HP
HP FI-1000 printhead repair
The 297 mm HP Fixed Imager 1000 printhead itself — the part that fails in every FI-1000 based machine, whatever badge is on the front.
HP FI-1000 platform · SMARTJET (Italy)
SMARTJET FLEX 297 printhead repair & nozzle recovery
InkBags repairs the printhead in the SMARTJET FLEX 297. Italian-built all-in-one overprinter for die-cut boxes, paper bags and untreated wood packaging — 297 mm at 1200 dpi and up to 27 m/min, on HP page-wide thermal inkjet. Recovery is realistic when the fault is dried ink, blockage, contamination or air-lock; it is not when a die segment is electrically dead or the nozzle plate is damaged. Send a nozzle test print and we tell you which one you have — before quoting.
SMARTJET FLEX 297 — engine and printhead specification
The engine inside the machine is the first thing to establish: parts and recovery procedures do not transfer between printhead families, even when both are HP thermal inkjet.
- Print width
- 297 mm / 11.7 in
- Resolution
- up to 1200 × 1200 dpi
- Max speed
- 457 mm/s ≈ 27 m/min
- Ink
- HP pigment, CMYK
| Machine | FLEX 297 — SMARTJET, Fiorano Modenese, Italy |
|---|---|
| Print engine | HP page-wide thermal inkjet, per SMARTJET's product page |
| Print width | 297 mm |
| Resolution | 1200 dpi |
| Max speed | Up to 27 m/min |
| Colours | Four-colour (CMYK) |
| Substrate thickness | Up to 350 mm; items over 900 mm wide |
| Typical substrates | Paper, cardboard and untreated wood packaging |
| Typical work | Die-cut boxes, paper bags, mailing envelopes, take-away packaging, wooden packages, coasters |
- Sources
- 297 mm print width, 1200 dpi, up to 27 m/min, print quality based on "HP PageWide technology", substrates "paper, cardboard and untreated wood packaging", items up to 35 cm thick and over 90 cm wide — SMARTJET FLEX 297 product page (smartjet.it/en/prodotti/flex-297/).
- SMARTJET is based in Fiorano Modenese, Italy, and also builds piezo drop-on-demand machines — SMARTJET company page. This is why the entry names the model, not the brand.
What printhead failure looks like on a FLEX 297
- A white stripe down every box or bag in the run — the dead-sector signature of a fixed page-wide head.
- Fresh scoring on the nozzle plate after a job on thick or uneven packaging — on a machine that accepts items up to 350 mm thick, head-to-substrate clearance is the thing most likely to damage a head.
- Nozzle dropout after printing untreated wood — sawdust and resin behave differently from paper dust and settle on the nozzle plate.
- Density falling away on long kraft or corrugated runs — paper dust loading the wiper and capping station.
- A colour missing after the machine has stood between short jobs — dried ink in a shop that customises in small batches rather than running continuously.
Photograph the nozzle test print before running any more recovery cycles. Repeated aggressive purging on a head that has already dried out can turn a recoverable fault into a replacement.
Symptom, cause, and whether it recovers
The pattern on the nozzle test print is what separates a cleanable head from a dead one. This is the table we work from — the same one for every HP FI-1000 machine.
| What you see | What it usually means | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| A solid white band down the web, in the same place on every copy | A whole die segment has stopped firing | Sometimes recoverable — recovers if the cause is dried ink or blockage, not if the segment is electrically dead |
| Fine missing lines that partly return after a purge | Nozzles blocked by dried ink after idle time | Recoverable |
| Nozzles recover, then drop out again within a short run | Restriction upstream of the head — filter, line or supply pressure | Recoverable — replacing the head would not have fixed it |
| One colour channel weak or missing | Blocked feed or partially blocked die area on that channel | Recoverable |
| Density falling off across the width after long production | Nozzle plate contamination, worn wiper or failing capping | Recoverable — the capping and wiping station has to be serviced too |
| Head errors or refusal to come ready after running dry | Air drawn into the head during an ink starvation event | Recoverable — controlled purging and re-priming |
| Scratches or visible damage on the nozzle plate | Physical contact damage | Replacement head |
How we approach a FLEX 297 printhead
Note 01
SMARTJET publishes 297 mm, 1200 dpi and up to 27 m/min for the FLEX 297, with print quality based on HP page-wide technology — the same numbers as the FI-1000 platform, so FI-1000 procedures, replacement heads and pigment ink apply. We still confirm the head from the machine, because SMARTJET also builds piezo drop-on-demand machines and the badge alone does not tell you which one you have.
Note 02
This machine is sold on batch-of-one customisation, so it spends more time standing than running. That shifts the failure profile towards dried ink and cap-down discipline rather than wear, and most "dead head" calls on this class of machine turn out to be recoverable blockage.
Note 03
It accepts items up to 350 mm thick and over 900 mm wide. That flexibility is also the main source of physical head damage we see: a strike on a tall or lifting pack scores the nozzle plate, and scoring is the one failure mode nothing recovers. If the fault appeared right after a new pack format, say so when you send the nozzle test.
Note 04
Untreated wood is an unusual substrate for a thermal inkjet head. Service on a machine that runs wood covers the capping and wiping station, not just a flush of the head.
How a repair job runs
Send a nozzle test print
Photograph or scan the nozzle test and describe what the machine was doing when the fault appeared. Do not keep running recovery cycles first — repeated aggressive purging on a head that has already dried out can turn a recoverable fault into a replacement.
Get a diagnosis
We identify the failure pattern — sector, row or random dropout — and tell you whether recovery is realistic, before anything is dismantled.
Approve scope and price
You get the work scope and the price up front, including whether the ink delivery system needs service as well. No open-ended billing.
Service, or replace
We recover the head where it can be recovered and supply a replacement where it cannot. Either way the machine goes back into production.
Pricing and turnaround are quoted per case, because both depend on the failure mode and on whether the ink delivery system needs work as well. Replacement heads and original or compatible ink are available where recovery is not viable, so a machine that cannot be recovered does not sit idle waiting on a second supplier.
SMARTJET FLEX 297 printhead repair FAQ
Which printhead is in the SMARTJET FLEX 297?
SMARTJET's own product page states 297 mm print width, 1200 dpi and up to 27 m/min, with print quality based on HP PageWide technology — that is the HP FI-1000 signature. Send us the machine details and we confirm the head before quoting, because SMARTJET also builds piezo drop-on-demand machines.
We print untreated wood packaging. Does that damage the head?
Not directly, but it changes what the head is exposed to. Sawdust and resin settle on the nozzle plate and behave differently from paper dust, so the capping and wiping station matters more on this machine than on a paper-only press.
The head was scored after a job on thick boxes. Can it be recovered?
No. Physical damage to the nozzle plate is the one failure mode that does not recover, and that head needs replacing. On a machine that takes items up to 350 mm thick, clearance setting is the thing to check first after a format change.
Can InkBags supply ink for a FLEX 297?
Yes — pigment at $200 per litre or dye at $180 per litre for FI-1000 based machines, plus original HP ink. We confirm suitability against your machine before the first delivery.
Other machines we service
Boxmaking Machinery GmbH
BM300 printhead repair
Single-pass packaging press built directly around the HP FI-1000, printing bags, boxes, mailers and envelopes at up to 27 m/min.
Printware / iJetColor
iJetColor Pro 1175P printhead repair
High-speed envelope and direct-mail press built on the HP FI-1000, launched by Printware in 2020.
All machines: printhead repair overview.
Get a diagnosis for your FLEX 297
Send a nozzle test print and a short note on what the machine was doing when the fault appeared. You get the likely root cause, whether it is recoverable, and what it costs — including when it is not worth the money.