we do.. but the error wont clear. contact HP they tell us to contact a local company and to PAY to have it fixed!!!!!! hello! warranty?!?! So finally complaining and getting transfered around we got someone with a partial brain. They walk our girls through everything they have already done and no luck. Then they go into it remotely from our pc and clear some codes.. all is fine.. we print again.. back into maintenance mode. This little story continues on for a few days.. it works for a while the next morning we come in and sure enough.. MORE cleaning! Eventually HP finally sends a tech out who comes out in a few days he gets into it clears the codes and tells us oh its fine to work in maintenance/service mode. And it looks like grimco set it up incorrectly on install....... Tech leaves.. an hour later.. more cleaning and lubing required.. This goes on with the tech for several more days.

Now at the end of 3 weeks of complaining HP finally sends a.. "more qualified" tech out and parts.. takes him half a day to replace the parts.. guess what.. no dice.. now it was beeping on turn on.. so an hour or so after he is on the phone with HP they clear the beeping but its still throwing multiple service codes. None of the parts they replaced seemed to fix it.

So now I am demanding a new printer, they said we have not reached the point of this yet.. really? its been down for 3 weeks? we have yet to print anything production wise on this machine and now they will send us more parts.. not over night either btw and wait for a tech to come install them. So they also tell us we need to go talk to grimco about getting the unit replaced.. But grimco doesn't provide support for HP printers.. only HP does..

So HP claims its "OK to print and they give us authorization to do so with out voiding anything...".. well we go to print and in the middle of a print it throws a code and stops printing. So .. yeah this has gotten us no where.

So now I am at a loss, going on almost a full month of zero production out of our new ~18kish printer that is essentially a paper weight. I know HP reads these forums and I hope someone from HP with a brain and reason reaches out to me, as of now we will never be purchasing another HP printer or product again.

 

[laserman70]

Wow, sorry to hear this.
We have looked into getting another machine. Considered the HP but all the issues I have been hearing, we cant afford to take the chance.
Hope all works out for you.

 

[tomence]

I am glad i bought a Roland. Almost bought the HP but changed my mind in the last minute just because the dealer won't do sh!t to help you when it comes time to use the warranty.

 

[spudstr]

The ironic part is I was reading how helpful HP's support has been and how great it was. Where is that fantastic/quick support?

 

[TSdesigns.NET]

Wow! I just got a new Roland installed and I was looking around at other brands but ended up back with a Roland because of my experience with the Roland I have been running. After running my printer I was happy with the upgrade but after reading this I am more happy with the choice of brands I went with. The Roland guy that set it up for me has been helpful after setup with finding printing profiles and advice on anything I have asked so far. I hope You get Your problems fixed. Its bad when You have to resort to calling out a company to get what they should have done in the first place! Good Luck!

 

[spudstr]

Sorry to hear about your troubles....seems these printers are pretty hit and miss based on the stories on here.

What does Grimco have to say about this?

I'd say any equipment purchase decision should be based around 3 things:

-Quality and reliability of actual equipment
-Reputation and support of dealer selling said equipment
-Reputation and support of manufacturer making said equipment

Things break down, and lemons unfortunately make it into the marketplace - what sets them apart is how the dealer and the manufacturer makes things right...which in this case sounds like they haven't tried real hard.

I would demand a new machine, plain and simple...especially considering you've had problems right from the start.

Hope you get it sorted out - keep us posted.

We did a lot of research we had plenty of options from various companies when we were making the decision, based on what we saw printed quality wise, speed wise and for our application we felt that the HP Latex was the way to go. Few months ago we saw nothing but mostly positive reviews on the HP L26500s.. but now apparently more problems are starting to appear in public about these machines. Don't get me wrong every manufacture will have their little quirks, the important part is the time of resolution and the actual resolution itself. Time is money, while we are not printing we are not making any money.

Grimco just responded stating HP has now escalated our case to a top priority and have been told they are sending a "well seasoned tech to resolve the problem"

I am still demanding a new machine though I am not sure how far I will get with this battle, I was unaware grimco would have very little support role in this unlike the rolands they sell, where they directly service.

 

[ddarlak]

still loving my 25500 after 14 months.

any trouble i've ever had i got great support from HP, but then again i haven't had anything like what your going thru.

i'd be lite'n a fire under grimco's a$s myself....

 

[sowinski_t]

I'm really sorry to hear that... I'm loving my shops L26, it's been nothing less than a stellar experience for me with it. Sometimes you just land a lemon I guess. I hope you find a resolution to this. I would follow the advice of several other people on here and go after Grimco hard. They sold it to you, so it should be up to them to ensure it's working as it should. Also, I feel like it should be up to them to deal with HP, not up to you. This isn't a faulty printhead you need replaced after all.
If it makes you feel any better, the (much more expensive) Roland that a shop my girlfriend works at purchased almost a year ago is still giving them troubles of all sorts, despite the best attempts of 2 excellent local techs.

 

[spudstr]

Update, local HP tech said he would be here today.. yesterday. he got the parts yesterday and called this morning to tell us he would come -tomorrow- this is starting to get beyond silly. Grimco is working on their end to get this resolved as well.

 

[signage]

I would have told him when he comes tomorrow to bring a check and a big truck to hall this peice of crap away.

 

[spudstr]

I would have told him when he comes tomorrow to bring a check and a big truck to hall this peice of crap away.

Grimco is running it up the chain and seeing about replacing the unit, or lighting a fire under HP more.

 

[Nuagedesigns]

Sorry to hear your misfortune with HP and Grimco. I have had some issues recently with Grimcos Tech Support. Since their big layoff last year I have definitely seen a drop off in knowledgeable people over there. I see your only in NY if there's anything you may need help with printing wise feel free to let me know. I believe your only 1 day UPS and wouldn't mind helping you out.

Bruce
203-305-6163

 

[signage]

When he called back after telling you yesterday he would be their today, that would have been the end! I would have told Grimco what transpired and that I had been given them both enough time to have corrected it!

 

[Gino]

How frustrating that must be.

I think you've held your long enough.

I would document all of your lost time, out-a-pocket expenses and how much you've had to farm out, demand they reimburse you all of that and tell them you won't tolerate another piece of crap. All manufactures have a lemon now & then. I'm not sure what dictates how long it takes to determine that, but I'm sure you're past that point.

You might need to consult a real lawyer. Good luck.

 

[spudstr]

Tech on site and found a few more "problems" and basically said the code thats popping up is fine and that he raised the threshold so it wouldn't go off.. as much for one of the codes.

The code that is coming up is the clean and lube. Basically since may of 2012 they installed friction detection systems and oiler ring on the rail. They did this because to many people were not following the recommended practices in the L25500 printers and scraping the rails causing damage to the systems. So for now they have raised our threshold to a number. I am not happy with this but they are confirming with another group that the friction level is acceptable and will not cause damage to anything. if the group comes back and says yes this is to high and will lead to damage then they will replace the entire carriage system.

So our company is a startup for a niche product and we have not started taking many orders yet, we have no real 'damages' yet other than wasted time. HP is sending us replacement material and a few ink sets to compensate for the testing/printing we have been doing, so at least we get a couple grand in ink sets.

This isn't over yet and we have more testing to do.

 

[zmachine]

I am sorry to hear your troubles and completely sympathize with you.
We had massive issues with ours and wouldn't you know, Grimco as well. Got the same run-around as you did from both HP and Grimco after having 8 bad ink cartridges, 5 bad print heads and multiple hardware issues all within a few weeks of each other. This is all within 3 months of actually using the brand new machine in very low volume.
Took some yelling and screaming but finally got someone at HP to listen and took two different technicians two different times to basically tear the machine completely down and rebuild it. Absolutely no compensation for time or the fact that this happened to ruin a very lucrative wrap job. We also asked for the machine to be replaced but HP denied that it was a lemon but would not even extend the warranty to cover the basically rebuilt machine for the 3 more months.
It is functioning at the moment but have absolutely no confidence in HP or this machine at all. Should have went with another Mutoh I guess, had a Valuejet for 6 years, was bulletproof and never had a single issue.
Bottom line, is that I too, will never buy another HP product....ever.

 

[HulkSmash]

sorry to hear about your issues. Mines is still trucking, printing 8 hrs a day every day. No real issues. The machine is really only meant to last no more then 3-4 years.. and hp knows that. The whole machine is plastic. Even so, i'd buy another one. Sorry you got a lemon, hopefully they'll replace it.

 

[MrSalumi]

Sorry to hear that.. Seems uber frustrating.

I have always had EXCELLENT customer service from HP on my non-commercial stuff. They've on 3 occasions gone above and beyond what was expected. It's surprising to hear that they are dropping the ball so much in your situation.

If I were you, I'd be threatening to sue either HP or Grimco. Not that I would, but is sounds like they need a little motivation to help them step up to the plate.

Good luck!

 

[gnemmas]

As Gino suggest, document the time, material and economic damage(lost job, or need to farm out), send demand to HP and Grimco for compensation. When not met, Small Claims court will be the perfect venue ( remember that lady sued Honda and won judgement 10 times more that the class action settlement?) You can sue up to $10,000, amount varies per State, and they can not have lawyers to represent them.

It will be fun to publicize how they defend themselves.

I have always suspected how does the printer know that the printheads are bad, while still have perfect print results, and STOP the printer until new heads are put in.

 

[mnapuran]

Any updates?

 

[fmg]

I was actually considering making a purchase of one of these machines.
My friend has one and have been pretty impressed with the production.
I have been on the fence with making the move, however after reading this and the back-up HP are giving I am not too confident with this move now.I will stick to Roland and Mimaki.
Hope all gets worked out with you