Hp z2100 сервис мануал

HP Designjet

Z2100/Z3100/Z3100ps/Z3200/

Z3200ps

GP Photo Printer Series

Version 10.0

September 21, 2008

Table of Contents

Using this Manual

Purpose

This Service Manual contains information necessary to test, calibrate and service:

HP designjet Z2100 Photo Printer 24 inch (Model Q6675A)

HP designjet Z2100 Photo Printer 44 inch (Model Q6677A)

HP designjet Z2100 Photo Printer Revision C 24 inch (Model Q6675C)

HP designjet Z2100 Photo Printer Revision C 44 inch (Model Q6677C)

HP designjet Z3100 Photo Printer 24 inch (Model Q5669A)

HP designjet Z3100 Photo Printer 44 inch (Model Q6659A)

HP designjet Z3100ps Photo Printer 24 inch (Model Q5670A)

HP designjet Z3100ps Photo Printer 44 inch (Model Q6660A)

HP designjet Z3200 Photo Printer 24 inch (Model Q6718A)

HP designjet Z3200 Photo Printer 44 inch (Model Q6719A)

HP designjet Z3200ps Photo Printer 24 inch (Model Q6720A)

HP designjet Z3200ps Photo Printer 44 inch (Model Q6721A)

For information about using these printers, refer to the corresponding User and Quick Reference Guides.

Readership

The procedures described in this Service Manual are to be performed by HP Certified service personnel only.

Part Numbers

Part Numbers for Printer options, accessories and service parts are located in Chapter 5, Parts and Diagrams.

Conventions

A small arrow indicates a link to other parts of the Service Manual where you can find information related to the topic you are consulting.

Flex Contacts Cleaning Tool 1-72

General Troubleshooting

General Troubleshooting

Introduction

This chapter will guide you through the relevant steps to take when troubleshooting the printer.

Troubleshooting System Error Codes

Chapter 2, System Error Codes contains a list of system error codes and their respective descriptions and recommended corrective actions. Only try one recommended action at a time and check if the error code has disappeared.

If you have an error code which is not documented in this Service Manual or you have an error which you cannot resolve, then report the error to the HP Response Center or the nearest HP Support Office. When reporting the error, have the following information ready:

Model and Serial Number of the printer.

Which firmware revision the printer is using (See Note below). Check firmware in Utilities / Statistics / Code rev.

The complete error number (See Note below).

The Service Configuration Print.

The Current configuration sheet.

Which software application the customer is using (name, version, etc.).

When reporting the System Error Code, make sure that you supply the full Error Code and the firmware version. Without this information, HP Support Personnel cannot help you.

Performing a Service Test on a failed Assembly

If possible, always perform a Service Test on the component/assembly that you are about to replace, just to make sure that is the component/assembly that has failed.

If the test on that component/assembly passes, you should NOT replace it.

For information on the Service Tests and how to use them see Chapter 3,

Service Tests and Utilities.

Troubleshooting

Performing the Necessary Service Calibrations

Is the printer calibrated correctly after replacing a component? For information on the Service Calibrations and how to use them, see Service Calibration Guide to Removal and Installation, Page 6-8 and Chapter 4, Service Calibrations.

Remember that certain Calibrations are required even if an Assembly has been disassembled to gain access to another Assembly or Component.

The Printer does not Power ON

1Check that the power cord is connected correctly to the Printer and to the Power Socket.

2Check that the Power Switch on the BACK of the Printer is in the ON position.

3Check to see the LED on the Front Panel Power Switch are On.

4Check that the Front-Panel Cable is correctly connected to the Electronics Module. Also make sure that the Front-Panel cable is not damaged.

5Replace the Power Supply Unit Page 6-164.

The Printer Continuously Rejects Printheads

1Clean the flex contacts on the Printhead and in the Carriage Assembly using the Carriage Interconnect Wiper (Refer to Page 1-72) and try again.

2If ALL the Printheads are rejected (the status message on the Front Panel does NOT show «OK» for ALL the Printheads) then perform the Electronic Module Test Page 3-22.

Cover Sensors are not Working

1Perform the Sensors Test Page 3-33.

2Check if the cable for the faulty sensor is not damaged and is connected correctly.

3Replace the faulty Sensor.

The Line Sensor has Problems Detecting Media

1Check the type of media that is being used since the Line sensor may have problems detecting transparent media or some types of Non-HP media. Try loading white HP media in to the Printer and check if the Line sensor detects it.

2Sometimes the line sensor has problems detecting media when sheet media is loaded without a skew check. If the media type allows, always use the automatic skew check feature. If the media type does not allow automatic skew check, manually check that the media is correctly positioned.

General Troubleshooting

3The Line Sensor is not calibrated correctly. Perform the Line Sensor Calibration Page 4-15.

4The Line Sensor is damaged or faulty. Replace the Line Sensor Page 6- 128.

Problems with Color Accuracy

1The Color Sensor ESP (spectrophotometer) is a powerful tool unique to the Z series printers to maintain color accuracy. If you notice any problems with colors, perform the Color Sensor ESP (spectrophotometer) calibration. Refer to Page 4-18.

Troubleshooting Media Jams/Printhead Crashes

The failure modes «media jam» and «head crash» are grouped together because in many cases a media jam causes the media to lift up into the Carriage path and cause a Printhead crash, thus causing many media jam failures to be reported as head crashes.

1Did the media jam occur when loading media?

If the client has had media jams, it is common for pieces of media to get stuck in the media path. Clear the media path.

When clearing a media jam, sometimes media is stuck in the paper path. To clear this, you must lift the Media Lever and insert thicker media into the paper path to push out the media that is still stuck there.

2Is the customer using non-HP media?

The use of non-HP media can easily be the cause of media jams and head crashes (especially head crashes because HP media is specially formulated to avoid cockle, one of the primary causes of head crashes). If the media is not HP approved, advise the customer to use HP media and check to see if the problem is now solved.

3Has media been loaded without skew check?

Loading media without skew check can cause printhead crashes both during loading and while printing. Whenever automatic skew check is available for a media type, it should be used. If automatic skew check is not allowed for the media type, manually check that the media is correctly positioned.

Standard/Normal Cut Sheets, depending on the degree of skew, cause printhead crashes when the corners are not evenly controlled (they are not pinched at the same time). This makes it more likely that the paper will be bent or damaged. Frequently, the paper curls upward when the paper expands due to ink absorption.

Commercial FA Arts Sheets have the same problem as the Standard/ Normal Cut Sheets described above. The difference is that the Commercial FA Arts Sheets have a weak, irregular edge that often makes the problem worse.

Hand-cut Rollsheets or Leftovers are not supported by the printers because errors are frequently made by the operator that cause printhead crashes.

General Troubleshooting

The printer has problems ejecting sheet media

The printer has problems ejecting sheet media, either continuing to eject the paper long after it has been ejected or stopping the ejecting process before the paper is completely ejected from the printer. To solve the problem, try the following:

Load media using the skew check feature whenever it is possible. When sheet media is loaded without the skew check feature, the printer estimates the length of the paper to be 4 times the width. If this estimate is either too short or too long, the printer will not properly eject the media.

Banding at variable extreme environmental conditions

Since the Accuracy Calibration has been done at normal environmental conditions, printing in extreme environmental conditions will cause banding because the advance of the Media Advance Roller does not correspond to the conditions present when the calibration was performed. To solve the problem, try the following:

Perform the Accuracy Calibration in the new environmental conditions (Refer to the User’s Guide).

Worm marks on HP Coated media with light area fills

Light bands (S-shaped) in Paper axis direction where light area fills are printed, causing unacceptable Image Quality defect.

Print the Service Configuration Print and check if the level of Humidity is very low (below 30%). Increasing humidity may help in reducing the severity of the problem.

The media is causing the problem and NOT the Printer. Do not attempt to try and replace Printer parts to solve this problem.

General Troubleshooting

Sheet media Always load sheet media using the Rear Input Tray. Do NOT load the media as you would load roll media, unless you are getting marks on the media with thick cut sheet media.

It must be loaded with the right-hand edge against the blue line on the Print Platen.

Load the sheet media without skew check.

The media may be crumpled or warped or may have irregular edges.

If hand-cut media is used, the edges may not form a right-angle or they may be rough. If possible, hand-cut media should not be used. Only purchased sheet media should be used in the Printer.

If you have problems with paper jams, check that the Overdrive is not obstructed by bits of paper or using the Turn Drive Roller Service Utility Page 3-61.

Make sure you choose the correct loading option on the Front Panel.

.

Software Troubleshooting

Software Troubleshooting

General advice:

Check that you have the latest driver release. Driver releases are available at www.hp.com/go/graphicarts

Installation

If the driver is available in a share drive, copy the installer or zip file locally into the hard disk before executing it.

The drivers are published in different formats in the web

Installer for Windows (.exe file that can be executed to start the installation)

Compressed package including all files that are needed to install the driver through the Add a Printer Wizard in Windows (.exe file that can be automatically extracted)

Image file for Mac (.dmg file)

Usually the Windows installer includes other components apart from the driver, like the HP Standard TCP/IP Port. This is the recommended port type when you need to install the printer on the network, so make sure that you have installed the driver with the installer at least once to have this port type available.

If you want to upgrade the driver in the future, although it is recommended to continue using the installer, you can use the manual wizard if you are concerned about file download size. When you install the driver from the original CD/DVD, you are using the Installer so the necessary components will be installed also.

Installation logs are located at:

C:\windows\hpdjxxxx.log (different for each printer name)

C:\windows\sounder.his

C:\windows\hpntwksetup.ini

They might be useful in case of escalating an installation error to the Lfp

Helpdesk

Problems with Image Clipping

This normally indicates a discrepancy between the actual printable area on the loaded paper and the printable area as understood by the software. This kind of problem can often be identified before printing by previewing the print.

Check the actual printable area for the paper size that is loaded. printable area = paper size – margins

Check what the software understands to be the printable area (which it may call “printing area” or “imageable area”). For example, some software applications assume standard printable areas that are larger than those used in this Printer.

If a custom page size with very narrow margins has been defined, the

Software Troubleshooting

printer may impose its own minimal margins, clipping the image slightly. Consider using a larger paper size, or border less printing.

If the image contains its own margins, it may be possible to print it successfully by using the Clip Contents by Margins option.

If a very long image needs to be printed on a roll, check that the software is capable of printing an image of that size.

The page may have been rotated from portrait to landscape on a paper size that is not wide enough.

If the paper was loaded without the skew check feature, the preview function may not function correctly because the printer must estimate the paper length. Whenever possible, load media using the skew check feature.

If necessary, change the printable area in the software.

If necessary, reduce the size of the image or document in your software application, so it fits between the margins

Another Possible Explanation

Some applications, such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and CorelDRAW, use an internal 16–bit coordinate system which means that they cannot handle an image of more than 32,768 pixels. If you try to print an image larger than this from these applications, the bottom of the image will be clipped. In this case, the only way to print the whole image is to reduce the resolution so that the whole image requires fewer than 32,768 pixels. An image 32,768 pixels long would print at a length of 54.61 in or 1.39 m if you select Best or Quality in the driver, 109.23 in or 2.78 m if you select Fast, Normal or Speed in the driver.

To print the whole image, try these suggestions:

When printing into a PS printer, Try using the PostScript printer driver to print your job, if you have not already tried it

The Windows PCL3 driver dialog includes an option called Max. application resolution, which enables you to print successfully in this situation. For the Z3200 it is set to Auto. For older products, or if you want to make sure that the resolution is lowered, you might need to change the setting manually to 300. You can find the option in the Advanced tab, under Document Options > Printer Features.

Save the file in another format, such as TIFF or EPS, and open it with another application.

Use a RIP to print the file.

Output Only Contains a Partial Print

If the output that was expected only contains a partial image, then try the following to resolve the problem:

1Was the Cancel key pressed before all the data was received by the Printer? If so, send the file again and make sure that the Cancel key is not pressed.

2The I/O Timeout setting may be too short. Increase the I/O timeout setting (Setup Menu/I/O Setup/IO Timeout) and then send the file again.

Software Troubleshooting

3There might be a communications problem between the Printer and Computer. Check the USB or network cable between the computer and the Printer to make sure it is not damaged and is connected correctly.

4Make sure that the software settings are correct for the current page size (e.g. long-axis prints).

5If network software is being used, make sure it has not timed out.

Some objects are missing from the printed image

Large quantities of data may be necessary to print a high-quality largeformat print job, and in some specific workflow there may be issues that can lead to some objects missing from the output.

Corrective Action

In the Advanced tab, select Document options, Printer features, and set Send job as bitmap to Enabled (HP-GL/2 driver only).

In the Advanced tab, select Document options, Printer features, and set 16-bit App. Compatibility to Enabled.

Select a smaller page size and scale to the desired final page size in the driver or in the front panel.

Save the file in another format, such as TIFF or EPS, and open it with another application.

Use a RIP to print the file.

Reduce the resolution of bitmap images in your application software.

Select a lower print quality in order to reduce the resolution of the printed image.

The above settings are mentioned for troubleshooting purposes and may adversely affect the final output quality or the time necessary to generate the print job. Therefore, they should be restored to their default values if they do not help to solve the problem.

When working under Mac OS, the above settings are not available. Instead, try reducing the resolution of bitmap images in the application software being used.

If the spool file size is bigger than 1GB, part of the image will be clipped

Versions affected: Any application in Windows XP Drivers affected: Drivers that use EMF spooling Description:

Some drivers generate spool files in EMF format. The OS has a limitation in the size of this EMF file. Currently the drivers that use EMF are:

Z2100/Z3100 PCL3GUI driver

Z2100/Z3100 HP-GL/2 driver if the preview or back to front printing settings are used

Corrective Action

Reduce the resolution.

Software Troubleshooting

Reduce resolution in driver by selecting a lower printmode (Best or normal instead of Max Detail).

In the Advanced tab of the driver, select Max application resolution = 300 to reduce the driver resolution while keeping the rest of the printmode characteristics (number of passes for example).

Disable the Print Processor module in the PCL3GUI driver, which is responsible for generating EMF. You can do this by going to the Advanced tab of the driver and disabling the Advanced Printing Features. The trade-off is that you cannot use the following features in the PCL3GUI driver: Preview, rotation, scaling, Office features, Back to front printing.

In the HP-GL/2 driver, do not use preview or back to front printing to avoid generating EMF files.

Use a RIP or a PS model

Limit for Windows 2000 spool file size is smaller (200MB).

Observation: Customer might report that when choosing preview, the job is not printed but it is printed when he does not select the preview setting. The cause of the problem might be related to the fact that the HP-GL/2 driver will use EMF if you do a preview so this limitation applies in this case.

When the image needs to be rotated, parts of the image might be clipped or disappear

Versions affected: Any application in Windows

Drivers affected: Drivers that use EMF spooling, like the PCL3Gui driver for the Z Series

Description:

When the image is rotated, sometimes part of the image is clipped. We have seen this in several applications like Photoshop or Acrobat. In other cases, instead of clipping the end of the image, the symptom is that some objects inside the image disappear, we have seen the effect in Acrobat.

Corrective Action

If possible, rotate inside the application instead of in the driver

Reduce resolution in driver by selecting a lower printmode (Best or normal instead of Max Detail)

Remember that if the image is wider than the paper loaded, the image will be automatically rotated. If possible rotate the image inside the application

instead of letting the driver rotate it automatically when it does not fit.

Driver version available in Fall’08 will improve the performace when printing big files or rotating images.

Adobe Photoshop

It is not possible to open images that have more than 300,000

Software Troubleshooting

pixels in any direction (width or length)

Versions affected: All Drivers affected: All

Corrective Action

Not available

It is not possible to print images that have more than 30,000 pixels in any direction (Print menu gets grayed out)

Versions affected: CS and previous Drivers affected: All

Corrective Action

Reduce image resolution in Photoshop (Image –> Image Size)

Use a RIP to print the file

Image will be clipped if it is longer than 32768 pixels

Versions affected: All except CS2

Drivers affected: PCL3GUI and HP-GL/2 drivers Description:

If the page size to be printed is bigger than 32768 pixels in any direction (215 pixels), the image will not be completely printed. The number of pixels depends on the driver resolution:

At 1200dpi you can print 27.31” (69cm). This is equivalent to Max Detail in the Z2100/Z3100 driver

At 600 dpi you can print 54.61” (1.39m). This is equivalent to Best in the Z2100/Z3100 driver

At 300 dpi you can print 109.23” (2.78m). This is equivalent to Fast or Normal in the Z2100/Z3100 driver

Corrective Action

Reduce resolution in driver by selecting a lower printmode (Best or normal instead of Max Detail)

In the Advanced tab of the driver, select Max application resolution = 300 to reduce the driver resolution while keeping the rest of the printmode characteristics (number of passes for example)

Convert the image to PDF and print from Acrobat, or use a RIP

Print from CS2. CS2 allows printing 231pixels, which results in lengths of kilometers.

Reduce the image size so that it is inside the limits that can be printed and then scale from the driver to the desired size

Use a RIP or a PS model

Carriage stops between swaths leaving some horizontal marks in the middle of the plot

Versions affected: All but seen more often in CS3 Drivers affected: PCL3GUI drivers

Description:

Software Troubleshooting

When printing some long or high resolution images, even if being inside the limits of the number of pixels that can be printed, sometimes the carriage stops between different swaths. When the carriage stops, an horizontal line in a different color might be seen due to the ink that has dried between the different passes of the carriage over the same swath

Corrective Action

Reduce resolution in driver by selecting a lower printmode (Best or normal instead of Max Detail)

In the Advanced tab of the driver, select Max application resolution = 300 to reduce the driver resolution while keeping the rest of the printmode characteristics (number of passes for example)

Disable the Memory manager setting in the Advanced tab of the driver

Driver version available in Fall’08 will improve the performace when printing big files or rotating images.

Image does not get correctly centered http://www.adobe.com/go/kb402021 Versions affected: CS3

Drivers affected: All Description:

Even after selecting the Center option in the Print Menu, the image is not centered

Corrective Action

Install the Photoshop 10.0.1 update or later

Portrait or landscape orientation is not taken into account http://www.adobe.com/go/kb403012

Versions affected: CS3 Drivers affected: All Description:

Print options such as landscape orientation, print preview, scale fit to media, roll paper-panormama printing, user-defined paper sizes, and printing the full image, don’t work as expected when you print from Photoshop CS3. This can occur when you choose a custom page size in Photoshop CS3.

Corrective Action

Get the latest CS3 patch

Select the page size settings inside the File –Print menu instead of the File

– Page Setup menu

Ultimately use CS or CS2 to print the image

Image is printed in letter size

Versions affected: CS3

Drivers affected: All

Description:

Software Troubleshooting

When creating a custom page size, the image is printed in letter size. The difference between this limitation and the pixels limitation is that in this case you have a reduction of size both in length and in width. In the case of the pixel limitation you only have the reduction in length, but the width is usually printed correctly.

Corrective Action

Get the latest CS3 patch

Create custom page sizes with bigger lengths than widths and then select the landscape option if needed.

Latest drivers do not allow creating page sizes with bigger widths than lengths.

Select the page size settings inside the File –Print menu instead of the File

– Page Setup menu

In Windows Vista, open the print preferences dialog again after clicking on the Print button of the Photoshop Print dialog, and select again the custom page size. It will be kept in this way.

Ultimately use CS or CS2 to print the image

Adobe Acrobat

Image is printed in letter size

Versions affected: All Drivers affected: All Description:

When creating a custom page size, it might not be available to be selected from the application until you close Acrobat and open it again. The result is that Acrobat will go back to the default selection for page size, which is Letter. If the customer does not realize that the page size changed again after closing the driver dialog, it will look like part of the image is clipped.

Corrective Action

Close Acrobat and open it again.

Clipped images when printing long files

Versions affected: All

Drivers affected: Drivers that use EMF spooling

Z2100/Z3100 PCL3GUI driver

Z2100/Z3100 HP-GL/2 driver if the following settings are selected: preview, back to front printing

Description:

The image is not completely printed. We have seen this more often in files that are longer than 54” (printing at 600dpi) or 108” (printing at 300dpi). There is a limitation in the way that Acrobat handles EMF files, sometimes depending on the complexity of the EMF file, part of the image is lost. It could be that the end of the image is not printed, or some objects might disappear.

Software Troubleshooting

Corrective Action

Update to latest Acrobat version. Old Acrobat releases had limitations in the length of images that could be printed

Create custom page sizes with bigger lengths than widths and then select the landscape option if needed.

Latest drivers do not allow creating page sizes with bigger widths than lengths.

If you need to rotate the image, rotate it inside the applicatiion (with Acrobat Professional). Please be aware that when you rotate in Acrobat Reader you are just rotating the view but the file is not rotated.

Reduce resolution in driver by selecting a lower printmode (Best or normal instead of Max Detail)

In the Advanced tab of the driver, select Max application resolution = 300 to reduce the driver resolution while keeping the rest of the printmode characteristics (number of passes for example)

Disable the Print Processor module in the PCL3GUI driver, which is responsible for generating EMF. You can do this by going to the Advanced tab of the driver and disabling the Advanced Printing Features. The trade-off is that you cannot use the following features in the PCL3GUI driver: Preview, rotation, scaling, Office features, Back to front printing.

In the HP-GL/2 driver, do not use preview or back to front printing to avoid generating EMF files.

Use a RIP or a PS model

Microsoft Powerpoint

Part of the image is lost when printing big slides in landscape orientation

Versions affected: All

Drivers affected: Z2100/Z3100 PCL3GUI driver Description:

When printing a slide in landscape format which will need to be rotated in order to fit in the currentlly loaded roll, the result is that parts of the image might disappear (objects, background), or the image might be clipped.

Corrective Action

Upgrade the unit to HP-GL/2 and use the HP-GL/2 driver

Save in a different format and print from another application

Print on rolls that are wider than the slides that need to be printed

Driver version available in Fall’08 will improve the performace when printing big files or rotating images.

Software Troubleshooting

Adobe Photoshop CS for Mac

It is not possible to open images that have more than 300.000 pixels in any direction (width or length)

Versions affected: All Drivers affected: All

Corrective Action

Not available

It is not possible to print images that have more than 30.000 pixels in any direction (Print menu gets grayed out)

Versions affected: CS and previous Drivers affected: All

Corrective Action

Reduce image resolution in Photoshop (Image –> Image Size)

Use a RIP to print the file

Image will be clipped if it is longer than 32768 pixels

Versions affected: All except CS2. Illustrator or Indesign have similar limitations.

Drivers affected: PCL3GUI drivers Description:

If the page size to be printed is bigger than 32768 pixels in any direction (215 pixels), the image will not be completely printed. The number of pixels depends on the driver resolution:

At 1200dpi you can print 27.31” (69cm). This is equivalent to Max Detail in the Z2100/Z3100 driver

At 600 dpi you can print 54.61” (1.39m). This is equivalent to Best in the Z2100/Z3100 driver

At 300 dpi you can print 109.23” (2.78m). This is equivalent to Fast or Normal in the Z2100/Z3100 driver

Corrective Action

Reduce resolution in driver by selecting a lower printmode (Best or normal instead of Max Detail)

Convert the image to PDF and print from Acrobat, or use a RIP

Print from CS2. CS2 allows printing 231pixels, which results in lengths of kilometers.

Reduce the image size so that it is inside the limits that can be printed and then scale from the driver to the desired size

It is not possible to print longer than 455inches

Versions affected: All

Drivers affected: PCL3GUI drivers

Description:

Software Troubleshooting

Photoshop uses an internal resolution of 75dpi, so even if you have reduced the resolution of the image to print longer files and overcome the 30.000 pixels limitation, you will not be able to print longer than 455inches.

Corrective Action

Use a RIP

Adobe Illustrator/InDesign for Mac

It is not possible to create long documents

Versions affected: All

Drivers affected: All

Description:

When creating a new document, its size is limited to 227.5416 inches for

Illustrator and 106inches for InDesign.

Corrective Action

Not Available

It is not possible to print longer than 109inches

Versions affected: All

Drivers affected: PCL3GUI drivers

Description:

Files longer than 109inches will be clipped. The reason is:

Illustrator does not take into account the raster resolution from the application when printing on raster devices, and it always takes 300dpi, which is the driver resolution, to create the spool file. Therefore it limits the maximum printable document size to 109inches (32.700pixels/300dpi)

InDesign has different settings to handle resolution (full resolution, optimized resolution or screen resolution). For all cases, the spool file includes 300dpi data so the maximum length is also 109inches

Corrective Action

Use a different application

Use a RIP or a PS printer

Print Quality Troubleshooting

Print Quality Troubleshooting

Print Quality Troubleshooting Actions

For some Print Quality problems, a Call Agent can try and troubleshoot the Printer by requesting the Customer to perform certain actions. Using this process, most problems can resolved without the need of an on-site visit.

When faced with a Print Quality problem, perform the following actions in order to resolve the problem:

1Printer Configuration:

Check that the paper type loaded corresponds to the paper type selected in the front panel and in the software. You can verify the paper type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper).

If you load a sheet without using the skew check feature, the printer automatically estimates the paper length to be 4 times the width. If skew check is not used, the View Loaded Paper option will only reflect the estimation made by the printer, and not the real length.

Make sure that the correct Print Quality settings are used for different types of print content.

Dry time should be set to “Optimal”.

2Perform Printhead recovery (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/ Clean Printheads).

3Media:

Make sure that HP or HP-approved media is being used.

When loading the media, make sure to use the skew check feature whenever possible (skew check is not available for some types of media).

4Perform the Printhead Alignment (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/ Align Printheads), using the same paper type with which you were experiencing unacceptable image quality, if feasible (some paper types are not suitable for Printhead Alignment).

5Check if the latest version of the firmware is installed. If not, install the latest firmware revision.

The Service Image Quality Diagnostic Print

The Service Image Quality Diagnostic Print

What is the Service Image Quality Diagnostic Print?

The Printer contains an internal Image Quality Test which helps you to diagnose the possible source of any image quality defects. The Service IQ Diagnostic Print is available in the following options:

1Image Quality Service Best Plot. This plot helps you to diagnose in more detail the possible source of any image quality defects. It is accessible through the Service Utility Menu.

The Image Quality Service Best Plot uses the Best Print Mode and is divided in to three parts as follows:

Diagnostic Part 1: Printhead Reliability Test. The purpose of this test is to identify which Printhead is faulty.

Diagnostic Part 2: Printhead Alignment Test. This test is designed to check any color-to-color and bi-directional misalignment the printer may have.

Diagnostic Part 3: Printheads and Paper Advance test. This test is designed to check whether the Printheads and the Media Advance Mechanism are working correctly.

2Image Quality Service Normal Plot. This plot is the same as the Image Quality Service Best Plot but uses the Normal Print Mode.

3Advanced Diagnostic Plot. These tests provide more information of the IQ defects that we could find in the Image Quality Service plot. For more information, refer to page 1-29, The Advanced Diagnostic Prints.

The Service Image Quality Diagnostic Print

Considerations for Printing the Diagnostic Print

1The IQ Diagnostic Print prints in A3 and B sizes so you must have media loaded (roll or sheet) that is this size or larger.

2Use the same type of media that the customer was using when they found the image quality problem.

3If the customer is using non-HP media and after the Image Quality Test you still have the same image quality problems, change to genuine HP media and repeat the Image Quality Test.

4If you do not see any problems with the Image Quality Test, the problem may not be with the printer itself. The problem may be with the RIP or the driver.

If you do see problems with the Image Quality Test, continue with the Advanced Diagnostic procedures which will help you diagnose the problem.

Printing the Diagnostic Print

1In the Service Utilities submenu, scroll to “Diagnostic Print” and press OK.

2You will be given three options. Use the Arrow keys to make the selection and press the OK key to start printing the required Diagnostic Print or to enter the Advanced Diagnostics menu.

3If you selected the Advanced Diagnostics Prints in the previous step, use the Arrow keys to make the required selection Paper Advance, Visual Alignment Diagnostic, Nozzle Health, Force Drop Detection or Print Banding Plot, and press the Enter key to start printing.

The Service Image Quality Diagnostic Print

4Make sure media is loaded, the Media Lever is lowered and that the Ink System is correctly installed. Press the OK key to print the Diagnostic Print or press Back/Cancel to exit without printing the Diagnostic Print.

5The selected Diagnostic Print will now be printed.

Reading the Diagnostic Print Results

Reading the Diagnostic Print Results

Diagnostic Part 1: Printhead Reliability

The Nozzle Print Test test is designed to check if the Printhead nozzles print correctly.

The nozzles check (bottom of the plot) is printed in a one-pass full swath mode. The diagnostics test prints out every single nozzle of each Printhead without applying an error hiding or alignment algorithm.

For each Printhead, you can see both the adjacent and the consecutive nozzles.

If any nozzles are not printing correctly they will be shown on the right of each Printhead Nozzle test.There is a series of numbered stepped diagonal lines. If one or more of the nozzles are clogged, malfunctioning or mispositioned, you will see that the stepped lines are broken or misdirected in one or more places.

Below, the stepped lines highlighted in yellow are broken. When the line is completely broken, this means the nozzle is out.

Reading the Diagnostic Print Results

Below, the stepped lines highlighted in yellow are misdirected. When the line is misdirected, this means the nozzle is malfunctioning or out of position.

On the left of each Printhead Nozzle test, there is a series of horizontal straight lines. If one or more nozzles are misdirected there will be unequal spaces between the corresponding lines.

Corrective Action

If the printer has nozzle defects, you can still get perfect print quality results. The printer can automatically compensate for nozzle defects, so there is no need to replace the Printhead.

The method of improving Nozzle Defects is to:

1Recover the Printheads, using the Front Panel Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Clean Printheads option.

2Reprint the Printhead Nozzles Test Plot to verify that the defective nozzles have been corrected.

3If the problem continues, replace the defective Printhead.

Diagnostic Part 2: Printhead Alignment

This test is designed to check any color-to-color and bi-directional misalignment the printer may have.

1 If the Printer is experiencing horizontal misalignment problems, the

Reading the Diagnostic Print Results

Alignment Test will show something like this:

2If the Printer is experiencing vertical misalignment problems, the Alignment Test will show something like this:

3If the Printer is experiencing bi-directional misalignment problems, the Alignment Test will show something like this:

Corrective Action

Perform the Printhead Alignment (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/ Align Printheads), using the same paper type with which you were experiencing unacceptable image quality, if feasible (some paper types are not suitable for Printhead Alignment).

Diagnostic Part 3: Printheads & Paper Advance

This test is designed to check whether the Printheads and the Paper Advance Mechanism are working correctly. This part of the Image Quality Test should NOT be used to check for color consistency or accuracy.

Reading the Diagnostic Print Results

Banding

If the Printer is experiencing a banding problem, you will see repetitive horizontal bands within the printed image.

Darker horizontal bands or lines repeated along the vertical band (from top to bottom at the same distance).

Whiter horizontal bands or lines along the vertical band (from top to bottom at the same distance).

The plot is printed in Best or Normal mode (according to the menu option selected) with Error Hiding ON. The top band has 100% ink density patches while the bottom band has 50% ink density patches.

Troubleshooting Banding Problems

If banding does NOT occur in ALL the colors, then it is more than likely a

Printhead problem. In this case, try the following:

1Check that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the User’s Guide for more information).

2Recover the printheads using the option through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Clean Printheads). Reprint the Diagnostic Print or the print file and if the problem persists, replace the faulty Printhead.

If banding does occur in ALL the colors, then it is more than likely a Paper Advance problem:

If the bands are light, it means that the paper has advanced too much.

Reading the Diagnostic Print Results

If the bands are dark, it means that the paper hasn’t advanced enough.

In high quality modes, graininess in ALL colors can indicate problems either with alignment or Paper Advance.

Corrective Action

In order to solve problems that result in banding, try the following:

1Check that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the User’s Guide for more information).

2Check that the loaded media is the same type as selected in the printer. You can verify the media type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/ Paper menu/View loaded paper).

3If the customer is using low quality paper, try recommending better quality paper (preferably HP paper). Printer performance can only be guaranteed by using recommended papers.

4Perform the Paper Advance Calibration using the same type of paper that will be used for the final print (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/ Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper Advance).

If there is white point banding in only one color band and the problem cannot be fixed using the Printhead recoveries, in some cases using the force a drop detection option can fix this issue. see Force Drop Detection, Page 1- 37

No Printing Defects Found in the Diagnostic Print

If all the test patterns from the Diagnostic Print are correct and you still experience Image Quality problems, you can use the following procedures to resolve the problem.

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

Visual Alignment Diagnostic

Nozzle Health

Force Drop Detection

If you still see Image Quality problems after performing these tests and the Diagnostic Print still looks correct, then it might be a problem with the image itself, or a software/application problem.

The Advanced Diagnostic Prints

The Advanced Diagnostic Prints

What are the Advanced Diagnostic Prints?

Advanced Diagnostic Plot. These tests provide more information of the IQ defects found in the Image Quality Service plot.

The Advanced Diagnostic Plot is divided into the following parts:

Visual Media Advanced Diagnostic. Used to check advance reliability.

Visual Alignment Diagnostic. Used to check pen alignment reliability.

Visual Nozzle health Diagnostic. Used to check nozzle health reliability.

Force Drop Detection. Used to reset the nozzle health historic data base and force new drop detection.

Printing the Advanced Diagnostics Print

1In the Service Utilities submenu, scroll to “Diagnostic Print” and press OK.

2You will be given three options. Use the Arrow keys to select the Advanced Diagnostics menu.

3From the displayed options, use the Arrow keys to make the required selection Paper Advance, Visual Alignment Diagnostic, Nozzle Health, Force Drop Detection or Print Banding Plot, and press the OK key to start printing.

The Advanced Diagnostic Prints

4Make sure media is loaded, the Media Lever is lowered and that the Ink System is correctly installed. Press the OK key to print the Diagnostic Print or press Back/Cancel to exit without printing the Diagnostic Print.

5The selected Advanced Diagnostic Print will now be printed.

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

Paper Advance

This plot helps you to visually check any alignment problems of the printer. You use it to precisely measure the media advance error with a one dot row accuracy, and to verify the stability of the media advance.

The whitest vertical line should be positioned in the 0 offset column with minor variations between +2 and -2 columns. If the offset is not positioned on the 0 column or between +2 and -2 columns and the whitest vertical

varies greatly, the printer requires Paper Advance Calibration (Main Menu/ Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper Advance).

It is very important to verify that the loaded media is the same media type as selected in the front panel. You can verify the media type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper). The wrong type of paper selected will produce an offset error in the Paper Advance.

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

The following plot shows correct media advance, there is a straight white line positioned close to the 0 column for the majority of the points.

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

The following plot shows a bad media advance, there is a straight white line positioned close to the -6 column, instead of the 0 column for the majority of the points.

Corrective Action

To fix Paper Advance problems, try the following:

1Check the Paper Advance Calibration Status. This can be done by going to Main Menu/Paper/View Loaded Paper. At the bottom, the Front Panel displays the Paper Advance Calibration status. There are three status messages:

DEFAULT. The paper loaded is recognized as HP paper, which is already optimized and calibrated for the printer. Do Not calibrate the Paper Advance for this paper.

RECOMMENDED. The paper loaded is NOT recognized as HP paper, and Paper Advance values have NOT been customized for this paper type. In this case, calibrate the Paper Advance from the user menu.

OK. This indicates that the paper loaded has been calibrated before. If the printer continues to have banding and graininess problems, calibrate the Paper Advance from the user menu.

Whenever the printer’s firmware is upgraded, the paper advance calibration values will be reset to factory default.

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

2To calibrate the Paper Advance from the user menu, go to Main Menu/ Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper Advance.

It is very important to verify that the loaded media is the same media type as selected in the front panel. You can verify the media type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper). The wrong type of paper selected will produce an offset error in the Paper Advance.

Some paper types are not suitable for Paper Advance Calibration. Do NOT use colored papers or transparent materials such as translucent bond, clear film, matte film, tracing paper, or vellum.

Paper Advance calibration from the user menu will only calibrate the Paper

Advance for the paper type loaded in the printer at that moment.

3If Calibrate Paper Advance has mostly solved the problem, try Adjust Paper Advance to fine tune the Paper Advance (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Adjust Paper Advance).

Select the percentage of change from -100% to 100%. To correct light banding, decrease the percentage. To correct dark banding, increase the percentage.

4The Paper Advance calibration from the service menu will calibrate the Paper Advance for ALL paper types. This action is recommended when:

The Paper Advance calibration from the user menu does NOT solve the problem.

The Paper Advance problems affect ALL paper types.

The procedure for Paper Advance Calibration from the service menu is documented in Chapter 5, Service Calibrations. see Paper Advance Calibration, Page 4-6.

Visual Alignment Diagnostic

This plot helps you to visually check any alignment problems of the printer. You use it to precisely measure the alignment error with a one dot row accuracy. For the printer to be considered correctly aligned, the results must be within ±1 dot row.

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

The illustration shows the complete Printhead Alignment that identifies each of the specific alignment test results covered.

a

b

c

d

e

f

The Visual Alignment Diagnostic print shows the following diagnostic test results:

aodd2even_SAD: Horizontal direction in forward and reverse.

bpen2pen_SAD: Horizontal direction.

cPAD

dpen2pen_bidir_SAD: Horizontal bi-direction.

ecolor_bidir_SAD: Horizontal bi-direction.

fthetaZ and VLS: only contour part (dark bands).

Reading the Printhead Alignment Diagnostic Print

The following plot shows correct visual alignment. The lightest band is positioned on the 0 column.

Corrective Action

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

For the thetaZ and VLS diagnostics the dark band of the print is the area to check. In the following example print the lightest segment of the dark band is positioned on the -1 column.

Dark band

If any of the printheads are misaligned beyond the ±1 dot row range, perform a Printhead Alignment. see Aligning Printheads, Page 1-66

If a Printhead Alignment does not correct the problem, replace the bad printhead.

If the customer is using non-HP media and after the Image Quality Test you still have the same image quality problems, change to genuine HP media and repeat the Image Quality Test. The best alignment calibration is obtained using HP Photo Paper.

Nozzle Health

The print contains three separate parts.

a

aThe Variable Frequency Nozzle health plot with odd/even nozzles separation. This is used to detect misdirected or weak nozzles, nozzles not working correctly at all frequencies, or even Gloss Enhancer (GE) color problems.

This plot might show defects with the printheads that are not visible in the Service Image Quality Diagnostic Print. Look at the color bars and lines

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

to check if you see any missing parts of the plot, banding or white streak in them.

b Inspector measuring tool test plot.

Test b should NOT be used by Service Engineers.

cNozzle Print Test which is also part of the Image Quality Service Plot. This test is designed to check that the Printhead nozzles print correctly. The test prints out every single nozzle of each Printhead. No error hiding or Printhead Alignment algorithm is applied. For each Printhead, you can see both the adjacent and the consecutive nozzles.

This is what you would see in the Nozzle Print Test part if there are nozzles not printing correctly:

1On the right of each Printhead Nozzle test, there is a series of numbered stepped diagonal lines. If one or more of the nozzles are malfunctioning or mis-positioned, you will see that the stepped lines are broken or misdirected in one or more places.

2On the left of each Printhead Nozzle test, there is a series of horizontal straight lines. If one or more nozzles are misdirected there will be unequal spaces between the corresponding lines.

Corrective Action for Nozzle Defects

If the printer has nozzle defects, it does not mean that you will not get perfect print quality results. The printer has automatic procedures to hide many nozzle defects.

1Recover the Printheads using the option through the Front Panel (Main menu/Image quality maintenance/clean printheads).

2Reprint the Nozzle Print test to check that the defective nozzles have been corrected.

3If the problem continues, replace the defective Printhead.

Force Drop Detection

If the Nozzle Print Test plot has persistent white point banding in only one color that cannot be fixed with a printhead recovery, you can use this option to resolve the problem by resetting the nozzle health data base so that all nozzles are assumed to be correct.

Once the nozzle health data base has been reset drop detection is forced.

The normal cause of this white point banding in a single color is the incorrect detection of failed nozzles by the drop detector.

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

Print Quality General Advice

1To achieve the best performance from the printer, only genuine HP accessories and supplies should be used.

2Make sure that the paper type selected in the Front Panel is the same as the paper type loaded into the printer and selected in your software.

3Make sure to use the most appropriate print quality settings for your purposes. A lower print quality is likely to be seen if the print quality slider has been moved to the Speed end of the scale, or the custom quality level set to Fast.

4Check that the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity) are within the temperature/humidity range as specified for the Printer and customer substrate (refer to the User’s Guide for more information).

5Check that the ink cartridges and printheads have not exceeded their expiration dates.

6Avoid touching the paper while printing is in progress.

Horizontal Lines Across the Image (Banding)

Description of problem

When you look at the image you have printed, there are horizontal lines across the image. Shown below is an example of what you might see if you have this problem:

Corrective Action

1Check that the paper type loaded corresponds to the paper type selected in the front panel and in the software. You can verify the paper type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper).

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

2Check that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the User’s Guide for more information) and reprint the image. In some cases print quality problems can be resolved by selecting a higher print quality level.

3In case of banding at Best print quality, try the More Passes option in the driver.

4Print the Service Image Diagnostics Print, and clean any printheads that need cleaning. Reprint the job in case the problem has been solved.

5Check the paper advance calibration status. If the status is PENDING, perform the Paper Advance Calibration (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper Advance).

6After calibration reprint the job.

Lines are Missing, Too Thin, or Too Thick

Description of problem

Shown below is an example of what you might see if you have this problem:

Corrective Action

1Check that the paper type loaded corresponds to the paper type selected in the front panel and in the software. You can verify the paper type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper).

2Check that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the User’s Guide for more information). Select the custom print quality options in the Print dialog, try turning on the Maximum detail option. Reprint the job in case the problem has been solved.

3If the resolution of the image is greater than the printing resolution, a loss of line quality may be seen. You can find the Max. Application Resolution option in the Windows driver dialog’s Advanced tab, under Document Options > Printer Features. Set the Max Application Resolution to 600. Reprint the job in case the problem has been solved.

4Check the Printhead alignment status. If the status is PENDING, perform the Printhead Alignment (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Align Printheads). After alignment reprint the job.

5Check the paper advance calibration status. If the status is PENDING, perform the paper advance calibration (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper Advance). After calibration reprint the job.

6Use Part 3 of the Image Quality Diagnostic Print, check if there are a significant amount of nozzles out in the color that is actually causing the

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

problem (if see you a problem with the Black color in the customer print, then only check the Black printhead in the Image Quality Diagnostic Print). If there is a significant amount of nozzles out then replace the defective Printhead.

Problems with Stepped Lines

Description of problem

When you look at the image you have printed there are ‘stepped lines’ in the borders of arrows and diagonal lines. The lines should be straight with no stepping.

Shown below is an example of what you might see if you have problems with Stepped Lines:

Corrective Action

1The problems may be inherent in the image that you are trying to print. Try to improve the image with the application that generated the file.

2Check that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the User’s Guide for more information).

3Turn On the Maximum Detail option in the Driver. Printing speed will be reduced, and the maximum detail option sometimes causes problems like missing objects or clipped images. For most print jobs, the default resolution is highly recommended.

4Change the image rendering resolution to 300 dpi or 600 dpi depending on the printing needs. You can find the Max. Application Resolution option in the Windows driver dialog’s Advanced tab, under Document Options > Printer Features.

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

Lines are Blurred (Ink Bleeds from Lines)

Description of problem

This problem is often caused by the ink soaking into the paper, making the lines blurred and fuzzy. This could be because of the humidity in the air.

Corrective Action

1Check that the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity) are suitable for high-quality printing.

2Make sure that the paper type selected in the Front Panel is the same as the paper type loaded into the printer and selected in your software.

3Try using a heavier paper type. When printing dense colors, it is recommended to use HP Heavyweight Coated Paper HP Super, Heavyweight Coated Paper or thicker Digital Fine Art papers.

4If glossy paper is being used, try changing to a different type of glossy paper.

5Select the custom print quality options in the Print dialog, and turn on the

More passes option

6Allow the prints time to dry separately; do NOT cover or stack them.

7Align the printheads. see Image Quality Maintenance Procedure, Page 1- 66.

Problems with Graininess

Description of problem

Shown below is an example of what you might see if you have problems with graininess:

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

Corrective Action

1Check that the paper type loaded corresponds to the paper type selected in the front panel and in the software. You can verify the paper type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper).

2Check that printing is on the correct side of the paper.

3Check that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the User’s Guide for more information). Select the custom print quality options in the Print dialog, and try turning on the More passes option. Reprint the job in case the problem has been solved.

4If you are using a Z3200 series printer, you can reduce grain by turning off or reducing the amount of gloss enhancer. You can do this through the Printer Utility, see the Users Guide for more details.

5Check the Printhead alignment status. If the status is PENDING, perform the Printhead Alignment (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Align Printheads). After alignment reprint the job.

6Check the paper advance calibration status. If the status is PENDING, perform the paper advance calibration (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper Advance).

7After Paper Advance Calibration, reprint the job.

Paper is not Flat

Description of problem

If the paper does not lie flat when it comes out of the Printer, but has shallow waves in it, you are likely to see visible defects in the printed image, such as vertical stripes. This can happen when you use thin paper that becomes saturated with ink.

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

Shown below is an example of what you might see if you have problems with the paper not being flat:

Corrective Action

1Check that the paper type loaded corresponds to the paper type selected in the front panel and in the software. You can verify the paper type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper).

2Try using a heavier paper type. When printing dense colors, it is recommended to use HP Heavyweight Coated Paper HP Super, Heavyweight Coated Paper or thicker Digital Fine Art papers.

3Check that the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity) are within the temperature/humidity range as specified for the Printer (refer to the User’s Guide for further information).

4Select a paper type that is slightly thinner than the paper you have loaded; this will persuade the printer to use less ink. Here are some example paper types in ascending order of thickness:

Plain Paper

Coated Paper

Heavyweight Coated Paper

Fine Art Paper

Super Heavyweight Plus Matte Paper

Thick Fine Art Paper (>250 g/m²).

If your paper type has different versions in the front panel with more and less ink, select the one with less ink.

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

Print Scuffing or Scratching when Touched

Description of problem

The black ink pigment can smudge when touched by a finger, a pen, or some other object. This is particularly noticeable on coated paper, matte proofing paper, and fine art material.

Glossy paper may be extremely sensitive to damage from the basket or to anything else that it contacts soon after printing, depending on the amount of ink used and the environmental conditions at the time of printing.

Corrective Action

1Handle prints carefully.

2Avoid stacking prints on top of each other.

3Disable the automatic cutter before printing, so that the print will not fall into the basket Alternatively, leave a sheet of paper in the basket so that freshly printed sheets do not make direct contact with the basket.

Marks on the Media

Marks on the paper can come in a variety of forms, including horizontal smears, pinchwheel marks, starwheel marks, and ink marks on the back of the paper.

Ink marks on the back of the paper

This can happen after a lot of border less printing, especially with nonstandard paper sizes. Also, loading media without skew check frequently leads to printing on the platen. Ink residues on the platen are likely to mark the back of the paper.

Corrective Action

Clean the platen with a soft cloth. Clean each rib separately without touching the foam between the ribs.

You can also load and unload a sheet of paper 3 times or until clean.

Horizontal Smears on the Paper

Horizontal smears on the paper occur when the printheads touch the paper and smear the image. In extreme conditions the customers print can look like the image below where the printheads have actually come into contact with the media and scraped off the ink. This problem can happen for different reasons, and will mostly depend on the following factors:

The type of paper used

The printmode selected

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

The environmental printing conditions

Corrective Action

1Whenever you notice this problem, cancel the printing job immediately. Press the Cancel key and also cancel the job from your computer application. Soaked paper can damage the printheads.

2Check that the paper type loaded corresponds to the paper type selected in the front panel and in the software. You can verify the paper type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper).

3Use a recommended paper type and the correct print settings.

4If using sheet paper, try rotating the sheet 90 degrees. The orientation of the paper fibers may affect performance.

5If you are using sheet media, load the media with skew check enabled if it is possible (skew check might not be suitable for some papers due to the way they are manufactured or cut).

6If a lot of ink is used on plain or coated paper, the paper absorbs the ink quickly and expands. As the printheads move over the paper, the printheads may touch the paper and smear the image. Try using a heavier paper type, like HP Heavyweight Coated Paper, HP Super Heavyweight Coated Paper or thicker Digital Fine Art papers that can absorb ink without expanding.

7Select a paper type that is slightly thinner than the paper you have loaded; this will persuade the printer to use less ink. Here are some example paper types in ascending order of thickness:

Plain Paper

Coated Paper

Heavyweight Coated Paper

Fine Art Paper

Super Heavyweight Plus Matte Paper

Thick Fine Art Paper (>250 g/m²).

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HP Designjet

Z2100/Z3100/Z3100ps/Z3200/

Z3200ps

GP Photo Printer Series

Version 10.0

September 21, 2008

Table of Contents

Using this Manual

Purpose

This Service Manual contains information necessary to test, calibrate and service:

HP designjet Z2100 Photo Printer 24 inch (Model Q6675A)

HP designjet Z2100 Photo Printer 44 inch (Model Q6677A)

HP designjet Z2100 Photo Printer Revision C 24 inch (Model Q6675C)

HP designjet Z2100 Photo Printer Revision C 44 inch (Model Q6677C)

HP designjet Z3100 Photo Printer 24 inch (Model Q5669A)

HP designjet Z3100 Photo Printer 44 inch (Model Q6659A)

HP designjet Z3100ps Photo Printer 24 inch (Model Q5670A)

HP designjet Z3100ps Photo Printer 44 inch (Model Q6660A)

HP designjet Z3200 Photo Printer 24 inch (Model Q6718A)

HP designjet Z3200 Photo Printer 44 inch (Model Q6719A)

HP designjet Z3200ps Photo Printer 24 inch (Model Q6720A)

HP designjet Z3200ps Photo Printer 44 inch (Model Q6721A)

For information about using these printers, refer to the corresponding User and Quick Reference Guides.

Readership

The procedures described in this Service Manual are to be performed by HP Certified service personnel only.

Part Numbers

Part Numbers for Printer options, accessories and service parts are located in Chapter 5, Parts and Diagrams.

Conventions

A small arrow indicates a link to other parts of the Service Manual where you can find information related to the topic you are consulting.

Flex Contacts Cleaning Tool 1-72

General Troubleshooting

General Troubleshooting

Introduction

This chapter will guide you through the relevant steps to take when troubleshooting the printer.

Troubleshooting System Error Codes

Chapter 2, System Error Codes contains a list of system error codes and their respective descriptions and recommended corrective actions. Only try one recommended action at a time and check if the error code has disappeared.

If you have an error code which is not documented in this Service Manual or you have an error which you cannot resolve, then report the error to the HP Response Center or the nearest HP Support Office. When reporting the error, have the following information ready:

Model and Serial Number of the printer.

Which firmware revision the printer is using (See Note below). Check firmware in Utilities / Statistics / Code rev.

The complete error number (See Note below).

The Service Configuration Print.

The Current configuration sheet.

Which software application the customer is using (name, version, etc.).

When reporting the System Error Code, make sure that you supply the full Error Code and the firmware version. Without this information, HP Support Personnel cannot help you.

Performing a Service Test on a failed Assembly

If possible, always perform a Service Test on the component/assembly that you are about to replace, just to make sure that is the component/assembly that has failed.

If the test on that component/assembly passes, you should NOT replace it.

For information on the Service Tests and how to use them see Chapter 3,

Service Tests and Utilities.

Troubleshooting

Performing the Necessary Service Calibrations

Is the printer calibrated correctly after replacing a component? For information on the Service Calibrations and how to use them, see Service Calibration Guide to Removal and Installation, Page 6-8 and Chapter 4, Service Calibrations.

Remember that certain Calibrations are required even if an Assembly has been disassembled to gain access to another Assembly or Component.

The Printer does not Power ON

1Check that the power cord is connected correctly to the Printer and to the Power Socket.

2Check that the Power Switch on the BACK of the Printer is in the ON position.

3Check to see the LED on the Front Panel Power Switch are On.

4Check that the Front-Panel Cable is correctly connected to the Electronics Module. Also make sure that the Front-Panel cable is not damaged.

5Replace the Power Supply Unit Page 6-164.

The Printer Continuously Rejects Printheads

1Clean the flex contacts on the Printhead and in the Carriage Assembly using the Carriage Interconnect Wiper (Refer to Page 1-72) and try again.

2If ALL the Printheads are rejected (the status message on the Front Panel does NOT show «OK» for ALL the Printheads) then perform the Electronic Module Test Page 3-22.

Cover Sensors are not Working

1Perform the Sensors Test Page 3-33.

2Check if the cable for the faulty sensor is not damaged and is connected correctly.

3Replace the faulty Sensor.

The Line Sensor has Problems Detecting Media

1Check the type of media that is being used since the Line sensor may have problems detecting transparent media or some types of Non-HP media. Try loading white HP media in to the Printer and check if the Line sensor detects it.

2Sometimes the line sensor has problems detecting media when sheet media is loaded without a skew check. If the media type allows, always use the automatic skew check feature. If the media type does not allow automatic skew check, manually check that the media is correctly positioned.

General Troubleshooting

3The Line Sensor is not calibrated correctly. Perform the Line Sensor Calibration Page 4-15.

4The Line Sensor is damaged or faulty. Replace the Line Sensor Page 6- 128.

Problems with Color Accuracy

1The Color Sensor ESP (spectrophotometer) is a powerful tool unique to the Z series printers to maintain color accuracy. If you notice any problems with colors, perform the Color Sensor ESP (spectrophotometer) calibration. Refer to Page 4-18.

Troubleshooting Media Jams/Printhead Crashes

The failure modes «media jam» and «head crash» are grouped together because in many cases a media jam causes the media to lift up into the Carriage path and cause a Printhead crash, thus causing many media jam failures to be reported as head crashes.

1Did the media jam occur when loading media?

If the client has had media jams, it is common for pieces of media to get stuck in the media path. Clear the media path.

When clearing a media jam, sometimes media is stuck in the paper path. To clear this, you must lift the Media Lever and insert thicker media into the paper path to push out the media that is still stuck there.

2Is the customer using non-HP media?

The use of non-HP media can easily be the cause of media jams and head crashes (especially head crashes because HP media is specially formulated to avoid cockle, one of the primary causes of head crashes). If the media is not HP approved, advise the customer to use HP media and check to see if the problem is now solved.

3Has media been loaded without skew check?

Loading media without skew check can cause printhead crashes both during loading and while printing. Whenever automatic skew check is available for a media type, it should be used. If automatic skew check is not allowed for the media type, manually check that the media is correctly positioned.

Standard/Normal Cut Sheets, depending on the degree of skew, cause printhead crashes when the corners are not evenly controlled (they are not pinched at the same time). This makes it more likely that the paper will be bent or damaged. Frequently, the paper curls upward when the paper expands due to ink absorption.

Commercial FA Arts Sheets have the same problem as the Standard/ Normal Cut Sheets described above. The difference is that the Commercial FA Arts Sheets have a weak, irregular edge that often makes the problem worse.

Hand-cut Rollsheets or Leftovers are not supported by the printers because errors are frequently made by the operator that cause printhead crashes.

General Troubleshooting

The printer has problems ejecting sheet media

The printer has problems ejecting sheet media, either continuing to eject the paper long after it has been ejected or stopping the ejecting process before the paper is completely ejected from the printer. To solve the problem, try the following:

Load media using the skew check feature whenever it is possible. When sheet media is loaded without the skew check feature, the printer estimates the length of the paper to be 4 times the width. If this estimate is either too short or too long, the printer will not properly eject the media.

Banding at variable extreme environmental conditions

Since the Accuracy Calibration has been done at normal environmental conditions, printing in extreme environmental conditions will cause banding because the advance of the Media Advance Roller does not correspond to the conditions present when the calibration was performed. To solve the problem, try the following:

Perform the Accuracy Calibration in the new environmental conditions (Refer to the User’s Guide).

Worm marks on HP Coated media with light area fills

Light bands (S-shaped) in Paper axis direction where light area fills are printed, causing unacceptable Image Quality defect.

Print the Service Configuration Print and check if the level of Humidity is very low (below 30%). Increasing humidity may help in reducing the severity of the problem.

The media is causing the problem and NOT the Printer. Do not attempt to try and replace Printer parts to solve this problem.

General Troubleshooting

Sheet media Always load sheet media using the Rear Input Tray. Do NOT load the media as you would load roll media, unless you are getting marks on the media with thick cut sheet media.

It must be loaded with the right-hand edge against the blue line on the Print Platen.

Load the sheet media without skew check.

The media may be crumpled or warped or may have irregular edges.

If hand-cut media is used, the edges may not form a right-angle or they may be rough. If possible, hand-cut media should not be used. Only purchased sheet media should be used in the Printer.

If you have problems with paper jams, check that the Overdrive is not obstructed by bits of paper or using the Turn Drive Roller Service Utility Page 3-61.

Make sure you choose the correct loading option on the Front Panel.

.

Software Troubleshooting

Software Troubleshooting

General advice:

Check that you have the latest driver release. Driver releases are available at www.hp.com/go/graphicarts

Installation

If the driver is available in a share drive, copy the installer or zip file locally into the hard disk before executing it.

The drivers are published in different formats in the web

Installer for Windows (.exe file that can be executed to start the installation)

Compressed package including all files that are needed to install the driver through the Add a Printer Wizard in Windows (.exe file that can be automatically extracted)

Image file for Mac (.dmg file)

Usually the Windows installer includes other components apart from the driver, like the HP Standard TCP/IP Port. This is the recommended port type when you need to install the printer on the network, so make sure that you have installed the driver with the installer at least once to have this port type available.

If you want to upgrade the driver in the future, although it is recommended to continue using the installer, you can use the manual wizard if you are concerned about file download size. When you install the driver from the original CD/DVD, you are using the Installer so the necessary components will be installed also.

Installation logs are located at:

C:windowshpdjxxxx.log (different for each printer name)

C:windowssounder.his

C:windowshpntwksetup.ini

They might be useful in case of escalating an installation error to the Lfp

Helpdesk

Problems with Image Clipping

This normally indicates a discrepancy between the actual printable area on the loaded paper and the printable area as understood by the software. This kind of problem can often be identified before printing by previewing the print.

Check the actual printable area for the paper size that is loaded. printable area = paper size – margins

Check what the software understands to be the printable area (which it may call “printing area” or “imageable area”). For example, some software applications assume standard printable areas that are larger than those used in this Printer.

If a custom page size with very narrow margins has been defined, the

Software Troubleshooting

printer may impose its own minimal margins, clipping the image slightly. Consider using a larger paper size, or border less printing.

If the image contains its own margins, it may be possible to print it successfully by using the Clip Contents by Margins option.

If a very long image needs to be printed on a roll, check that the software is capable of printing an image of that size.

The page may have been rotated from portrait to landscape on a paper size that is not wide enough.

If the paper was loaded without the skew check feature, the preview function may not function correctly because the printer must estimate the paper length. Whenever possible, load media using the skew check feature.

If necessary, change the printable area in the software.

If necessary, reduce the size of the image or document in your software application, so it fits between the margins

Another Possible Explanation

Some applications, such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and CorelDRAW, use an internal 16–bit coordinate system which means that they cannot handle an image of more than 32,768 pixels. If you try to print an image larger than this from these applications, the bottom of the image will be clipped. In this case, the only way to print the whole image is to reduce the resolution so that the whole image requires fewer than 32,768 pixels. An image 32,768 pixels long would print at a length of 54.61 in or 1.39 m if you select Best or Quality in the driver, 109.23 in or 2.78 m if you select Fast, Normal or Speed in the driver.

To print the whole image, try these suggestions:

When printing into a PS printer, Try using the PostScript printer driver to print your job, if you have not already tried it

The Windows PCL3 driver dialog includes an option called Max. application resolution, which enables you to print successfully in this situation. For the Z3200 it is set to Auto. For older products, or if you want to make sure that the resolution is lowered, you might need to change the setting manually to 300. You can find the option in the Advanced tab, under Document Options > Printer Features.

Save the file in another format, such as TIFF or EPS, and open it with another application.

Use a RIP to print the file.

Output Only Contains a Partial Print

If the output that was expected only contains a partial image, then try the following to resolve the problem:

1Was the Cancel key pressed before all the data was received by the Printer? If so, send the file again and make sure that the Cancel key is not pressed.

2The I/O Timeout setting may be too short. Increase the I/O timeout setting (Setup Menu/I/O Setup/IO Timeout) and then send the file again.

Software Troubleshooting

3There might be a communications problem between the Printer and Computer. Check the USB or network cable between the computer and the Printer to make sure it is not damaged and is connected correctly.

4Make sure that the software settings are correct for the current page size (e.g. long-axis prints).

5If network software is being used, make sure it has not timed out.

Some objects are missing from the printed image

Large quantities of data may be necessary to print a high-quality largeformat print job, and in some specific workflow there may be issues that can lead to some objects missing from the output.

Corrective Action

In the Advanced tab, select Document options, Printer features, and set Send job as bitmap to Enabled (HP-GL/2 driver only).

In the Advanced tab, select Document options, Printer features, and set 16-bit App. Compatibility to Enabled.

Select a smaller page size and scale to the desired final page size in the driver or in the front panel.

Save the file in another format, such as TIFF or EPS, and open it with another application.

Use a RIP to print the file.

Reduce the resolution of bitmap images in your application software.

Select a lower print quality in order to reduce the resolution of the printed image.

The above settings are mentioned for troubleshooting purposes and may adversely affect the final output quality or the time necessary to generate the print job. Therefore, they should be restored to their default values if they do not help to solve the problem.

When working under Mac OS, the above settings are not available. Instead, try reducing the resolution of bitmap images in the application software being used.

If the spool file size is bigger than 1GB, part of the image will be clipped

Versions affected: Any application in Windows XP Drivers affected: Drivers that use EMF spooling Description:

Some drivers generate spool files in EMF format. The OS has a limitation in the size of this EMF file. Currently the drivers that use EMF are:

Z2100/Z3100 PCL3GUI driver

Z2100/Z3100 HP-GL/2 driver if the preview or back to front printing settings are used

Corrective Action

Reduce the resolution.

Software Troubleshooting

Reduce resolution in driver by selecting a lower printmode (Best or normal instead of Max Detail).

In the Advanced tab of the driver, select Max application resolution = 300 to reduce the driver resolution while keeping the rest of the printmode characteristics (number of passes for example).

Disable the Print Processor module in the PCL3GUI driver, which is responsible for generating EMF. You can do this by going to the Advanced tab of the driver and disabling the Advanced Printing Features. The trade-off is that you cannot use the following features in the PCL3GUI driver: Preview, rotation, scaling, Office features, Back to front printing.

In the HP-GL/2 driver, do not use preview or back to front printing to avoid generating EMF files.

Use a RIP or a PS model

Limit for Windows 2000 spool file size is smaller (200MB).

Observation: Customer might report that when choosing preview, the job is not printed but it is printed when he does not select the preview setting. The cause of the problem might be related to the fact that the HP-GL/2 driver will use EMF if you do a preview so this limitation applies in this case.

When the image needs to be rotated, parts of the image might be clipped or disappear

Versions affected: Any application in Windows

Drivers affected: Drivers that use EMF spooling, like the PCL3Gui driver for the Z Series

Description:

When the image is rotated, sometimes part of the image is clipped. We have seen this in several applications like Photoshop or Acrobat. In other cases, instead of clipping the end of the image, the symptom is that some objects inside the image disappear, we have seen the effect in Acrobat.

Corrective Action

If possible, rotate inside the application instead of in the driver

Reduce resolution in driver by selecting a lower printmode (Best or normal instead of Max Detail)

Remember that if the image is wider than the paper loaded, the image will be automatically rotated. If possible rotate the image inside the application

instead of letting the driver rotate it automatically when it does not fit.

Driver version available in Fall’08 will improve the performace when printing big files or rotating images.

Adobe Photoshop

It is not possible to open images that have more than 300,000

Software Troubleshooting

pixels in any direction (width or length)

Versions affected: All Drivers affected: All

Corrective Action

Not available

It is not possible to print images that have more than 30,000 pixels in any direction (Print menu gets grayed out)

Versions affected: CS and previous Drivers affected: All

Corrective Action

Reduce image resolution in Photoshop (Image –> Image Size)

Use a RIP to print the file

Image will be clipped if it is longer than 32768 pixels

Versions affected: All except CS2

Drivers affected: PCL3GUI and HP-GL/2 drivers Description:

If the page size to be printed is bigger than 32768 pixels in any direction (215 pixels), the image will not be completely printed. The number of pixels depends on the driver resolution:

At 1200dpi you can print 27.31” (69cm). This is equivalent to Max Detail in the Z2100/Z3100 driver

At 600 dpi you can print 54.61” (1.39m). This is equivalent to Best in the Z2100/Z3100 driver

At 300 dpi you can print 109.23” (2.78m). This is equivalent to Fast or Normal in the Z2100/Z3100 driver

Corrective Action

Reduce resolution in driver by selecting a lower printmode (Best or normal instead of Max Detail)

In the Advanced tab of the driver, select Max application resolution = 300 to reduce the driver resolution while keeping the rest of the printmode characteristics (number of passes for example)

Convert the image to PDF and print from Acrobat, or use a RIP

Print from CS2. CS2 allows printing 231pixels, which results in lengths of kilometers.

Reduce the image size so that it is inside the limits that can be printed and then scale from the driver to the desired size

Use a RIP or a PS model

Carriage stops between swaths leaving some horizontal marks in the middle of the plot

Versions affected: All but seen more often in CS3 Drivers affected: PCL3GUI drivers

Description:

Software Troubleshooting

When printing some long or high resolution images, even if being inside the limits of the number of pixels that can be printed, sometimes the carriage stops between different swaths. When the carriage stops, an horizontal line in a different color might be seen due to the ink that has dried between the different passes of the carriage over the same swath

Corrective Action

Reduce resolution in driver by selecting a lower printmode (Best or normal instead of Max Detail)

In the Advanced tab of the driver, select Max application resolution = 300 to reduce the driver resolution while keeping the rest of the printmode characteristics (number of passes for example)

Disable the Memory manager setting in the Advanced tab of the driver

Driver version available in Fall’08 will improve the performace when printing big files or rotating images.

Image does not get correctly centered http://www.adobe.com/go/kb402021 Versions affected: CS3

Drivers affected: All Description:

Even after selecting the Center option in the Print Menu, the image is not centered

Corrective Action

Install the Photoshop 10.0.1 update or later

Portrait or landscape orientation is not taken into account http://www.adobe.com/go/kb403012

Versions affected: CS3 Drivers affected: All Description:

Print options such as landscape orientation, print preview, scale fit to media, roll paper-panormama printing, user-defined paper sizes, and printing the full image, don’t work as expected when you print from Photoshop CS3. This can occur when you choose a custom page size in Photoshop CS3.

Corrective Action

Get the latest CS3 patch

Select the page size settings inside the File –Print menu instead of the File

– Page Setup menu

Ultimately use CS or CS2 to print the image

Image is printed in letter size

Versions affected: CS3

Drivers affected: All

Description:

Software Troubleshooting

When creating a custom page size, the image is printed in letter size. The difference between this limitation and the pixels limitation is that in this case you have a reduction of size both in length and in width. In the case of the pixel limitation you only have the reduction in length, but the width is usually printed correctly.

Corrective Action

Get the latest CS3 patch

Create custom page sizes with bigger lengths than widths and then select the landscape option if needed.

Latest drivers do not allow creating page sizes with bigger widths than lengths.

Select the page size settings inside the File –Print menu instead of the File

– Page Setup menu

In Windows Vista, open the print preferences dialog again after clicking on the Print button of the Photoshop Print dialog, and select again the custom page size. It will be kept in this way.

Ultimately use CS or CS2 to print the image

Adobe Acrobat

Image is printed in letter size

Versions affected: All Drivers affected: All Description:

When creating a custom page size, it might not be available to be selected from the application until you close Acrobat and open it again. The result is that Acrobat will go back to the default selection for page size, which is Letter. If the customer does not realize that the page size changed again after closing the driver dialog, it will look like part of the image is clipped.

Corrective Action

Close Acrobat and open it again.

Clipped images when printing long files

Versions affected: All

Drivers affected: Drivers that use EMF spooling

Z2100/Z3100 PCL3GUI driver

Z2100/Z3100 HP-GL/2 driver if the following settings are selected: preview, back to front printing

Description:

The image is not completely printed. We have seen this more often in files that are longer than 54” (printing at 600dpi) or 108” (printing at 300dpi). There is a limitation in the way that Acrobat handles EMF files, sometimes depending on the complexity of the EMF file, part of the image is lost. It could be that the end of the image is not printed, or some objects might disappear.

Software Troubleshooting

Corrective Action

Update to latest Acrobat version. Old Acrobat releases had limitations in the length of images that could be printed

Create custom page sizes with bigger lengths than widths and then select the landscape option if needed.

Latest drivers do not allow creating page sizes with bigger widths than lengths.

If you need to rotate the image, rotate it inside the applicatiion (with Acrobat Professional). Please be aware that when you rotate in Acrobat Reader you are just rotating the view but the file is not rotated.

Reduce resolution in driver by selecting a lower printmode (Best or normal instead of Max Detail)

In the Advanced tab of the driver, select Max application resolution = 300 to reduce the driver resolution while keeping the rest of the printmode characteristics (number of passes for example)

Disable the Print Processor module in the PCL3GUI driver, which is responsible for generating EMF. You can do this by going to the Advanced tab of the driver and disabling the Advanced Printing Features. The trade-off is that you cannot use the following features in the PCL3GUI driver: Preview, rotation, scaling, Office features, Back to front printing.

In the HP-GL/2 driver, do not use preview or back to front printing to avoid generating EMF files.

Use a RIP or a PS model

Microsoft Powerpoint

Part of the image is lost when printing big slides in landscape orientation

Versions affected: All

Drivers affected: Z2100/Z3100 PCL3GUI driver Description:

When printing a slide in landscape format which will need to be rotated in order to fit in the currentlly loaded roll, the result is that parts of the image might disappear (objects, background), or the image might be clipped.

Corrective Action

Upgrade the unit to HP-GL/2 and use the HP-GL/2 driver

Save in a different format and print from another application

Print on rolls that are wider than the slides that need to be printed

Driver version available in Fall’08 will improve the performace when printing big files or rotating images.

Software Troubleshooting

Adobe Photoshop CS for Mac

It is not possible to open images that have more than 300.000 pixels in any direction (width or length)

Versions affected: All Drivers affected: All

Corrective Action

Not available

It is not possible to print images that have more than 30.000 pixels in any direction (Print menu gets grayed out)

Versions affected: CS and previous Drivers affected: All

Corrective Action

Reduce image resolution in Photoshop (Image –> Image Size)

Use a RIP to print the file

Image will be clipped if it is longer than 32768 pixels

Versions affected: All except CS2. Illustrator or Indesign have similar limitations.

Drivers affected: PCL3GUI drivers Description:

If the page size to be printed is bigger than 32768 pixels in any direction (215 pixels), the image will not be completely printed. The number of pixels depends on the driver resolution:

At 1200dpi you can print 27.31” (69cm). This is equivalent to Max Detail in the Z2100/Z3100 driver

At 600 dpi you can print 54.61” (1.39m). This is equivalent to Best in the Z2100/Z3100 driver

At 300 dpi you can print 109.23” (2.78m). This is equivalent to Fast or Normal in the Z2100/Z3100 driver

Corrective Action

Reduce resolution in driver by selecting a lower printmode (Best or normal instead of Max Detail)

Convert the image to PDF and print from Acrobat, or use a RIP

Print from CS2. CS2 allows printing 231pixels, which results in lengths of kilometers.

Reduce the image size so that it is inside the limits that can be printed and then scale from the driver to the desired size

It is not possible to print longer than 455inches

Versions affected: All

Drivers affected: PCL3GUI drivers

Description:

Software Troubleshooting

Photoshop uses an internal resolution of 75dpi, so even if you have reduced the resolution of the image to print longer files and overcome the 30.000 pixels limitation, you will not be able to print longer than 455inches.

Corrective Action

Use a RIP

Adobe Illustrator/InDesign for Mac

It is not possible to create long documents

Versions affected: All

Drivers affected: All

Description:

When creating a new document, its size is limited to 227.5416 inches for

Illustrator and 106inches for InDesign.

Corrective Action

Not Available

It is not possible to print longer than 109inches

Versions affected: All

Drivers affected: PCL3GUI drivers

Description:

Files longer than 109inches will be clipped. The reason is:

Illustrator does not take into account the raster resolution from the application when printing on raster devices, and it always takes 300dpi, which is the driver resolution, to create the spool file. Therefore it limits the maximum printable document size to 109inches (32.700pixels/300dpi)

InDesign has different settings to handle resolution (full resolution, optimized resolution or screen resolution). For all cases, the spool file includes 300dpi data so the maximum length is also 109inches

Corrective Action

Use a different application

Use a RIP or a PS printer

Print Quality Troubleshooting

Print Quality Troubleshooting

Print Quality Troubleshooting Actions

For some Print Quality problems, a Call Agent can try and troubleshoot the Printer by requesting the Customer to perform certain actions. Using this process, most problems can resolved without the need of an on-site visit.

When faced with a Print Quality problem, perform the following actions in order to resolve the problem:

1Printer Configuration:

Check that the paper type loaded corresponds to the paper type selected in the front panel and in the software. You can verify the paper type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper).

If you load a sheet without using the skew check feature, the printer automatically estimates the paper length to be 4 times the width. If skew check is not used, the View Loaded Paper option will only reflect the estimation made by the printer, and not the real length.

Make sure that the correct Print Quality settings are used for different types of print content.

Dry time should be set to “Optimal”.

2Perform Printhead recovery (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/ Clean Printheads).

3Media:

Make sure that HP or HP-approved media is being used.

When loading the media, make sure to use the skew check feature whenever possible (skew check is not available for some types of media).

4Perform the Printhead Alignment (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/ Align Printheads), using the same paper type with which you were experiencing unacceptable image quality, if feasible (some paper types are not suitable for Printhead Alignment).

5Check if the latest version of the firmware is installed. If not, install the latest firmware revision.

The Service Image Quality Diagnostic Print

The Service Image Quality Diagnostic Print

What is the Service Image Quality Diagnostic Print?

The Printer contains an internal Image Quality Test which helps you to diagnose the possible source of any image quality defects. The Service IQ Diagnostic Print is available in the following options:

1Image Quality Service Best Plot. This plot helps you to diagnose in more detail the possible source of any image quality defects. It is accessible through the Service Utility Menu.

The Image Quality Service Best Plot uses the Best Print Mode and is divided in to three parts as follows:

Diagnostic Part 1: Printhead Reliability Test. The purpose of this test is to identify which Printhead is faulty.

Diagnostic Part 2: Printhead Alignment Test. This test is designed to check any color-to-color and bi-directional misalignment the printer may have.

Diagnostic Part 3: Printheads and Paper Advance test. This test is designed to check whether the Printheads and the Media Advance Mechanism are working correctly.

2Image Quality Service Normal Plot. This plot is the same as the Image Quality Service Best Plot but uses the Normal Print Mode.

3Advanced Diagnostic Plot. These tests provide more information of the IQ defects that we could find in the Image Quality Service plot. For more information, refer to page 1-29, The Advanced Diagnostic Prints.

The Service Image Quality Diagnostic Print

Considerations for Printing the Diagnostic Print

1The IQ Diagnostic Print prints in A3 and B sizes so you must have media loaded (roll or sheet) that is this size or larger.

2Use the same type of media that the customer was using when they found the image quality problem.

3If the customer is using non-HP media and after the Image Quality Test you still have the same image quality problems, change to genuine HP media and repeat the Image Quality Test.

4If you do not see any problems with the Image Quality Test, the problem may not be with the printer itself. The problem may be with the RIP or the driver.

If you do see problems with the Image Quality Test, continue with the Advanced Diagnostic procedures which will help you diagnose the problem.

Printing the Diagnostic Print

1In the Service Utilities submenu, scroll to “Diagnostic Print” and press OK.

2You will be given three options. Use the Arrow keys to make the selection and press the OK key to start printing the required Diagnostic Print or to enter the Advanced Diagnostics menu.

3If you selected the Advanced Diagnostics Prints in the previous step, use the Arrow keys to make the required selection Paper Advance, Visual Alignment Diagnostic, Nozzle Health, Force Drop Detection or Print Banding Plot, and press the Enter key to start printing.

The Service Image Quality Diagnostic Print

4Make sure media is loaded, the Media Lever is lowered and that the Ink System is correctly installed. Press the OK key to print the Diagnostic Print or press Back/Cancel to exit without printing the Diagnostic Print.

5The selected Diagnostic Print will now be printed.

Reading the Diagnostic Print Results

Reading the Diagnostic Print Results

Diagnostic Part 1: Printhead Reliability

The Nozzle Print Test test is designed to check if the Printhead nozzles print correctly.

The nozzles check (bottom of the plot) is printed in a one-pass full swath mode. The diagnostics test prints out every single nozzle of each Printhead without applying an error hiding or alignment algorithm.

For each Printhead, you can see both the adjacent and the consecutive nozzles.

If any nozzles are not printing correctly they will be shown on the right of each Printhead Nozzle test.There is a series of numbered stepped diagonal lines. If one or more of the nozzles are clogged, malfunctioning or mispositioned, you will see that the stepped lines are broken or misdirected in one or more places.

Below, the stepped lines highlighted in yellow are broken. When the line is completely broken, this means the nozzle is out.

Reading the Diagnostic Print Results

Below, the stepped lines highlighted in yellow are misdirected. When the line is misdirected, this means the nozzle is malfunctioning or out of position.

On the left of each Printhead Nozzle test, there is a series of horizontal straight lines. If one or more nozzles are misdirected there will be unequal spaces between the corresponding lines.

Corrective Action

If the printer has nozzle defects, you can still get perfect print quality results. The printer can automatically compensate for nozzle defects, so there is no need to replace the Printhead.

The method of improving Nozzle Defects is to:

1Recover the Printheads, using the Front Panel Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Clean Printheads option.

2Reprint the Printhead Nozzles Test Plot to verify that the defective nozzles have been corrected.

3If the problem continues, replace the defective Printhead.

Diagnostic Part 2: Printhead Alignment

This test is designed to check any color-to-color and bi-directional misalignment the printer may have.

1 If the Printer is experiencing horizontal misalignment problems, the

Reading the Diagnostic Print Results

Alignment Test will show something like this:

2If the Printer is experiencing vertical misalignment problems, the Alignment Test will show something like this:

3If the Printer is experiencing bi-directional misalignment problems, the Alignment Test will show something like this:

Corrective Action

Perform the Printhead Alignment (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/ Align Printheads), using the same paper type with which you were experiencing unacceptable image quality, if feasible (some paper types are not suitable for Printhead Alignment).

Diagnostic Part 3: Printheads & Paper Advance

This test is designed to check whether the Printheads and the Paper Advance Mechanism are working correctly. This part of the Image Quality Test should NOT be used to check for color consistency or accuracy.

Reading the Diagnostic Print Results

Banding

If the Printer is experiencing a banding problem, you will see repetitive horizontal bands within the printed image.

Darker horizontal bands or lines repeated along the vertical band (from top to bottom at the same distance).

Whiter horizontal bands or lines along the vertical band (from top to bottom at the same distance).

The plot is printed in Best or Normal mode (according to the menu option selected) with Error Hiding ON. The top band has 100% ink density patches while the bottom band has 50% ink density patches.

Troubleshooting Banding Problems

If banding does NOT occur in ALL the colors, then it is more than likely a

Printhead problem. In this case, try the following:

1Check that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the User’s Guide for more information).

2Recover the printheads using the option through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Clean Printheads). Reprint the Diagnostic Print or the print file and if the problem persists, replace the faulty Printhead.

If banding does occur in ALL the colors, then it is more than likely a Paper Advance problem:

If the bands are light, it means that the paper has advanced too much.

Reading the Diagnostic Print Results

If the bands are dark, it means that the paper hasn’t advanced enough.

In high quality modes, graininess in ALL colors can indicate problems either with alignment or Paper Advance.

Corrective Action

In order to solve problems that result in banding, try the following:

1Check that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the User’s Guide for more information).

2Check that the loaded media is the same type as selected in the printer. You can verify the media type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/ Paper menu/View loaded paper).

3If the customer is using low quality paper, try recommending better quality paper (preferably HP paper). Printer performance can only be guaranteed by using recommended papers.

4Perform the Paper Advance Calibration using the same type of paper that will be used for the final print (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/ Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper Advance).

If there is white point banding in only one color band and the problem cannot be fixed using the Printhead recoveries, in some cases using the force a drop detection option can fix this issue. see Force Drop Detection, Page 1- 37

No Printing Defects Found in the Diagnostic Print

If all the test patterns from the Diagnostic Print are correct and you still experience Image Quality problems, you can use the following procedures to resolve the problem.

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

Visual Alignment Diagnostic

Nozzle Health

Force Drop Detection

If you still see Image Quality problems after performing these tests and the Diagnostic Print still looks correct, then it might be a problem with the image itself, or a software/application problem.

The Advanced Diagnostic Prints

The Advanced Diagnostic Prints

What are the Advanced Diagnostic Prints?

Advanced Diagnostic Plot. These tests provide more information of the IQ defects found in the Image Quality Service plot.

The Advanced Diagnostic Plot is divided into the following parts:

Visual Media Advanced Diagnostic. Used to check advance reliability.

Visual Alignment Diagnostic. Used to check pen alignment reliability.

Visual Nozzle health Diagnostic. Used to check nozzle health reliability.

Force Drop Detection. Used to reset the nozzle health historic data base and force new drop detection.

Printing the Advanced Diagnostics Print

1In the Service Utilities submenu, scroll to “Diagnostic Print” and press OK.

2You will be given three options. Use the Arrow keys to select the Advanced Diagnostics menu.

3From the displayed options, use the Arrow keys to make the required selection Paper Advance, Visual Alignment Diagnostic, Nozzle Health, Force Drop Detection or Print Banding Plot, and press the OK key to start printing.

The Advanced Diagnostic Prints

4Make sure media is loaded, the Media Lever is lowered and that the Ink System is correctly installed. Press the OK key to print the Diagnostic Print or press Back/Cancel to exit without printing the Diagnostic Print.

5The selected Advanced Diagnostic Print will now be printed.

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

Paper Advance

This plot helps you to visually check any alignment problems of the printer. You use it to precisely measure the media advance error with a one dot row accuracy, and to verify the stability of the media advance.

The whitest vertical line should be positioned in the 0 offset column with minor variations between +2 and -2 columns. If the offset is not positioned on the 0 column or between +2 and -2 columns and the whitest vertical

varies greatly, the printer requires Paper Advance Calibration (Main Menu/ Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper Advance).

It is very important to verify that the loaded media is the same media type as selected in the front panel. You can verify the media type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper). The wrong type of paper selected will produce an offset error in the Paper Advance.

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

The following plot shows correct media advance, there is a straight white line positioned close to the 0 column for the majority of the points.

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

The following plot shows a bad media advance, there is a straight white line positioned close to the -6 column, instead of the 0 column for the majority of the points.

Corrective Action

To fix Paper Advance problems, try the following:

1Check the Paper Advance Calibration Status. This can be done by going to Main Menu/Paper/View Loaded Paper. At the bottom, the Front Panel displays the Paper Advance Calibration status. There are three status messages:

DEFAULT. The paper loaded is recognized as HP paper, which is already optimized and calibrated for the printer. Do Not calibrate the Paper Advance for this paper.

RECOMMENDED. The paper loaded is NOT recognized as HP paper, and Paper Advance values have NOT been customized for this paper type. In this case, calibrate the Paper Advance from the user menu.

OK. This indicates that the paper loaded has been calibrated before. If the printer continues to have banding and graininess problems, calibrate the Paper Advance from the user menu.

Whenever the printer’s firmware is upgraded, the paper advance calibration values will be reset to factory default.

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

2To calibrate the Paper Advance from the user menu, go to Main Menu/ Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper Advance.

It is very important to verify that the loaded media is the same media type as selected in the front panel. You can verify the media type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper). The wrong type of paper selected will produce an offset error in the Paper Advance.

Some paper types are not suitable for Paper Advance Calibration. Do NOT use colored papers or transparent materials such as translucent bond, clear film, matte film, tracing paper, or vellum.

Paper Advance calibration from the user menu will only calibrate the Paper

Advance for the paper type loaded in the printer at that moment.

3If Calibrate Paper Advance has mostly solved the problem, try Adjust Paper Advance to fine tune the Paper Advance (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Adjust Paper Advance).

Select the percentage of change from -100% to 100%. To correct light banding, decrease the percentage. To correct dark banding, increase the percentage.

4The Paper Advance calibration from the service menu will calibrate the Paper Advance for ALL paper types. This action is recommended when:

The Paper Advance calibration from the user menu does NOT solve the problem.

The Paper Advance problems affect ALL paper types.

The procedure for Paper Advance Calibration from the service menu is documented in Chapter 5, Service Calibrations. see Paper Advance Calibration, Page 4-6.

Visual Alignment Diagnostic

This plot helps you to visually check any alignment problems of the printer. You use it to precisely measure the alignment error with a one dot row accuracy. For the printer to be considered correctly aligned, the results must be within ±1 dot row.

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

The illustration shows the complete Printhead Alignment that identifies each of the specific alignment test results covered.

a

b

c

d

e

f

The Visual Alignment Diagnostic print shows the following diagnostic test results:

aodd2even_SAD: Horizontal direction in forward and reverse.

bpen2pen_SAD: Horizontal direction.

cPAD

dpen2pen_bidir_SAD: Horizontal bi-direction.

ecolor_bidir_SAD: Horizontal bi-direction.

fthetaZ and VLS: only contour part (dark bands).

Reading the Printhead Alignment Diagnostic Print

The following plot shows correct visual alignment. The lightest band is positioned on the 0 column.

Corrective Action

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

For the thetaZ and VLS diagnostics the dark band of the print is the area to check. In the following example print the lightest segment of the dark band is positioned on the -1 column.

Dark band

If any of the printheads are misaligned beyond the ±1 dot row range, perform a Printhead Alignment. see Aligning Printheads, Page 1-66

If a Printhead Alignment does not correct the problem, replace the bad printhead.

If the customer is using non-HP media and after the Image Quality Test you still have the same image quality problems, change to genuine HP media and repeat the Image Quality Test. The best alignment calibration is obtained using HP Photo Paper.

Nozzle Health

The print contains three separate parts.

a

aThe Variable Frequency Nozzle health plot with odd/even nozzles separation. This is used to detect misdirected or weak nozzles, nozzles not working correctly at all frequencies, or even Gloss Enhancer (GE) color problems.

This plot might show defects with the printheads that are not visible in the Service Image Quality Diagnostic Print. Look at the color bars and lines

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

to check if you see any missing parts of the plot, banding or white streak in them.

b Inspector measuring tool test plot.

Test b should NOT be used by Service Engineers.

cNozzle Print Test which is also part of the Image Quality Service Plot. This test is designed to check that the Printhead nozzles print correctly. The test prints out every single nozzle of each Printhead. No error hiding or Printhead Alignment algorithm is applied. For each Printhead, you can see both the adjacent and the consecutive nozzles.

This is what you would see in the Nozzle Print Test part if there are nozzles not printing correctly:

1On the right of each Printhead Nozzle test, there is a series of numbered stepped diagonal lines. If one or more of the nozzles are malfunctioning or mis-positioned, you will see that the stepped lines are broken or misdirected in one or more places.

2On the left of each Printhead Nozzle test, there is a series of horizontal straight lines. If one or more nozzles are misdirected there will be unequal spaces between the corresponding lines.

Corrective Action for Nozzle Defects

If the printer has nozzle defects, it does not mean that you will not get perfect print quality results. The printer has automatic procedures to hide many nozzle defects.

1Recover the Printheads using the option through the Front Panel (Main menu/Image quality maintenance/clean printheads).

2Reprint the Nozzle Print test to check that the defective nozzles have been corrected.

3If the problem continues, replace the defective Printhead.

Force Drop Detection

If the Nozzle Print Test plot has persistent white point banding in only one color that cannot be fixed with a printhead recovery, you can use this option to resolve the problem by resetting the nozzle health data base so that all nozzles are assumed to be correct.

Once the nozzle health data base has been reset drop detection is forced.

The normal cause of this white point banding in a single color is the incorrect detection of failed nozzles by the drop detector.

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

Print Quality General Advice

1To achieve the best performance from the printer, only genuine HP accessories and supplies should be used.

2Make sure that the paper type selected in the Front Panel is the same as the paper type loaded into the printer and selected in your software.

3Make sure to use the most appropriate print quality settings for your purposes. A lower print quality is likely to be seen if the print quality slider has been moved to the Speed end of the scale, or the custom quality level set to Fast.

4Check that the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity) are within the temperature/humidity range as specified for the Printer and customer substrate (refer to the User’s Guide for more information).

5Check that the ink cartridges and printheads have not exceeded their expiration dates.

6Avoid touching the paper while printing is in progress.

Horizontal Lines Across the Image (Banding)

Description of problem

When you look at the image you have printed, there are horizontal lines across the image. Shown below is an example of what you might see if you have this problem:

Corrective Action

1Check that the paper type loaded corresponds to the paper type selected in the front panel and in the software. You can verify the paper type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper).

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

2Check that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the User’s Guide for more information) and reprint the image. In some cases print quality problems can be resolved by selecting a higher print quality level.

3In case of banding at Best print quality, try the More Passes option in the driver.

4Print the Service Image Diagnostics Print, and clean any printheads that need cleaning. Reprint the job in case the problem has been solved.

5Check the paper advance calibration status. If the status is PENDING, perform the Paper Advance Calibration (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper Advance).

6After calibration reprint the job.

Lines are Missing, Too Thin, or Too Thick

Description of problem

Shown below is an example of what you might see if you have this problem:

Corrective Action

1Check that the paper type loaded corresponds to the paper type selected in the front panel and in the software. You can verify the paper type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper).

2Check that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the User’s Guide for more information). Select the custom print quality options in the Print dialog, try turning on the Maximum detail option. Reprint the job in case the problem has been solved.

3If the resolution of the image is greater than the printing resolution, a loss of line quality may be seen. You can find the Max. Application Resolution option in the Windows driver dialog’s Advanced tab, under Document Options > Printer Features. Set the Max Application Resolution to 600. Reprint the job in case the problem has been solved.

4Check the Printhead alignment status. If the status is PENDING, perform the Printhead Alignment (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Align Printheads). After alignment reprint the job.

5Check the paper advance calibration status. If the status is PENDING, perform the paper advance calibration (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper Advance). After calibration reprint the job.

6Use Part 3 of the Image Quality Diagnostic Print, check if there are a significant amount of nozzles out in the color that is actually causing the

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

problem (if see you a problem with the Black color in the customer print, then only check the Black printhead in the Image Quality Diagnostic Print). If there is a significant amount of nozzles out then replace the defective Printhead.

Problems with Stepped Lines

Description of problem

When you look at the image you have printed there are ‘stepped lines’ in the borders of arrows and diagonal lines. The lines should be straight with no stepping.

Shown below is an example of what you might see if you have problems with Stepped Lines:

Corrective Action

1The problems may be inherent in the image that you are trying to print. Try to improve the image with the application that generated the file.

2Check that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the User’s Guide for more information).

3Turn On the Maximum Detail option in the Driver. Printing speed will be reduced, and the maximum detail option sometimes causes problems like missing objects or clipped images. For most print jobs, the default resolution is highly recommended.

4Change the image rendering resolution to 300 dpi or 600 dpi depending on the printing needs. You can find the Max. Application Resolution option in the Windows driver dialog’s Advanced tab, under Document Options > Printer Features.

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

Lines are Blurred (Ink Bleeds from Lines)

Description of problem

This problem is often caused by the ink soaking into the paper, making the lines blurred and fuzzy. This could be because of the humidity in the air.

Corrective Action

1Check that the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity) are suitable for high-quality printing.

2Make sure that the paper type selected in the Front Panel is the same as the paper type loaded into the printer and selected in your software.

3Try using a heavier paper type. When printing dense colors, it is recommended to use HP Heavyweight Coated Paper HP Super, Heavyweight Coated Paper or thicker Digital Fine Art papers.

4If glossy paper is being used, try changing to a different type of glossy paper.

5Select the custom print quality options in the Print dialog, and turn on the

More passes option

6Allow the prints time to dry separately; do NOT cover or stack them.

7Align the printheads. see Image Quality Maintenance Procedure, Page 1- 66.

Problems with Graininess

Description of problem

Shown below is an example of what you might see if you have problems with graininess:

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

Corrective Action

1Check that the paper type loaded corresponds to the paper type selected in the front panel and in the software. You can verify the paper type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper).

2Check that printing is on the correct side of the paper.

3Check that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the User’s Guide for more information). Select the custom print quality options in the Print dialog, and try turning on the More passes option. Reprint the job in case the problem has been solved.

4If you are using a Z3200 series printer, you can reduce grain by turning off or reducing the amount of gloss enhancer. You can do this through the Printer Utility, see the Users Guide for more details.

5Check the Printhead alignment status. If the status is PENDING, perform the Printhead Alignment (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Align Printheads). After alignment reprint the job.

6Check the paper advance calibration status. If the status is PENDING, perform the paper advance calibration (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper Advance).

7After Paper Advance Calibration, reprint the job.

Paper is not Flat

Description of problem

If the paper does not lie flat when it comes out of the Printer, but has shallow waves in it, you are likely to see visible defects in the printed image, such as vertical stripes. This can happen when you use thin paper that becomes saturated with ink.

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

Shown below is an example of what you might see if you have problems with the paper not being flat:

Corrective Action

1Check that the paper type loaded corresponds to the paper type selected in the front panel and in the software. You can verify the paper type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper).

2Try using a heavier paper type. When printing dense colors, it is recommended to use HP Heavyweight Coated Paper HP Super, Heavyweight Coated Paper or thicker Digital Fine Art papers.

3Check that the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity) are within the temperature/humidity range as specified for the Printer (refer to the User’s Guide for further information).

4Select a paper type that is slightly thinner than the paper you have loaded; this will persuade the printer to use less ink. Here are some example paper types in ascending order of thickness:

Plain Paper

Coated Paper

Heavyweight Coated Paper

Fine Art Paper

Super Heavyweight Plus Matte Paper

Thick Fine Art Paper (>250 g/m²).

If your paper type has different versions in the front panel with more and less ink, select the one with less ink.

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

Print Scuffing or Scratching when Touched

Description of problem

The black ink pigment can smudge when touched by a finger, a pen, or some other object. This is particularly noticeable on coated paper, matte proofing paper, and fine art material.

Glossy paper may be extremely sensitive to damage from the basket or to anything else that it contacts soon after printing, depending on the amount of ink used and the environmental conditions at the time of printing.

Corrective Action

1Handle prints carefully.

2Avoid stacking prints on top of each other.

3Disable the automatic cutter before printing, so that the print will not fall into the basket Alternatively, leave a sheet of paper in the basket so that freshly printed sheets do not make direct contact with the basket.

Marks on the Media

Marks on the paper can come in a variety of forms, including horizontal smears, pinchwheel marks, starwheel marks, and ink marks on the back of the paper.

Ink marks on the back of the paper

This can happen after a lot of border less printing, especially with nonstandard paper sizes. Also, loading media without skew check frequently leads to printing on the platen. Ink residues on the platen are likely to mark the back of the paper.

Corrective Action

Clean the platen with a soft cloth. Clean each rib separately without touching the foam between the ribs.

You can also load and unload a sheet of paper 3 times or until clean.

Horizontal Smears on the Paper

Horizontal smears on the paper occur when the printheads touch the paper and smear the image. In extreme conditions the customers print can look like the image below where the printheads have actually come into contact with the media and scraped off the ink. This problem can happen for different reasons, and will mostly depend on the following factors:

The type of paper used

The printmode selected

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

The environmental printing conditions

Corrective Action

1Whenever you notice this problem, cancel the printing job immediately. Press the Cancel key and also cancel the job from your computer application. Soaked paper can damage the printheads.

2Check that the paper type loaded corresponds to the paper type selected in the front panel and in the software. You can verify the paper type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper).

3Use a recommended paper type and the correct print settings.

4If using sheet paper, try rotating the sheet 90 degrees. The orientation of the paper fibers may affect performance.

5If you are using sheet media, load the media with skew check enabled if it is possible (skew check might not be suitable for some papers due to the way they are manufactured or cut).

6If a lot of ink is used on plain or coated paper, the paper absorbs the ink quickly and expands. As the printheads move over the paper, the printheads may touch the paper and smear the image. Try using a heavier paper type, like HP Heavyweight Coated Paper, HP Super Heavyweight Coated Paper or thicker Digital Fine Art papers that can absorb ink without expanding.

7Select a paper type that is slightly thinner than the paper you have loaded; this will persuade the printer to use less ink. Here are some example paper types in ascending order of thickness:

Plain Paper

Coated Paper

Heavyweight Coated Paper

Fine Art Paper

Super Heavyweight Plus Matte Paper

Thick Fine Art Paper (>250 g/m²).