Today, I will be going over how to uncase the HP Officejet Pro 8610 model – please note that the process is the same for the 8620 model as well. There are a few reasons you may want to uncase your HP printer, but the main one is to make internal repairs.

For a video demonstration of this process, watch the video accompaniment to this article here. I have also made hundreds of other printer-related videos that you may want to check out on my YouTube channel, Kevin at BCH.

The first thing to do is remove the printer’s paper tray and the stacker. If you look at the stacker – located at the front of the printer – you should see two tabs and a hook on the right side. Slide the paper tray out from the bottom of the printer.

To remove the stacker, put your hand in the printer and find the two tabs. Push down one tab after the other, and then jiggle it a bit. Due to the hook on the right side, you’ll have to push down on the tray as you slide it out. These two tabs and the hook are the only things you need to worry about to loosen and drag it out.

Usually, there’s a white plate that stays on the printer, but in the case of my demonstration, it came out. If the same thing happens to you, don’t panic. Putting it back into the paper stacker is fairly simple.

You’ll see on the printer that there’s a downward track for the white plate piece to slide into. Make sure it can slide around a bit when you put it back. To reinstall the paper tray, all you have to do is put it back on that white plate, similar to how you would install the drawer of a dresser.

If you want to remove that white piece, you must squeeze it and lift it out.

Remove the LCD Panel

Next, we’ll need to remove the printer’s LCD panel. Many people struggle with this step, but I’ll walk you through it. If you’re following along with the video, you can see that the bottom of the LCD panel has a sort of forklift shape, so the more you open it up, the more difficult it is to remove.

I’ll show you a few different methods for removing the LCD panel since it can be tricky. If you can keep it as closed as possible and remove it that way, go for it. Otherwise, we’ll need to disassemble some other printer parts first.

A few obstacles are blocking us from getting to the underside of the LCD panel, the first of which is the right side panel. Start by turning the printer so the front side is facing upward, where there will be one screw you need to remove.

Then turn the printer so the back faces you, and remove all the screws. With the back of the printer facing you, there should be four screws to the right and five screws to the left.

After you remove the back piece, you should be able to see there’s just one screw behind the LCD panel. It’s pretty hard to reach, but if you have a long enough screwdriver with a T10 bit, you might be able to get it.

Move to the Right-Side Panel

You’ll see two or three tabs on the bottom of the right-side panel. Lift these tabs and pull upward on the side panel. You may have to jiggle it a bit as you try to take it out to get it to work. When reinstalling that panel, you have to line up the printer’s tabs with its tabs and slide them in.

There are two holes and two screws, which are what you’ll need to focus on. You may notice a door that you’d think would be the next step to remove, but doing so is pretty difficult, so we’ll save that for later.

Next, remove the left side and back panels, which shouldn’t be too hard. You should be able to lift them off, but remember, we still have the LCD panel to deal with.

The LCD panel is connected to the scanner, so you have to take the LCD panel off to take the scanner off. Looking at the inside, you will see a component that looks pretty complicated. This is the hinge that connects to the LCD panel. Our next goal is to take that apart.

Remove the Printhead

Since that area of the printer’s interior is pretty crowded (mainly due to the printhead), you may struggle to get enough space for your hands to get in there. Therefore, I’ll have to show you how to remove the printhead.

Toward the left side of your printer, you can see something called the printhead cabin station, designed to hold the printhead in place so that it can’t move unless it’s supposed to.

I’ll show you how to retract this station in a way that doesn’t require you to use any electricity. On the printer’s main circuit board, you’ll see a rod with a wheel underneath. Turn that wheel clockwise.

After a few rotations, the printhead should be able to be moved. When it’s possible to do so, push the printhead in. You should now have plenty of space.

The scanner has a hinge, squeezed on both sides by two pieces with silicone pads, designed to stop the lid from dropping down or closing too quickly. A spring keeps each of these two arm pieces tightened.

The piece you can see from the outside is a big cover to conceal this component, held in place by two screws. To disassemble this, unscrew and remove the cover and springs. The hinge will now be very flexible, making it significantly easier to work on.

With this increased hinge flexibility, we should now be able to get the LCD panel out. Remember, the wider you open it, the more resistance you’ll get. Only open it as wide as you need to fit your finger inside, push the hinge toward you, and open it the rest of the way.

On the underside of the LCD panel, you should see a screw. There’s also a cable you need to disconnect before getting to the screw. Disconnect this by pulling it out, then remove the screw.

Remove the screw in the front of the printer. After disconnecting the scanner’s cables from the motherboard, you should be able to lift off the scanner and LCD panel. Now move to the floppy front plate I mentioned earlier. There’s no trick – start from the bottom and remove the left side of the plate first. When working on the side of this panel, locate and lift the tab. From there, it’s all about jiggling, prying, and moving it around until you can get the panel off.

There’s also one screw near the bottom, which will loosen up the left side and make it easier to remove the plate. Do the same for the right side, and the whole cover should lift off. The cables and power plate should also come off, thus completing the disassembly process.

Hope this helped!

Video URLs:

0:14- Paper Tray and Stacker

2:51- Right Side

5:38- Left Side

6:02- Scanner, LCD, and Printhead

10:02- Floppy Front Plate