HP 2550LN User Guide

Download

hp color LaserJet

2550 series

use

hp color LaserJet 2550 series printer

User Guide

Reproduction, adaptation, or translation without prior written permission is prohibited, except as allowed under the copyright laws.

The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.

The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

Part number Q3702-90952

Edition 1, 6/2004

Trademark Credits

Adobe Photoshop® and PostScript are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.

CorelDRAW™ is a trademark or registered trademark of Corel Corporation or Corel Corporation Limited.

Microsoft®, Windows®, MS-DOS®, and Windows NT® are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Netscape™ and Netscape Navigator™ are U.S. trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation.

TrueType™ is a U.S. trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.

UNIX® is a registered trademark of The Open Group.

ENERGY STAR® and the ENERGY STAR logo® are U.S. registered marks of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Details on the proper use of the marks are explained in the "Guidelines for Proper use of the ENERGY STAR® Name and International Logo."

HP customer care

Online services

for 24-hour access to information by using a modem or Internet connection

World Wide Web: Updated HP printer software, product and support information, and printer drivers in several languages can be obtained from http://www.hp.com/support/clj2550. (The site is in English.)

Online troubleshooting tools

HP Instant Support Professional Edition (ISPE) is a suite of web-based troubleshooting tools for desktop computing and printing products. ISPE helps you quickly identify, diagnose, and resolve computing and printing problems. The ISPE tools can be accessed from

http://instantsupport.hp.com.

Telephone support

Hewlett-Packard provides free telephone support during the warranty period. When you call, you will be connected to a responsive team that is waiting to help you. For the telephone number for your country/region, see the flyer that came in the box with the product, or visit

http://www.hp.com/support/callcenters. Before calling HP, have the following information

ready: product name and serial number, date of purchase, and description of the problem.

You can also find support on the Internet at http://www.hp.com. Click the support & drivers block.

Software utilities, drivers, and electronic information

Go to http://www.hp.com/go/clj2550_software. (The site is in English, but printer drivers can be downloaded in several languages.)

For information over the telephone, see the flyer that came in the box with the printer.

HP direct ordering for accessories or supplies

Order supplies from the following websites:

United States: http://www.hp.com/sbso/product/supplies

Canada: http://www.hp.ca/catalog/supplies

Europe: http://www.hp.com/supplies

Asia-Pacific: http://www.hp.com/paper/

Order accessories from http://www.hp.com/accessories. For more information, see

Accessories and ordering information.

To order supplies or accessories over the telephone, call the following numbers:

United States: (1) (800) 538-8787

Canada: (1) (800) 387-3154

To find the phone numbers for other countries/regions, see the flyer that came in the box with the printer.

HP service information

To locate HP-Authorized Dealers in the United States or Canada, call (1) (800) 243-9816 (United States) or (1) (800) 387-3867 (Canada). Or, go to http://www.hp.com/go/

cposupportguide.

For service for your HP product in other countries/regions, call the customer support number for your country/region. See the flyer that came in the box with the printer.

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HP service agreements

Call: 1-800-HPINVENT [(1) (800) 474-6836 (U.S.)] or (1) (800) 268-1221 (Canada).

Out-of-Warranty Service: (1) (800) 633-3600.

Extended Service: Call 1-800-HPINVENT [(1) (800) 474-6836 (U.S.)] or (1) (800) 268-1221 (Canada). Or, go to the HP Supportpack and Carepaq™ Services Web site at

http://www.hpexpress-services.com/10467a.

HP Toolbox

To check the printer status and settings and to view troubleshooting information and online documentation, use the HP Toolbox software. You can view the HP Toolbox when the printer is directly connected to your computer or when it is connected to a network. You must have performed a complete software installation to use the HP Toolbox. See

Managing the

printer.

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Table of contents

1 Printer basics

Quick access to printer information ...........................................................................................2

User guide links ..................................................................................................................2

Where to look for more information ....................................................................................2

Printer configurations ................................................................................................................4

HP color LaserJet 2550L ....................................................................................................4

HP color LaserJet 2550Ln ..................................................................................................4

HP color LaserJet 2550n ....................................................................................................5

Printer features ..........................................................................................................................6

Printer parts ...............................................................................................................................9

Interface ports .....................................................................................................................9

Software ..................................................................................................................................11

Software and supported operating systems .....................................................................11

Software tips .....................................................................................................................12

Software for Windows .......................................................................................................12

Software for Macintosh .....................................................................................................14

Uninstalling the printing software .....................................................................................14

Print-media specifications .......................................................................................................17

General guidelines ............................................................................................................17

Paper and print media ......................................................................................................17

Printing and storage environment ....................................................................................18

Envelopes .........................................................................................................................18

Labels ...............................................................................................................................20

Transparencies .................................................................................................................2 0

Supported media weights and sizes .................................................................................21

2 Control panel

Control panel features .............................................................................................................23

Understanding Supplies Status ........................................................................................24

Understanding Printer Status ...........................................................................................24

3 Printing tasks

Loading trays ...........................................................................................................................28

Loading tray 1 ...................................................................................................................28

Loading optional tray 2 .....................................................................................................29

Loading optional tray 3 .....................................................................................................31

Controlling print jobs ...............................................................................................................33

About printing by Source versus by Type or Size ............................................................33

Maximizing print speed for letter-size paper ....................................................................35

Gaining access to printer driver settings ..........................................................................35

Features in the printer driver ............................................................................................36

Selecting an output location ....................................................................................................41

Printing on special media ........................................................................................................42

Printing on envelopes .......................................................................................................42

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Printing on labels ..............................................................................................................43

Printing on transparencies ................................................................................................44

Printing on glossy paper ...................................................................................................45

Printing on HP LaserJet Tough paper ..............................................................................46

Printing on custom-sized print media or cardstock ..........................................................46

Printing on letterhead or preprinted forms ........................................................................47

Printing on both sides (duplexing manually) ...........................................................................48

To duplex manually ..........................................................................................................48

Canceling a print job ...............................................................................................................50

4 Managing the printer

Special pages ..........................................................................................................................52

Demo page .......................................................................................................................52

Configuration page ...........................................................................................................52

Supplies Status page ........................................................................................................53

HP Toolbox ..............................................................................................................................55

Supported operating systems ...........................................................................................55

Supported browsers .........................................................................................................55

To view the HP Toolbox ...................................................................................................56

Status tab ..........................................................................................................................56

Troubleshooting tab ..........................................................................................................56

Alerts tab ...........................................................................................................................57

Documentation tab ...........................................................................................................58

Device Settings window ....................................................................................................58

Other links .........................................................................................................................59

5 Color

Using color ..............................................................................................................................62

HP ImageREt 2400 ...........................................................................................................62

Media selection .................................................................................................................62

Color options .....................................................................................................................62

Standard red-green-blue (sRGB) .....................................................................................62

Managing color options ...........................................................................................................64

Print in Grayscale .............................................................................................................64

Automatic versus Manual color adjustment .....................................................................64

Manual color options ........................................................................................................64

Matching colors .......................................................................................................................66

6 Maintenance

Managing supplies ..................................................................................................................68

Supplies life ......................................................................................................................68

Checking and ordering supplies .......................................................................................68

Storing supplies ................................................................................................................69

Replacing and recycling supplies .....................................................................................69

HP policy on non-HP supplies ..........................................................................................70

HP fraud hotline ................................................................................................................70

Cleaning the printer .................................................................................................................71

To clean the engine ..........................................................................................................71

Calibrating the printer ..............................................................................................................72

To calibrate the printer at the printer ................................................................................72

To calibrate the printer from the HP Toolbox ...................................................................72

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7 Problem solving

Resolving problems that did not generate messages .............................................................74

Troubleshooting checklist .................................................................................................74

Checking the network ..............................................................................................................76

Solving general printing problems ...........................................................................................77

Solving PostScript (PS) errors ................................................................................................82

Solving common Macintosh problems ....................................................................................83

Resolving problems that generated messages .......................................................................89

Messages for both Windows and Macintosh ....................................................................89

Messages for Windows only .............................................................................................89

Resolving the control panel messages ...................................................................................91

Supplies Status lights .......................................................................................................92

Printer Status lights ..........................................................................................................95

Secondary light patterns for Printer Status lights .............................................................98

Clearing jams ..........................................................................................................................99

Where to look for jams ......................................................................................................99

To clear jams from inside the printer ................................................................................99

To clear jams from input areas .......................................................................................100

To clear jams from output areas .....................................................................................102

Solving print-media problems ...............................................................................................104

Solving print-quality problems ...............................................................................................105

Print-quality checklist ......................................................................................................105

Solving issues with all printed documents ......................................................................105

Solving issues with color documents ..............................................................................114

Appendix A Accessories and ordering information

Supplies .................................................................................................................................120

Memory .................................................................................................................................121

Cable and interface accessories ...........................................................................................122

Paper handling accessories ..................................................................................................123

Paper and other print media .................................................................................................124

User-replaceable parts ..........................................................................................................126

Supplementary Documentation .............................................................................................127

Appendix B Service and support

Hewlett-Packard limited warranty statement ........................................................................129

Print Cartridge Limited Warranty Statement .........................................................................131

Availability of support and service .........................................................................................132

HP maintenance agreements ...............................................................................................132

Onsite service agreements .............................................................................................132

HP Express Exchange (U.S. and Canada only) ...................................................................133

To use HP Express Exchange .......................................................................................133

Repacking the printer ............................................................................................................134

To repack the printer ......................................................................................................134

Service information form .......................................................................................................136

Appendix C Specifications

Printer specifications .............................................................................................................137

Appendix D Regulatory information

Introduction ............................................................................................................................139

FCC regulations ....................................................................................................................140

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Environmental Product Stewardship program ......................................................................141

Protecting the environment .............................................................................................141

Ozone production ...........................................................................................................141

Energy consumption .......................................................................................................141

HP LaserJet printing supplies .........................................................................................141

Material safety data sheet .....................................................................................................143

Declaration of conformity ......................................................................................................144

Country-/region-specific safety statements ...........................................................................145

Laser safety statement ...................................................................................................145

Canadian DOC statement ..............................................................................................145

Korean EMI statement ....................................................................................................145

Finnish laser statement ..................................................................................................146

Appendix E Working with memory

Printer memory ......................................................................................................................148

Installing memory and font DIMMs .......................................................................................149

To install memory and font DIMMs .................................................................................149

Checking DIMM installation ..................................................................................................151

To check DIMM installation ............................................................................................151

Enabling memory ..................................................................................................................152

To enable memory for Windows .....................................................................................152

To enable memory for Mac OS ......................................................................................152

Enabling the language-font DIMM ........................................................................................153

To enable fonts for Windows ..........................................................................................153

Index

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Printer basics

This section provides information about the following topics:

●

Quick access to printer information

●

Printer configurations

●

Printer features

●

Printer parts

●

Software

●

Print-media specifications

ENWW 1

Quick access to printer information

User guide links

● Printer parts

Control panel features

●

Problem solving

●

Where to look for more information

Several references are available for use with this printer. See http://www.hp.com/support/

clj2550.

Setting up the printer

Getting started guide—Provides step-by-step instructions for installing and setting up the

printer.

hpcolor LaserJet

1550•2550 series

HP Jetdirect Administrator's Guide—Contains instructions to configure and troubleshoot the HP Jetdirect print server. This guide is included with printers that come with an HP Jetdirect print server.

Accessory and supplies installation guides—These guides provide step-by-step instructions for installing the printer accessories and supplies.

c9704a

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Using the printer

User guide—Contains detailed information for using the printer and troubleshooting

problems. This guide is available on the CD-ROM that came with the printer. It is also available through the HP Toolbox software.

Online Help—Contains information about printer options that are available from within the printer drivers. To view a Help file, open the online Help through the printer driver.

HTML (online) user guide—Contains detailed information for using the printer and troubleshooting problems. Go to http://www.hp.com/support/clj2550. After connecting, select Manuals.

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Printer configurations

Thank you for purchasing the HP color LaserJet 2550 series printer. The printer is available in the following configurations.

HP color LaserJet 2550L

The HP color LaserJet 2550L printer is a four-color laser printer that prints letter-size pages up to 20 pages per minute (ppm) in black and white, A4-size pages up to 19 ppm, and it prints letter/A4-size pages at 4 ppm in color. It includes a PCL 6 printer driver and has PostScript

● Trays. The printer comes with a multipurpose tray (tray 1) that holds up to 125 sheets of

level 3 emulation.

various print media or 10 envelopes. The printer can also accept an optional 250-sheet

tray (tray 2) for standard sizes and optional 500-sheet tray (tray 3) for A4 and letter

sizes. (Optional tray 2 must be installed in order to install optional tray 3.) See

media weights and sizes for more information.

Supported

● Print cartridges. This model comes standard with color print cartridges (cyan, yellow,

and magenta) that can print up to 2,000 pages at 5 percent coverage. It comes with a

black print cartridge that can print up to 5,000 pages at 5 percent coverage. (A typical

business letter has 5 percent coverage.)

● Connectivity. The printer provides parallel and universal serial bus (USB) ports for

connectivity. The printer also accepts an optional HP Jetdirect external print server for

connecting to a network.

● Memory. The printer comes standard with a 64-megabyte (MB) random access memory

(RAM).

● Expandability. The printer has one available DIMM slot for memory expansion and

additional font support. The memory is expandable to 192 MB by adding a 128-MB DIMM.

HP color LaserJet 2550Ln

The HP color LaserJet 2550n printer has the same features as the HP color LaserJet 2550L printer, except it includes an HP Jetdirect internal print server for connecting to a 10/100Base-T network. This model also accepts optional tray 2 and optional tray 3. (Optional tray 2 must be installed in order to install optional tray 3.)

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HP color LaserJet 2550n

The HP color LaserJet 2550n printer has the same features as the HP color LaserJet 2550Ln printer and also includes tray 2. This model also accepts optional tray 3. This model comes standard with high-capacity color print cartridges that can print up to 4,000 pages.

ENWW Printer configurations 5

Printer features

Feature HP color LaserJet 2550 series printer

Color printing ● Provides laser printing in full color by using

the four process colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK).

Fast print speed

Excellent print quality

Ease of use ● Few supplies to order. Supplies are easy to

Expandability ● Optional tray 2. (Included with the 2550n

● Prints in black on letter-size paper up to 20

ppm and on A4-size paper up to 19 ppm. Prints in color on A4/letter at 4 ppm.

● ImageREt 2400 provides 2400 dpi color and

laser-class quality through a multilevel printing process.

● True 600 by 600 dots per inch (dpi) text and

graphics.

● Adjustable settings to optimize print quality.

● The HP UltraPrecise print cartridge has a

finer toner formulation that provides sharper text and graphics.

install.

● Convenient access to printer information

and settings by using the HP Toolbox software.

● Convenient access to all supplies and to the

paper path through the front door.

model; compatible with all other models.) This 250-sheet tray for standard sizes reduces how often you have to add paper to the printer. Only one 250-sheet tray can be installed on the printer.

● Optional tray 3. This 500-sheet tray for letter

and A4 sizes reduces how often you have to add paper to the printer. Only one 500-sheet tray can be installed on the printer. Optional tray 2 must be installed in order to install optional tray 3.

● Optional HP Jetdirect external print server

for connecting to a network (HP color LaserJet 2550L printer).

● One DIMM slot for adding memory and fonts.

6 Chapter 1 Printer basics ENWW

Feature HP color LaserJet 2550 series printer

Flexible paper handling

Printer driver features

● Adjustable tray 1 (multipurpose tray) for

letterhead, envelopes, labels, transparencies, custom-sized media, postcards, glossy paper, HP LaserJet Tough paper, and heavy paper.

● Optional tray 2 (250-sheet tray) that is

adjustable for several standard sizes of paper.

● Optional tray 3 (500-sheet tray) for letter-

and A4-size paper. (Optional tray 2 must be installed in order to install optional tray 3.)

● One 125-sheet output bin and one output

door. Select the top output bin (face down) for most jobs, including transparencies. Use the rear output door (face up) for jobs on heavy paper, light paper, or special print media.

● Straight-through paper path capability from

tray 1 to the rear output door.

● Manual two-sided printing (duplexing). See

Printing on both sides (duplexing manually).

● Fast printing performance, built-in Intellifont

and TrueType™ scaling technologies, builtin HP-GL/2 vector graphics, and advanced imaging capabilities are benefits of the PCL 6 printer language. The PCL 6 also includes 45 scalable TrueType fonts and one bitmapped Line Printer Font. The PCL 6 printer language also included.

PostScript® (PS) level 3 emulation language and fonts

Automatic language-switching ● The printer automatically determines and

Interface connections

● Includes 35 built-in PS language fonts.

switches to the appropriate printer language (such as PS or PCL 6) for the print job.

● Bidirectional enhanced capabilities port

(ECP) type-B parallel port (IEEE-1284 compliant).

● High-speed USB port.

● Accepts an optional HP Jetdirect external

print server (HP color LaserJet 2550L printer). The HP color LaserJet 2550Ln and 2550n printers include an HP Jetdirect internal print server.

ENWW Printer features 7

Feature HP color LaserJet 2550 series printer

Networking ● Accepts an optional HP Jetdirect external

print server (HP color LaserJet 2550L printer). The HP color LaserJet 2550Ln and 2550n printers include an HP Jetdirect internal print server.

● All common network protocols such as

Ethernet, Token Ring, and LocalTalk are available by using an optional HP Jetdirect external print server. (The 2550Ln and 2550n models include an HP Jetdirect internal print server.)

Enhanced memory and memory expansion ● The printer comes with 64 MB of memory

and can be expanded to 192 MB by using the DIMM slot. Most documents can be printed with the standard amount of printer memory through the aid of Memory Enhancement technology (MEt). MEt automatically compresses data, virtually doubling the printer memory and accommodating more complex printing with available memory.

Energy savings ● The printer automatically conserves

electricity by substantially reducing power consumption when it is not printing.

● As an ENERGY STAR® partner, Hewlett-

Packard Company has determined that this product meets ENERGY STAR® guidelines for energy efficiency. ENERGY STAR® is a U.S. registered service mark of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Economical printing ● N-up printing (printing more than one page

on a sheet) and two-sided printing using manual duplexing saves paper. See

multiple pages on one sheet of paper (N-up printing) and Printing on both sides (duplexing manually).

Supplies ● A Supplies Status page with print cartridge

and imaging drum gauges that show the supply levels that remain. For HP supplies only.

● No-shake cartridge design.

● Authentication for HP print cartridges.

● Enabled supplies-ordering capability.

Accessibility ● Online user guide that is compatible with

text screen-readers.

● Print cartridges and the imaging drum can

be installed and removed by using one hand.

● All doors and covers can be opened by

using one hand.

Printing

8 Chapter 1 Printer basics ENWW

Printer parts

Before using the printer, familiarize yourself with the parts of the printer.

4 3

1 top (face-down) output bin 2 power switch 3 optional tray 3 4 optional tray 2 (included with HP color LaserJet 2550n model) 5 tray 1 6 top cover 7 control panel

7 control panel 8 interface ports 9 optional tray 2 10 optional tray 3 11 power connector 12 rear (face-up) output door

Interface ports

The printer has two interface ports: an IEEE-1284B parallel port and a high-speed USB port.

The HP color LaserJet 2550Ln and 2550n models include an HP Jetdirect internal print server that contains a 10/100Base-T (RJ-45) port.

ENWW Printer parts 9

Note

Because an HP Jetdirect print server is not included with all models, it is referred to as the optional HP Jetdirect print server in this documentation.

1 parallel port (IEEE-1284B) 2 high-speed USB port 3 10/100Base-T port (HP color LaserJet 2550Ln and 2550n printers only)

10 Chapter 1 Printer basics ENWW

Software

Software and supported operating systems

For easy printer setup and access to the full range of printer features, HP strongly recommends that you install the software that is provided. Not all software is available in all languages. See the getting started guide for installation instructions, and see the Readme file for the latest software information.

The most recent drivers, additional drivers, and other software are available from the Internet and other sources. If you do not have access to the Internet, see

The printer supports the following operating systems:

●

Microsoft

Windows® 98, Windows 2000, Windows Millennium Edition (Me), and

Windows XP

● Windows NT 4.0 (driver only, other printer software is not available)

● Macintosh OS 9.1 and OS X v.10.1 and later

●

, Linux, and OS/2 (limited functionality)

UNIX

The following tables list the software that is available for your operating system.

HP color LaserJet 2550 series printer software

HP customer care.

Feature Windows

98, Me

Windows Installer

PCL 6 printer driver

PS printer driver

HP Web Jetadmin software

HP Toolbox software

Macintosh Installer

Macintosh PostScript printer description (PPD) and printer dialog extensions (PDE)

Windows 2000 and XP

Macintosh OS 9.1

Macintosh OS X

UNIX®, Linux

OS/2

ENWW Software 11

HP color LaserJet 2550 series printer software (continued)

Feature Windows

98, Me

Windows 2000 and XP

Macintosh OS 9.1

Macintosh OS X

UNIX®, Linux

OS/2

IBM drivers

Model scripts

Available on the HP website.

Available on the HP website. Not specific to this printer.

Software tips

The following are some tips for working with the printer software.

How do I gain access to the printer features?

The printer features are available in the printer driver. Some features such as custom paper sizes and page orientation might also be available in the program you are using to create a file. Change settings in the program, if possible, because changes that are made in the program override changes that are made in the printer driver.

Gain access to advanced printer features through the printer driver (or the Print dialog box for Macintosh operating systems). See specific printer-driver features.

Gaining access to printer driver settings for help with

How do I get the latest printing software?

When you want to check for and install upgrades to the printing software, you can download drivers from the World Wide Web or HP’s file transfer protocol (FTP) servers.

To download drivers

1. Go to http://www.hp.com. Click the support & drivers block.

Type color laserjet 2550 as the product name. The Web page for the drivers

might be in English, but you can download the drivers themselves in several languages.

If you do not have Internet access, contact HP Customer Care. (See

HP customer care or

the flyer that came in the printer box.) See the Readme file for additional release information.

What other software is available?

See the Readme file that is provided on the HP color LaserJet 2550 CD-ROM for additional, included software and for supported languages.

Software for Windows

When you install the software for Windows, you can directly connect the printer to a computer by using a USB or parallel cable or , if your printer is network-enabled, you can connect the printer to the network by using the HP Jetdirect print server. See the getting started guide for installation instructions, and see the Readme file for the latest software information.

12 Chapter 1 Printer basics ENWW

The following software is available to all users of the printer, whether you connected the printer directly to a computer by using a parallel cable or USB cable, or whether you connected the printer to the network by using an HP Jetdirect print server.

Printer drivers

A printer driver is a software component that provides access to printer features and provides the means for the computer to communicate with the printer. For help using your printer driver, see

Select a printer driver based on the way you use the printer.

● Use the PCL 6 printer driver to take full advantage of the printer features. Unless

complete backward compatibility with previous PCL drivers or older printers is

necessary, the PCL 6 driver is recommended.

● Use the PostScript (PS) printer driver for compatibility with PS needs. Certain printer

features are not available in this printer driver.

The printer automatically switches between PS 3 emulation and PCL printer languages depending on the driver you have selected.

Using Help

The printer driver has Help dialog boxes that can be activated from the Help button in the printer driver, the F1 key on the computer keyboard, or the question mark symbol (?) in the upper-right corner of the printer driver. These Help dialog boxes give detailed information about the specific printer driver. Help for the printer driver is separate from the Help for your program.

Gaining access to printer driver settings.

HP Toolbox

You must perform a complete software installation to use the HP Toolbox.

The HP Toolbox provides links to printer status information and help information, such as this user guide; and tools for diagnosing and solving problems. You can also view explanations and animations of light messages on the control panel. See more information.

Maintenance for

Software for network installations only

This software is available only when the printer is connected to a network.

HP Web Jetadmin

HP Web Jetadmin is intended for printer management in commercial and enterprise networks. While the HP Toolbox is used to manage a single printer, HP Web Jetadmin is used to manage groups of printers and other devices. Download this software from the HP website at http://www.hp.com/go/webjetadmin. The HP Web Jetadmin website provides HP Web Jetadmin software in many languages.

HP Web Jetadmin is available only if the printer is connected to an Internet protocol- (IP-) based network. This browser-based software can be installed on one of the following supported platforms:

● Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP

● Red Hat Linux

● SuSE Linux

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Starting HP Web Jetadmin

After you install the HP Web Jetadmin software, you can start it in a supported Web browser on any computer by typing one of the following Web addresses:

http://server.domain:port/

●

where "server.domain" is the server hostname and "port" is the port number that you

selected during installation. (The default port is 8000.) This information is available in the

url.txt file, which is stored in the folder where HP Web Jetadmin is installed.

http://ipaddress:port/

●

where "ipaddress" is the IP address of the computer on which HP Web Jetadmin is

installed.

For settings that appear in both the printer driver and HP Web Jetadmin, changes that are made in the printer driver override changes that are made in HP Web Jetadmin.

Software for Macintosh

For Mac 9.1, the Apple LaserWriter 8 driver must be installed to use the PPD file. Use the Apple LaserWriter 8 driver that came with your Macintosh. For Mac OS X, use Print Center to print.

The printer includes the following software for Macintosh computers.

PPDs (Mac OS 9.1 and Mac OS X classic)

PPDs, in combination with the LaserWriter driver, provide access to the printer features and allow the computer to communicate with the printer. An installation program for the PPDs is provided on the HP color LaserJet 2550 CD-ROM.

PDEs (Mac OS X)

PDEs are code plug-ins that provide access to printer features, such as information about the number of copies, two-sided printing, and quality settings. An installation program for the PDEs and other software is provided on the HP color LaserJet 2550 CD-ROM.

HP Toolbox

The HP Toolbox is supported for Mac OS 10.1 and later. You must perform a complete software installation to use the HP Toolbox.The HP Toolbox provides links to printer status information and help information, such as this user guide; and tools for diagnosing and solving problems. You can also view explanations and animations of light messages on the control panel. See

HP Toolbox for more information.

Uninstalling the printing software

Uninstall software by using the following directions for your operating system.

Uninstalling software for Windows

The printer comes with an uninstall utility that you can use to select and remove any or all of the Windows HP printing system components from your computer.

14 Chapter 1 Printer basics ENWW

To uninstall software for Windows 98 and later

Note

To uninstall the software from Windows 2000 or XP, you must log on with administrator privileges.

1. Close all of the open programs.

For Windows 98 and Me

a. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete. The Close Program dialog box opens.

b. Select a program except Explorer or Systray, and click End Task.

c. Repeat step b until all of the programs except Explorer and Systray are closed.

For Windows 2000 and XP

a. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete. The Windows Security dialog box opens.

b. Click Task Manager and then click the Applications tab.

c. Select a program, and then click End Task.

d. Repeat step c until all of the programs are closed.

2. On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Hewlett-Packard, point to hp color

LaserJet 2550 series, and click Add or Remove.

3. On the Setup screen, click Next.

4. To remove specific software components, click Modify the existing installation. To

remove all the printer software, click Remove All.

Note

Clicking Remove All requires you to have the software CD to complete the uninstallation.

5. Click the drop-down icon next to each feature that you want to remove. From the drop-

down list, click This feature will not be available.

6. Click Next, and follow the directions on the screen. If the message "The following file is

a shared file but is not used by any other programs. Would you like to delete it?"

appears, click Yes to All. The system finishes removing files.

7. If prompted to restart the computer, click OK.

Uninstalling software for Windows by using Add or Remove Programs

An alternate method for uninstalling the printer software is to use the Add or Remove Programs method. This method does not require you to have the software CD.

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel.

2. Click Add or Remove Programs.

3. Scroll through the list of software programs and click hp color LaserJet 2550 series

printer.

4. Click Remove.

Uninstalling software for Macintosh

To remove the printing software from your Macintosh, drag the HP LaserJet folder and PPDs to the Trash. If you are using Mac OS X, you must also drag the PDEs to the Trash.

ENWW Software 15

For Mac OS 9.1: The PPDs are located in Macintosh HD\System Folder\Extensions \Printer Descriptions.

For Mac OS X: The PPDs are located in Macintosh HD\Library\Printers\PPDs

\Contents\Resources\<lang>.lproj. The PDEs are located in Macintosh HD \Library\Printers\PPD Plugins\HP*.

The phrase <lang> represents the language of the printer software that you selected.

16 Chapter 1 Printer basics ENWW

Print-media specifications

This section contains information about specifications for the quality of print media, guidelines for print media usage, and guidelines for print media storage.

General guidelines

Some print media might meet all of the guidelines in this manual and still not produce satisfactory results. This problem might be the result of improper handling, unacceptable temperature and humidity levels, or other variables over which Hewlett-Packard has no control.

Before purchasing large quantities of print media, always test a sample and make sure the that the print media meets the requirements specified in this user guide and in the HP LaserJet Printer Family Print Media Guide. For ordering information, see

ordering information.

Accessories and

CAUTION

Using print media that does not meet HP specifications can cause problems for the printer, requiring repair. This repair is not covered by the Hewlett-Packard warranty or service agreements.

This printer accepts a variety of media, such as cut-sheet paper (including up to 100 percent recycled-fiber-content paper), envelopes, labels, transparencies, glossy paper, HP LaserJet Tough paper, and custom-size paper. Properties such as weight, composition, grain, and moisture content are important factors affecting printer performance and output quality. Print media that does not meet the guidelines outlined in this manual can cause the following problems:

● Poor print quality

● Increased jams

● Premature wear on the printer, requiring repair

Paper and print media

Category Specifications

Acid content 5.5 pH to 8.0 pH

Caliper 0.094 to 0.18 mm (3.0 to 7.0 mils)

Curl in ream Flat within 5 mm (0.02 in.)

Cut-edge conditions Cut with sharp blades with no visible fray

Fusing compatibility Must not scorch, melt, offset, or release

hazardous emissions when heated to 210° C (410° F) for 0.1 second

Grain Long Grain

Moisture content 4 percent to 6 percent by weight

Smoothness 100 to 250 Sheffield

ENWW Print-media specifications 17

For complete print-media specifications for all HP LaserJet printers, see the HP LaserJet Printer Family Print Media Guide. To download the guide in PDF format, go to

http://www.hp.com/support/ljpaperguide.

Printing and storage environment

Ideally, the printing and media-storage environment should be at or near room temperature, and not too dry or too humid. Remember that paper is hygroscopic; it absorbs and loses moisture rapidly.

Heat works with humidity to damage paper. Heat causes the moisture in paper to evaporate, while cold causes it to condense on the sheets. Heating systems and air conditioners remove most of the humidity from a room. As paper is opened and used, it loses moisture, causing streaks and smudging. Humid weather or water coolers can cause the humidity to increase in a room. As paper is opened and used it absorbs any excess moisture, causing light print and dropouts. Also, as paper loses and gains moisture it can distort. This issue can cause jams.

As a result, paper storage and handling are as important as the paper-making process itself. Paper storage environmental conditions directly affect the feed operation and print quality.

Care should be taken not to purchase more paper than can be easily used in a short time (about three months). Paper stored for long periods can experience heat and moisture extremes, which can cause damage. Planning is important to prevent damage to a large supply of paper.

Unopened paper in sealed reams can remain stable for several months before use. Opened packages of paper have more potential for environmental damage, especially if they are not wrapped with a moisture-proof barrier.

The media-storage environment should be properly maintained to ensure optimum printer performance. The required condition is 20° to 24° C (68° to 75° F), with a relative humidity of 45 percent to 55 percent. The following guidelines should be helpful when evaluating the paper's storage environment:

● Print media should be stored at or near room temperature.

● The air should not be too dry or too humid (to moderate the hygroscopic properties of

paper).

● The best way to store an opened ream of paper is to rewrap it tightly in its moisture-

proof wrapping. If the printer environment is subject to extremes, unwrap only the

amount of paper to be used during the day's operation to prevent unwanted moisture

changes.

● Avoid storing paper and print media near heating and air conditioning vents or near

windows and doors that are frequently open.

Envelopes

Use only tray 1 to print on envelopes. Select the type of envelope that you are using from the Print dialog box or the printer driver.

In your program, set the margins for the envelope. The following table gives typical address margins for a commercial #10 or DL envelope.

18 Chapter 1 Printer basics ENWW

Type of address Top margin Left margin

Return address 15 mm (0.6 inch) 15 mm (0.6 inch)

Delivery address 51 mm (2 inches) 89 mm (3.5 inches)

● For the best print quality, position margins no closer than 15 mm (0.6 inch) from the

edges of the envelope.

● Avoid printing over the area where the envelope seams meet.

Envelope storage

Proper storage of envelopes helps contribute to print quality. Envelopes should be stored flat. If air is trapped in an envelope and creates an air bubble, then the envelope might wrinkle during printing.

For more information, see

Printing on envelopes.

Envelope construction

Envelope construction is critical. Envelope fold lines can vary considerably, not only between manufacturers, but also within a box from the same manufacturer. Successful printing on envelopes depends upon the quality of the envelopes. When selecting envelopes, consider the following components:

●

Weight: The weight of the envelope paper should not exceed 90 g/m

(24 lb) or jamming

might occur.

● Construction: Before printing, envelopes should lie flat with less than 6 mm (0.25 inch)

curl, and should not contain air.

● Condition: Envelopes should not be wrinkled, nicked, or otherwise damaged.

● Temperature: Use envelopes that are compatible with the heat and pressure of the

printer. This printer's fusing temperature is 210° C (410° F).

● Size: Use only envelopes that are within the following size ranges.

Tray Minimum Maximum

Tray 1 76 by 127 mm (3 by 5 inches) 216 by 356 mm (8.5 by 14

inches)

Envelopes with double side-seams

ENWW Print-media specifications 19

Double side-seam construction has vertical seams at both ends of the envelope rather than diagonal seams. This style might be more likely to wrinkle. Be sure the seam extends all the way to the corner of the envelope as illustrated below.

1 acceptable 2 unacceptable

Envelopes with adhesive strips or flaps

Envelopes with a peel-off adhesive strip or with more than one flap that folds over to seal must use adhesives that are compatible with the heat and pressure in the printer. The extra flaps and strips might cause wrinkling, creasing, or even jams and might damage the fuser.

CAUTION

Labels

Select the type of label that you are using from the Print dialog box or the printer driver.

To avoid damaging the printer, use only labels that are recommended for laser printers. To prevent serious jams, always use tray 1 to print on labels and always use the straightthrough paper path. Never print on the same sheet of labels more than once or print on a partial sheet of labels.

When selecting labels, consider the quality of each component:

● Adhesives: The adhesive material should be stable at 210° C (410° F), which is the

printer fusing temperature.

● Arrangement: Only use labels with no exposed backing between them. Labels can peel

off sheets with spaces between the labels, causing serious jams.

● Curl: Before printing, labels must lie flat with no more than 13 mm (0.5 inch) of curl in

any direction.

● Condition: Do not use labels that have wrinkles, bubbles, or other indications of

separation.

For more information, see

Printing on labels.

Transparencies

Use only tray 1 to print on transparencies. Select Transparencies from the Print dialog box or the printer driver.

The printer supports printing on color transparencies. Use only transparencies that are recommended for use in laser printers.

20 Chapter 1 Printer basics ENWW

Transparencies that are used in the printer must be able to withstand 210° C (410° F), which is the printer fusing temperature.

CAUTION

To avoid damage to the printer, use only transparencies that are recommended for use in laser printers. See

For more information, see

Accessories and ordering information.

Printing on transparencies.

Supported media weights and sizes

This section contains information about the sizes, weights, and capacities of paper and other print media that each tray supports.

Tray 1 specifications

Tray 1

Dimensions

Paper Minimum: 76 by 127 mm (3

by 5 inches)

Maximum: 216 by 356 mm (8.5 by 14 inches)

Glossy paper Same as the preceding

listed minimum and

HP Cover paper

maximum sizes.

Weight

Capacity

60 to 177 g/m2 (16 to 47 lb) Up to 125 sheets of 75 g/m

(20 lb) paper

75 to 120 g/m2 (20 to 32 lb)

Maximum stack height: 12 mm (0.47 inches)

203 g/m2 (75 lb cover)

50 (typically)

Transparencies and opaque film

Labels

Thickness: 0.10 to 0.13 mm (3.9 to 5.1 mils)

Thickness: up to 0.23 mm

50 (typically)

(up to 9 mils)

Envelopes

The printer supports a wide range of standard and custom sizes of print media. Check the printer driver for

Up to 90 g/m2 (16 to 24 lb)

Up to 10

supported sizes.

Capacity can vary depending on media weight and thickness, and environmental conditions.

Smoothness: 100 to 250 (Sheffield).

Hewlett-Packard does not guarantee results when printing with other types of heavy paper.

ENWW Print-media specifications 21

Optional tray 2 specifications

Optional tray 2 (250-sheet

Dimensions

Weight

Capacity

tray)

Letter 216 by 279 mm (8.5 by 11

inches)

60 to 105 g/m2 (16 to 28 lb) 250 sheets of 75 g/m2 (20

lb) paper

A4 210 by 297 mm (8.3 by 11.7

inches)

A5 148 by 210 mm (5.8 by 8.3

inches)

B5 (ISO) 176 by 250 mm (6.9 by 9.9

inches)

B5 (JIS) 182 by 257 mm (7.2 by 10

inches)

Executive 191 by 267 mm (7.3 by 10.5

inches)

Legal 216 by 356 mm (8.5 by 14

inches)

8.5 by 13 inches 216 by 330 mm (8.5 by 13 inches)

The printer supports a wide range of standard and custom sizes of print media. Check the printer driver for

supported sizes.

Capacity can vary depending on the media weight and thickness, and environmental conditions.

Optional tray 3 specifications

Optional tray 3 (500-sheet

Dimensions

Weight

Capacity

tray)

Letter 216 by 279 mm (8.5 by 11

inches)

60 to 105 g/m2 (16 to 28 lb) 500 sheets of 75-g/m2 (20-

lb) paper

A4 210 by 297 mm (8.3 by 11.7

inches)

The printer supports a wide range of standard and custom sizes of print media. Check the printer driver for

supported sizes.

Capacity can vary depending on the media weight and thickness, and environmental conditions.

22 Chapter 1 Printer basics ENWW

Control panel

This section provides information about the control panel features.

Control panel features

The printer contains the following lights and buttons on the control panel:

2 3 4

1 Supplies status lights and buttons 2 Black print-cartridge light 3 Cyan print-cartridge light 4 Magenta print-cartridge light 5 Yellow print-cartridge light 6 R

OTATE CAROUSEL

7 Imaging drum light 8 Printer status lights and buttons 9 C

ANCEL JOB

10 Attention light (amber) 11 Ready light (green) 12 Go light and G

button

button (both green)

6 7

11 12

The lights and buttons are arranged into two main groups: Supplies Status (top) and Printer Status (bottom). To interpret and troubleshoot the control panel light messages, see

Resolving the control panel messages.

ENWW Control panel features 23

Understanding Supplies Status

The printer contains five lights and one button to indicate and control the status of the print cartridges and imaging drum. To interpret and troubleshoot control panel light messages,

Resolving the control panel messages.

see

Black, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow Supplies Status lights

These lights indicate when a print cartridge is low (the light is on), or empty or missing (the light blinks). The lights also indicate when a non-HP print cartridge is installed (the light blinks and the Attention light is on).

Rotate Carousel button

When the top cover is closed, pressing (R carousel to bring the next print cartridge into the top position. The light for the print cartridge that is approaching the top position blinks quickly two or three times.

OTATE CAROUSEL

) rotates the print-cartridge

Imaging drum light

This light indicates when the imaging drum is low (light is on), or empty or missing (light blinks). The light also indicates when a non-HP imaging drum is installed (the light blinks and the Attention light is on).

Understanding Printer Status

The printer has two buttons and three lights to indicate and control the printer status. To interpret and troubleshoot the control panel light messages, see

messages.

Cancel Job button

●

When the Ready light is blinking, pressing

●

When the printer is not experiencing an error, pressing simultaneously prints a Configuration page and a Supplies Status page. (If an HP Jetdirect print server is installed, an HP Jetdirect page also prints.)

ANCEL JOB

Resolving the control panel

) cancels the current job.

(GO) and (C

ANCEL JOB

)

● When a Supplies Status light is blinking and the Attention light is on (indicating that a

CAUTION

non-HP supply has been installed), pressing printing.

You might not receive any indication when a non-HP supply is empty. If you continue printing after the supply is empty, damage to the printer can occur. See

limited warranty statement.

ANCEL JOB

) allows you to continue

Hewlett-Packard

Attention light

Generally, the Attention light blinks when the printer is out of paper, when a jam has occurred, or when other problems that need attention occur.

The Attention light is on and one of the Supplies Status lights is blinking the first time a nonHP supply is installed.

24 Chapter 2 Control panel ENWW

Ready light

The Ready light is on when the printer is ready to print (experiencing no errors that prevent printing) and blinks when it is receiving data to be printed.

Go light and Go button

●

When the Go light is on and the Attention light is blinking, pressing

(GO) continues

the print job after you load print media for a manual feed, or clears some errors.

● When the Go light is blinking, the top cover has been opened and then closed or you

have pressed state. If you do not press

●

When the Go light is off, pressing

ANCEL JOB

OTATE CAROUSEL

). Pressing (GO) returns the printer to the Ready

(GO), the printer returns to the Ready state on its own.

(GO) prints a Demo page. Pressing (GO) and

) simultaneously prints a Configuration page and a Supplies Status page.

(If an HP Jetdirect print server is installed, an HP Jetdirect page also prints.)

ENWW Control panel features 25

26 Chapter 2 Control panel ENWW

Printing tasks

This section provides information about common printing tasks.

●

Loading trays

●

Controlling print jobs

●

Selecting an output location

●

Printing on special media

●

Printing on both sides (duplexing manually)

●

Canceling a print job

For information about managing the printer and its settings by using the HP Toolbox, see

Maintenance.

ENWW 27

Loading trays

Load special print media, such as envelopes, labels, and transparencies, in tray 1 only. Load only paper in optional tray 2 or optional tray 3.

Note

CAUTION

Because tray 2 and tray 3 are not included for all models, they are referred to as optional tray 2 and optional tray 3 in this documentation.

Loading tray 1

Tray 1 (the multipurpose tray) holds up to 125 sheets of paper or other print media, or it holds up to 10 envelopes.

For information about loading special print media such as labels and transparencies, see

Printing on special media.

Avoid adding print media to tray 1 while the printer is printing, or jams can occur. Do not fan paper before loading it into trays, and avoid overloading trays.

To load tray 1

1. Open tray 1.

2. Slide out the tray extender. If the print media being loaded is longer than 23 cm (9 inches), also open the additional tray extender.

3. Slide the media-width guides slightly wider than the print media.

28 Chapter 3 Printing tasks ENWW

4. Place print media into the tray with the side to be printed up, and the top, short edge in first.

Note

CAUTION

If you are manually duplexing, see Printing on both sides (duplexing manually) for loading instructions.

5. Slide the media-width guides inward until they lightly touch the print media stack on both sides without bending it. Make sure that the print media fits under the tabs on the mediawidth guides.

Wait for the printer to finish printing before closing tray 1. Closing the tray before the printer finishes can cause jams.

6. On the back of the printer, lower the rear output door if you are printing on special media, such as labels, envelopes, or heavy or light paper, to prevent curl.

Loading optional tray 2

Paper includes average-weight letterhead and prepunched paper. For additional information about letterhead and prepunched paper, see

CAUTION

ENWW Loading trays 29

Print on special print media such as labels and transparencies from tray 1 only. Printing on special print media from optional tray 2 or optional tray 3 can cause jams. Do not fan paper before loading it into trays, and avoid overloading trays.

Printing on letterhead or preprinted forms.

To load optional tray 2

1. Pull optional tray 2 out of the printer and remove any paper.

2. Move the media-width guides to match the size of paper that you are loading. Tray 2 accepts several standard paper sizes.

3. Extend the rear of the tray until the arrow on the markings points to the size that you are loading.

Note

4. Load the paper. If this is special paper such as letterhead, load it with the side to be printed on facing down and the top edge toward the front of the tray.

If you are duplexing manually, see Printing on both sides (duplexing manually) for loading instructions.

30 Chapter 3 Printing tasks ENWW

5. Make sure that the stack of paper is flat in the tray at all four corners, and keep it below the height tabs on the media-length guide in the rear of the tray. Push down on the metal media-lift plate to lock it into place.

6. Slide the tray into the printer. If you set the rear of the tray to one of the longer sizes, the back of the tray will protrude from the back of the printer.

CAUTION

Loading optional tray 3

The optional tray 3 supports A4-size and letter-size paper. Optional tray 3 supports only paper, but paper includes average-weight letterhead and prepunched paper.

For additional information about letterhead and prepunched paper, see

letterhead or preprinted forms.

To load optional tray 3

1. Pull the tray out of the printer and remove any paper.

Printing on

ENWW Loading trays 31

2. For letter-size paper, pull the rear stop up. For A4-size paper, push the rear stop down.

3. For letter-size paper, move the media-width guides outward as far as possible. For A4size paper, move the media-width guides inward as far as possible.

4. Load the paper. If this is special paper such as letterhead, load it with the side to be printed on facing down and the top edge toward the front of the tray.

Note

If you are duplexing manually, see Printing on letterhead or preprinted forms for loading instructions.

5. Make sure that the stack of paper is flat in the tray at all four corners, and keep it below the height tabs on the media-length guide in the rear of the tray.

6. Slide the tray into the printer.

32 Chapter 3 Printing tasks ENWW

Controlling print jobs

This section provides basic printing instructions. When making changes to printing settings, follow the hierarchy of how changes are prioritized. (Note that the names of commands and dialog boxes might vary depending on your software program.)

● "Page Setup" dialog box. This dialog box opens when you click Page Setup or a

similar command on the File menu in your software program. This dialog box is part of the program in which you are working. Settings that are changed here override settings that are changed anywhere else.

● "Print" dialog box. This dialog box opens when you click Print, Print Setup, or a

similar command on the File menu in your software program. It is also part of the program, but it has a lower priority than the Page Setup dialog box. Settings that are changed in the Print dialog box do not override settings that are changed in the Page Setup dialog box. Settings that are changed here do override settings that are changed in the printer driver.

● Printer driver. The printer driver opens when you click Properties in the Print dialog

box. Settings that are changed here do not override settings that are changed anywhere else. (For Macintosh, the printer driver settings are integrated into the Print dialog box.)

About printing by Source versus by Type or Size

Three settings affect how the printer driver tries to pull media when you send a print job. These settings, Source, Type, and Size, appear in your program Page Setup dialog box, the Print dialog box, or the printer driver. The printer automatically selects a tray if you do not change these settings. If you do want to change these settings, you can print by Source, by Type, by Size, or by Type and Size. (For Macintosh OS 9.x, types and sizes are both available from the General tab on thePaper Source pop-up menu. For Macintosh OS X, types and sizes are both available from the Paper Feed tab.)

● Source. Printing by Source means that you select a specific tray from which you want

the printer to pull paper. The printer tries to print from this tray, no matter what type or size is loaded in it. However, if you select a tray that is configured from the HP Toolbox for a type or size and that does not match your print job, the printer does not print automatically. Instead, it waits for you to load the tray that you selected with the type or size of print media for your print job. If you load the tray, the printer begins printing. (If it does not begin, you might need to configure the tray to match the size or type of the

print job.) Or, press

● Type or Size. Printing by Type or Size means that you want the printer to pull paper or

print media from the first tray that is loaded with the type or size that you selected. Always print by Type for special print media such as labels or transparencies.

● If you want to print by Type or Size and the trays have not been configured for a

certain type or size from the HP Toolbox, load the paper or print media into tray 1 and then select the Type or Size from the Page Setup dialog box, the Print dialog box, or the printer driver.

(GO) to have the printer try to print from another tray.

● If you often print on a certain type or size of media, the printer administrator (for a

network printer) or you (for a directly connected printer) can use the HP Toolbox to configure a tray for that type or size. (See Type or Size as you print a job, the printer pulls from the tray that is configured for that type or size.

ENWW Controlling print jobs 33

HP Toolbox.) Then, when you select that

To print from Windows

1. Make sure that print media is loaded in the printer.

2. On the File menu, click Page Setup or a similar command. Make sure that the settings are correct for this document.

3. From the File menu, click Print, Print Setup, or a similar command. The Print dialog box opens.

4. Select this printer and change settings as necessary. Do not change any settings, such as page size or orientation, that you set in the Page Setup dialog box.

5. If this print job is for a standard size and weight of paper, you probably do not need to change the Source is (tray), Type is, or Size is settings, and you can go to step 7. Otherwise, go to step 6.

6. If this print job is to be printed on a non-standard size or weight of paper, select how the printer pulls paper.

● To print by Source (tray), select the tray in the Print dialog box, if possible.

● To print by Source (tray) when this setting is not available in the Print dialog box,

click Properties, and on the Paper tab, select the tray in the Source is field.

● To print by Type or Size, click Properties and, on the Paper tab, select the type or

size in the Type is or Size is field. (For some paper, such as letterhead, you will set both the Type and Size.) Always print by Type for special print media such as labels or transparencies.

7. If you have not yet done so, click Properties. The printer driver opens.

8. On the various tabs, set any settings that you want that did not appear in the Page Setup or Print dialog box. For more information about printer-driver settings, see

Features in the printer driver.

9. By default, the printer prints to the top output bin, which is the best location for most print jobs, including transparencies. For labels, heavy paper, or other special print media, lower the rear output door on the printer.

10. Select the Print command to print the job.

To print from the Macintosh OS

1. Make sure that paper is loaded in the printer.

2. On the File menu, click Page Setup.

3. Make sure that this printer is selected on the Format for pop-up menu.

4. Select the size of paper onto which you are printing.

5. Select the Orientation and Scale, if necessary, and click OK.

6. On the File menu, click Print.

7. Use one of the following methods to select the Source (tray) from which you want to print or select the Type of media onto which you want to print. Always print by Type for special print media such as labels or transparencies.

● Mac OS 9.1: On the General pop-up menu, select the tray or type of media from the

Paper Source pop-up menu.

● Mac OS X: On the Paper Feed pop-up menu, select the tray or type of media.

34 Chapter 3 Printing tasks ENWW

8. Set any other settings that you want, such as watermarks. (For more information, see

Gaining access to printer driver settings.)

9. By default, the printer prints to the top output bin, which is the best location for most print jobs, including transparencies. For labels, heavy paper, or other jobs that require a straight-through path, lower the rear output door on the printer.

10. Select the Print command to print the job.

Maximizing print speed for letter-size paper

The printer can print at 20 ppm in black on letter-size paper. When printing letter-size pages from tray 2, this happens automatically.

For tray 1, the printer is set at the factory to print 19 ppm in black on letter-size paper. To achieve a print speed of 20 ppm from tray 1, set the tray 1 size to letter. To set the tray 1 size, open the HP Toolbox, click the Settings tab, click Configure Device, and click Paper Handling. Set the tray 1 size to letter.

When tray 1 is configured for letter, and a print job specifies another media size such as envelopes, the Attention light blinks until you load the correct print media into tray 1.

Gaining access to printer driver settings

This section lists the common printing features that are controlled through the printer driver. (The printer driver is the software component you use to send print jobs to the printer.) You can change settings temporarily for the print jobs that you print while the program is still open. You can also make permanent changes to the default settings, and those new settings will be in effect now and in the future.

Operating System

Windows 98, Me, and NT 4.0

Windows 2000 and XP

Mac OS 9.1 On the File menu, click Print.

Temporarily change settings for jobs that are printed now

On the File menu, click Print, select this printer, and then click Properties. (The actual steps can vary; this is the most common method.)

On the File menu, click Print, select this printer, and then click Properties or Preferences. (The actual steps can vary; this is the most common method.)

Change settings as necessary on the various pop-up menus.

Permanently change default settings

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Printers. Rightclick the printer icon, and then click Properties (Windows 98 and Me) or Document Defaults (NT 4.0).

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Printers or Printers and Faxes. Rightclick the printer icon, and then click Printing Preferences.

On the File menu, click Print. As you change settings on a pop-up menu, click Save

Settings.

Change configuration settings

(For example, to add an optional tray or to enable or disable a driver feature such as "Allow manual duplexing")

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Printers. Right-click the printer icon, and then click Properties. Click the Configure tab.

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Printers or Printers and Faxes. Right-click the printer icon, and then click Properties. Click the Device Settings tab.

Click the desktop printer icon. From the Printing menu, click Change Setup.

ENWW Controlling print jobs 35

Operating System

Temporarily change settings for jobs that are printed now

Permanently change default settings

Change configuration settings

(For example, to add an optional tray or to enable or disable a driver feature such as "Allow manual duplexing")

Mac OS X v. 10.1 On the File menu, click Print.

Change settings as necessary on the various pop-up menus.

Mac OS X v. 10.2 On the File menu, click Print.

Change settings as necessary on the various pop-up menus.

Access to default printer settings might be restricted and therefore unavailable.

On the File menu, click Print. To change settings as necessary, use the various pop-up menus, and then on the main pop-up menu, click Save Custom Settings. These settings are saved as the Custom option. To use the new settings, you must select the Custom option every time that you open a program and print.

On the File menu, click Print. To change settings as necessary, use the various pop-up menus, and then on the Presets pop-up menu, click Save as and type a name for the preset. These settings are saved in the Presets menu. To use the new settings, you must select the saved preset option every time that you open a program and print

Delete the printer and reinstall it. The driver automatically reconfigures with the new options.

Open Print Center. (Click the hard drive, click Applications, click

Utilities, and then double-click Print Center.) Click the print queue. On the Printers menu, click Show Info. Click the Installable Options menu.

Using the PCL printer-driver Help (Windows only)

When you are in the printer driver, you can use its Help, which is separate from the Help in a program. You can activate Help for the printer driver in two ways.

● Click the Help button anywhere it appears in the printer driver. The Help windows give

detailed information about the specific printer driver in use.

●

When you see a

(bubble icon), click it to view information about the field, option, or

button that the bubble adjoins.

Features in the printer driver

Some printer drivers and some operating systems do not support all these printer features.

● Selecting a Source

● Selecting a Type or Size

● Setting a custom paper size

● Printing in grayscale

● Changing the color settings

● Creating and using watermarks

36 Chapter 3 Printing tasks ENWW

● Printing multiple pages on one sheet of paper (N-up printing)

● Creating and using Quick Sets

● Reducing or enlarging

● Printing on different paper for the first page

● Changing the print quality

● Restoring the default printer-driver settings

For manual duplexing, see

Printing on both sides (duplexing manually).

Selecting a Source

You can print by Source (tray) or by Type or Size. To print by Source, follow these steps. For more information, see sizes are grouped together under the Paper Source pop-up menu.

● Windows: In the Print dialog box in your software program, select the Source (tray), if

possible. Otherwise, select a tray from the Source is field from the Paper tab in your printer driver.

● Mac OS 9.x: In the Print dialog box, select a tray on the Paper Source pop-up menu on

the General pop-up menu.

● Mac OS X: From the Print dialog box, select the tray or type of media on the Paper

Feed pop-up menu.

Controlling print jobs. For Macintosh operating systems, types and

Selecting a Type or Size

You can print by Source (tray) or by Type or Size. If you are printing on special print media, such as heavy paper, it is important to print by Type to achieve good results. To print by Type or Size, follow these steps. For more information, see Macintosh operating systems, types and sizes are all grouped together under the Paper Source pop-up menu.

Controlling print jobs. For

● Windows: In the printer driver, select a type in the Type is field of the Paper tab. Or,

select a size from the Size is field. For some paper, such as letterhead, you select both a type and size.

● Mac OS 9.x: In the Print dialog box, select a type on the Paper Source pop-up menu on

the General pop-up menu.

● Mac OS X: In the Print dialog box, select the tray or type of media on the Paper Feed

pop-up menu.

Setting a custom paper size

Use the Custom Paper feature to set up the printer to print to sizes other than standard ones.

● Windows: Try to set this setting from one of these locations, in this order: the Page

Setup dialog box in the program, the Print dialog box in the program, or the Paper tab

in the printer driver.

● Mac OS 9.x: Gain access to Custom Paper features in the Page Setup dialog box. On

the Page Attributes pop-up menu, select Custom Page Size.

● Mac OS X: To set a custom paper size, click File, and then click Page Setup. Click the

Page Attributes menu, and select Custom Paper Size. (Mac OS X v. 10.1 does not support custom paper-size settings.)

ENWW Controlling print jobs 37

Printing in grayscale

If you have a document that you created in color, it will automatically print in color. Or, you can set the printer to print a color document in grayscale (black and white) only.

● Windows: Select the Print In Grayscale option on the Color tab of the printer driver.

● Mac OS: In the Print dialog box, select the Color Options tab, and then select the Print

Color as Gray checkbox.

Changing the color settings

When you are printing in color, the printer driver automatically sets the optimal color settings for you. However, you can manually make adjustments to how the printer prints in color for text, graphics, and photographs. See

● Windows: On the Color tab of the printer driver, click Options.

● Mac OS 9.x: In the Print dialog box, select either the Color Options tab or the Color

Matching tab.

● Mac OS X: In the Print dialog box, click the Color Options tab, and then the Show

Advanced Options button.

Using color for more information.

Creating and using watermarks

Use the Watermark options to specify that text be placed "underneath" (in the background of) an existing document. For example, you might want to have large gray letters reading "draft" or "confidential" placed diagonally across the first page or all pages of a document. You can change color, position, and wording of the watermark.

Note

If you are using Windows 2000 or XP, you must have Administrator privileges to create watermarks. You do not need Administrator privileges to add existing watermarks to documents.

● Windows: Gain access to the Watermark options on the Effects tab in your printer driver.

● Mac OS: Gain access to the Watermark options on the watermark/overlay pull-down

menu in the Print dialog box. (Note that OS X might not support Watermarks.)

38 Chapter 3 Printing tasks ENWW

Printing multiple pages on one sheet of paper (N-up printing)

N-up printing is the ability to print multiple pages on one sheet of paper. The pages will appear decreased in size. You can specify up to nine pages per sheet, and they will be arranged on the sheet as shown in the following figures if you use the default arrangement. You can also choose whether a border appears around each page or not.

● Windows: Gain access to Pages per Sheet on the Finishing tab in the printer driver.

● Mac OS: Gain access to Pages per sheet by selecting the Layout pop-up menu in the

Print dialog box.

Note

Creating and using Quick Sets

Use Quick Sets to save the current print-driver settings such as the page orientation, N-up printing, or the paper source for later use. You can save up to a total of 30 sets of settings. For convenience, Quick Sets can be selected and saved from most printer-driver tabs.

If you are using Windows 2000, you must have Administrator privileges to save Quick Sets.

● Windows: Create Quick Sets from most printer-driver tabs. Later, you can gain access to

Quick Sets on the Finishing tab in the printer driver.

● Mac OS: This feature is not supported.

Reducing or enlarging

Use the Fit to Page option to scale your document to a percentage of its normal size. You can also choose to scale your document to fit on any size of paper that the printer supports.

● Windows: Gain access to Fit to Page settings on the Effects tab in the printer driver.

● Mac OS: Gain access to Reduce and Enlarge (Scale) settings in the Page Setup dialog

box.

ENWW Controlling print jobs 39

Printing on different paper for the first page

Printing on different paper for the first page is useful if, for example, you are printing a letter that uses letterhead on the first page and plain sheets for the subsequent pages. The size for all pages of the print job must be the same in the printer driver.

● Windows: Try to set this setting from one of these locations, in this order: the Page

Setup dialog box in the program, the Print dialog box in the program, or the Paper tab

in the printer driver.

● Mac OS 9.x: On the General pop-up menu in the Print dialog box, select the First Page

from option. Then, select the source for the first page.

● Mac OS X: On the Paper Feed pop-up menu in the Print dialog box, select the First

Page from option. Then, select the source for the first page.

Changing the print quality

The printer driver automatically chooses settings for your document to optimize the quality of the output. However, you can change these advanced settings, such as raster compression or scale patterns (WYSIWIG).

● Windows: Gain access to the Print Quality settings by clicking Details on the Finishing

tab.

● Mac OS: This feature is not supported.

Restoring the default printer-driver settings

You can return all settings in the printer driver to their default values. This feature might be useful if you are experiencing quality issues, or if the print media is not being selected from the correct tray.

● Windows: Select Defaults in the Quick Sets dialog box on the Finishing tab of the

printer driver.

● Mac OS 9.x: Drag the desktop printer icon to the Trash, and then set up the printer.

● Mac OS X: The Standard option contains the default settings and is automatically

selected each time you open a program.

40 Chapter 3 Printing tasks ENWW

Selecting an output location

The printer comes with the top output bin and a rear output door for printing to a straightthrough paper path. Print jobs emerge from the top output bin when the rear output door is closed. Print jobs emerge from the back of the printer when the rear output door is open.

● Use the top output bin when printing most jobs, including jobs on average-weight paper

and letterhead, and transparencies. The top output bin can hold up to 125 sheets. Prevent more than 125 sheets from accumulating in the top output bin, or jams can occur.

● Use the rear output door (straight-through paper path) if problems occur when printing to

the top output bin. Remove each sheet as it exits the printer.

1 top output bin 2 rear output door

ENWW Selecting an output location 41

Printing on special media

Printing speeds might be automatically reduced when printing on any special print media.

Printing on envelopes

● Load envelopes into tray 1 only.

● Do not load more than 10 envelopes into tray 1.

●

The weight of the envelope paper should not exceed 90 g/m

● Make sure that envelopes are not damaged and are not stuck together.

● Never use envelopes that have clasps, snaps, windows, coated linings, self-stick

adhesives, or other synthetic materials.

● If you are using a non-standard size of envelope, select the appropriate envelope as the

Type.

(24 lb).

CAUTION

Failure to follow the guidelines above can result in jams.

For more information, see

Print-media specifications.

To print on envelopes

1. Open tray 1 and slide out the extender fully. If tray 1 is already open, remove any paper or other print media from it.

2. On the back of the printer, lower the rear output door to prevent the envelopes from curling.

42 Chapter 3 Printing tasks ENWW

3. Slide the side-width guides in tray 1 outward until they are slightly wider than the envelopes.

4. Place the stack of envelopes into the tray with the side to be printed on facing up and with the short edge leading into the printer. The stamp end must enter the printer first.

Note

If the envelope has a flap on a short edge, this edge must enter the printer first.

5. Slide the side-width guides inward until they lightly touch the stack without bending it. The stack should be centered between the guides and must be under the tabs on the guides.

6. Select the envelope you are using as the Size (Windows) or the Paper Source (Macintosh) in the Print dialog box or the printer driver.

Printing on labels

Follow these guidelines for using labels. See Print-media specifications for more details.

ENWW Printing on special media 43

CAUTION

● Avoid labels that are separating from the backing sheet or are wrinkled or damaged in

any way.

● Place labels only in tray 1 with the side to be printed on facing up and the top, short

edge in first.

● Select Labels as the Type (Windows) or the Paper Source (Macintosh) from the Print

dialog box or the printer driver.

● Remove label sheets as they print from the straight-through paper path to prevent them

from sticking together.

● If a sheet of labels jams in the printer, see

Clearing jams.

Printing on transparencies

The printer supports printing on color transparencies. See Transparencies for more details.

44 Chapter 3 Printing tasks ENWW

CAUTION

To avoid damaging the printer, use only transparencies that are recommended for laser printers. To prevent serious jams, always use tray 1 to print transparencies.

● Load transparencies into tray 1 only.

● Select Transparencies as the Type (Windows) or the Paper Source (Macintosh) in the

Print dialog box or the printer driver.

● Use the top output bin to reduce curling. (This rule is for transparencies only. For other

special print media, use the straight-through paper path to reduce curling.)

● To prevent transparencies from sticking together, remove each one from the top output

bin as it prints.

● Place transparencies on a flat surface after removing them from the printer.

Printing on glossy paper

This printer supports printing on glossy paper. Follow these guidelines when printing on glossy paper. See

● Load glossy paper into Tray 1 only.

● Select Glossy or Heavy Glossy as the Type (Windows) or the Paper Source

(Macintosh) in the Print dialog box or the printer driver. Select Glossy for media weights up to 120 g/m lb bond).

Print-media specifications for more information.

(32 lb bond). Select Heavy Glossy for media weights up to 163 g/m2 (43

ENWW Printing on special media 45

Printing on HP LaserJet Tough paper

When printing on HP LaserJet Tough paper, follow these guidelines:

● Handle HP LaserJet Tough paper by the edges. Oil from you fingers that is deposited on

HP LaserJet Tough paper can cause print-quality problems.

● Use only HP LaserJet Tough paper with this printer. HP products are designed to work

together for optimum printing results.

● In either the software program or the printer driver, select Tough Paper as the media

type, or print from a tray that is configured for HP LaserJet Tough paper.

CAUTION

Transparent print media that is not designed for LaserJet printing will melt in the printer, and will damage the printer.

Printing on custom-sized print media or cardstock

Postcards, 3-by-5-inch (index) cards, and other custom-sized print media can be printed on from tray 1. The minimum size is 76 by 127 mm (3 by 5 inches) and the maximum size is 216 by 356 mm (8.5 by 14 inches).

● Always insert the short edge first into tray 1. To print in landscape mode, make this

selection through your program. Inserting the media long-edge-first might cause a jam.

● In your program, set margins at least 6.4 mm (0.25 inch) away from the edges of the

print media.

● Select the custom media that you are using as the Type in the printer driver and set the

correct Size.

● Lower the rear output door to use the straight-through paper path and reduce curl.

See Print-media specifications for more information.

46 Chapter 3 Printing tasks ENWW

Printing on letterhead or preprinted forms

This section shows how to orient letterhead or preprinted forms when you are printing only on one side. For duplex (two-sided printing) orientation, see

(duplexing manually).

● Orient paper as shown in the following figures.

Printing on both sides

● If the print media is heavy, lower the rear output door to reduce curl.

● Avoid using raised or embossed letterhead.

● Avoid using letterhead that is printed with low-temperature inks, such as those used in

some types of thermography.

● The printer uses heat and pressure to fuse toner to the print media. Make sure that any

colored paper or preprinted forms use inks that are compatible with this fusing temperature (210° C or 410° F for 0.1 second).

ENWW Printing on special media 47

Printing on both sides (duplexing manually)

To print on both sides of the paper, you have to return to the printer and reinsert the paper manually after the first side has printed.

CAUTION

Note

Do not print on both sides of labels or transparencies. Damage to the printer and jams might result.

The PS printer driver does not support manual duplexing. For Mac OS 9.x you must perform a custom driver installation and select the plug-in for manual duplexing. Mac OS X does not support manual duplexing.

To duplex manually

1. Insert enough paper into one of the trays to accommodate the print job. If you are loading special paper such as letterhead, load it in one of these ways.

● For tray 1, load the letterhead paper with the front side down, and the bottom edge

leading into the printer first.

● For optional tray 2 and optional tray 3, load the letterhead paper with the front side

up, and the top edge toward the back of the tray.

1 tray 1 2 optional tray 2 or optional tray 3

2. In the printer driver, select the Print on Both Sides option and send the job to print.

48 Chapter 3 Printing tasks ENWW

3. After the job finishes printing, remove any blank paper from tray 1. Insert the printed stack, with the blank side up, and the top edge leading into the printer. Print the second side from tray 1.

123

4. Press

(GO) to continue printing.

ENWW Printing on both sides (duplexing manually) 49

Canceling a print job

A print job can be canceled from a program, from a print queue, or from the (C

ANCEL JOB

button on the printer.

● If the printer has not started printing, first try to cancel the job within the program that

sent the print job.

● If the print job is waiting in a print queue or print spooler such as the Printers folder in

Windows (Printers or faxes in Windows 2000 or Windows XP) or Print Monitor or Print Center Queue in Mac OS, try to delete the job from there next.

●

If the print job is already printing, press

ANCEL JOB

) on the printer. The printer finishes printing any pages that are already moving through the printer and deletes the remainder of the print job.

●

Pressing print job is in printer memory, you must press

ANCEL JOB

) cancels only the current job in the printer. If more than one

ANCEL JOB

) once for each job after the

job starts printing.

If the Printer Status lights continue to cycle after a job has been canceled, the computer is still sending the job to the printer. Either delete the job from the print queue or wait until the computer finishes sending data.

)

50 Chapter 3 Printing tasks ENWW

Managing the printer

This printer comes with several software tools that help you monitor, troubleshoot problems with, and maintain the printer. Information about using these tools is in the following sections:

●

Special pages

●

HP Toolbox

ENWW 51

Special pages

Special pages reside within the memory of the printer. These pages help you to diagnose and solve problems with the printer.

Note

If the printer language was not correctly set during installation, you can set the language manually so that the pages print in one of the supported languages. Change the language by using the HP Toolbox (

HP Toolbox) or HP Web Jetadmin.

Demo page

To print the Demo page, press (GO) when the printer is Ready (Ready light on) and is not printing. You can also view this page from the HP Toolbox.

Configuration page

The Configuration page lists current settings and properties of the printer. You can print a Configuration page from the printer or the HP Toolbox. To print the Configuration page from

the printer, briefly press

(GO) and (C page is also printed. If you have an HP Jetdirect print server installed, the HP Jetdirect page that lists the HP Jetdirect information is also printed.)

hp Color LaserJet

2550 se ries

ANCEL JOB

) simultaneously. (The Supplies Status

2 3

6 7

1. Product Information. This section contains basic information about the printer, such as

the product name and the serial number.

2. Memory. This section lists memory-related information, such as the total memory that is

installed.

3. Paper Settings. This section lists information about the media type for each tray and

about the type settings for all the media that the printer supports.

52 Chapter 4 Managing the printer ENWW

4. Page Counts. This section lists the total number of pages printed, the number of color

pages printed, and information about paper jams.

5. Product Settings. This section lists information that is gathered during software

installation, including the language and the company name.

6. Installed Personalities and Options. This section contains information about optional

items that might be installed, such as a DIMM or an HP Jetdirect print server.

7. Print Settings. This section contains information about printer settings that are

configured in the printer driver or in HP Toolbox.

8. Status Log. This section contains information about printer errors.

Supplies Status page

The Supplies Status page lists the remaining life of HP print cartridges and HP imaging drums. It also lists the estimated pages remaining, number of pages printed, and other supplies information. You can print a Supplies Status page from the printer or the HP

Note

Toolbox. To print from the printer, press

(GO) and (C

ANCEL JOB

) simultaneously. (The Configuration page is also printed. If you have an HP Jetdirect print server installed, the HP Jetdirect page that lists the HP Jetdirect information is also printed.)

Supplies information is also available through the HP Toolbox.

hp color LaserJet

Supplies Status Page 1

2550 ser ies

50%

94%

1. Print-cartridge area. This area contains a section for each of the print cartridges and

provides information about HP print cartridges. This information includes the part number for each print cartridge, whether each print cartridge is low, and the life remaining for each print cartridge expressed as a percentage, as a graphic, and as the estimated number of pages remaining. This information might not be provided for nonHP supplies. In some cases, if a non-HP supply is installed, you see an alert message instead.

2. Imaging-drum area. This area contains the same information for the imaging drum that

the print-cartridge area provides for the print cartridges.

ENWW Special pages 53

3. Warranty Note. This section contains information about how the printer warranty is

affected when you use non-HP supplies. It also requests that you call the HP fraud hotline if a supply that is being detected as a non-HP supply was sold to you as a genuine HP supply. (See

4. Ordering Information. This section contains basic information about how to order new

HP supplies.

5. Recycling Information. This section contains a link to the website that you can visit for

information about recycling.

HP fraud hotline.)

54 Chapter 4 Managing the printer ENWW

HP Toolbox

The HP Toolbox is a Web application that you can use for the following tasks:

● Check the printer status.

● Configure the printer settings.

● View troubleshooting information.

● View online documentation.

You can view the HP Toolbox when the printer is directly connected to your computer or when it is connected to the network. You must perform a complete software installation to use the HP Toolbox.

Note

You do not have to have Internet access to open and use the HP Toolbox. However, if you click a link in the Other Links area, you must have Internet access to go to the site that is associated with the link. See

Supported operating systems

The HP Toolbox is supported for the following operating systems:

● Windows 98, 2000, Me, and XP

● Mac OS X, v. 10.1 or later

Supported browsers

To use the HP Toolbox, you must have one of the following browsers:

Windows

● Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or later

● Netscape Navigator 6.2 or later

● Opera Software ASA Opera 7 or later

Macintosh (OS X only)

● Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.1 or later

● Netscape Navigator 6.23 or latere

● Safari 1.0

All pages can be printed from the browser.

ENWW HP Toolbox 55

To view the HP Toolbox

1. Open the HP Toolbox in one of these ways:

● On the Windows desktop, double-click the HP Toolbox icon.

● On the Windows Start menu, point to Programs, and click the HP Toolbox.

● For Macintosh OS X, on the hard drive, click Applications, and then click the

Utilitites folder. Double-click the HP Toolbox icon.

Note

After you open the URL, you can bookmark it so that you can return to it quickly in the future.

2. The HP Toolbox opens in a Web browser. The HP Toolbox software contains the

following sections:

Status tab

●

Troubleshooting tab

●

Alerts tab

●

Documentation tab

●

Device Settings window

●

HP Toolbox links

●

Alerts tab

Use the Alerts tab to configure the printer to automatically notify you of printer alerts. The Alerts tab has links to the following main pages:

● Set up status alerts

● Set up e-mail alerts

● Administrative settings

Set up status alerts page

On the Set up status alerts page, you can choose to turn alerts on or off, specify when the printer should send an alert, and select from two different types of alerts:

● a pop-up message

● a task bar icon

Click Apply to activate the settings.

Set up e-mail alerts page

On the Set up e-mail alerts page, you can set the e-mail addresses that you want to have alerts sent to, and specify what kind of alerts should go to which e-mail addresses. You can have two e-mail destinations for the following alerts:

● supplies

● service

● paper path

● advisory

You must set up a simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP) server to send e-mail alerts.

Administrative settings page

On the Administrative settings page, you can set the frequency of how often the HP Toolbox checks for printer alerts. Three settings are available:

● Less Often. The HP Toolbox checks for alerts once per minute (every 60 seconds).

● Normal. The HP Toolbox checks for alerts twice per minute (every 30 seconds).

● More Often. The HP Toolbox checks for alerts twenty times per minute (every 3

seconds).

If you want to reduce network input/output (I/O) traffic, reduce the frequency at which the printer checks for alerts.

ENWW HP Toolbox 57

Documentation tab

The Documentation tab contains links to these information sources:

● User Guide. Contains the information about the printer usage, warranty, specifications,

and support that you are currently reading. The user guide is available in both HTML and PDF format.

● Readme. Contains important information about the printer that is not available in the

user guide. The Late-Breaking Readme contains last-minute information about the printer (in English only).

Device Settings window

When you click the Device Settings button, a new window opens. The Device Settings window has the following sections:

● Information tab

● Settings tab

● Network link

Information tab

The Information tab provides quick links to the following information:

Note

● Device Status. View information about the printer's current status.

● Supplies Status. View information about the supplies installed in the printer. A link is

provided to the HP Web site for ordering supplies.

● Event Log. View a history of printer errors. The most recent error is at the top of the list.

● Save/Restore Settings. Save the current settings for the printer to a file on your

computer. Use this file to load the same settings onto another printer or to restore these settings to this printer at a later time.

● Device Configuration. View a detailed description of the printer's current configuration

including the amount of memory installed and whether optional trays are installed.

Settings tab

The Settings tab has links to several pages where you can view and change the printer's configuration.

Software settings can override settings that are made in the HP Toolbox.

● Device Information. View basic information about the printer.

● Paper Handling. View and change the settings for the printer's trays.

● Printing. View and change the default printer job settings.

● PCL. View and change the PCL font information.

● PostScript. View and change settings for PS errors and timeout.

● Print Quality. View and change the print-quality settings.

● Print Modes. View and change the print modes for various media types.

● System Setup. View and change system information.

58 Chapter 4 Managing the printer ENWW

● I/O. View and change the I/O timeout setting.

● Service. Gain access to various procedures required to service the printer.

Network window

The network administrator can use the Network window to control the network-related settings for the printer when it is connected to an IP-based network. This button will not appear if the printer is directly connected to a computer, or if the printer is connected to a network through anything other than an HP Jetdirect print server.

HP Toolbox links

The HP Toolbox links at the left of the screen provide links to the following options:

● Select a device. Select from all of the HP Toolbox-enabled devices.

● View current alerts. View the current alerts for all printers that have been set up. (You

must be printing to view the current alerts.)

● Text only page. View HP Toolbox as a site map that links to text-only pages.

Color

This chapter describes how the printer provides great color printing. This chapter also describes ways to produce the best possible color prints. The following topics are covered:

●

Using color

●

Managing color options

●

Matching colors

ENWW 61

Using color

This printer offers great color as soon as you set it up. It provides a combination of automatic color features to generate excellent color results for the general user, plus sophisticated tools for the experienced color user.

The printer provides carefully designed and tested color tables to provide smooth, accurate color rendition of all printable colors.

HP ImageREt 2400

Image REt 2400 provides 2400 dots-per-inch (dpi) color laser-class quality through a multilevel printing process. This process precisely controls color by combining up to four colors within a single dot and by varying the amount of toner in a given area. ImageREt 2400 has been improved for this printer. The improvements offer trapping technologies, greater control over dot placement, and more precise control of toner quality in a dot. These new technologies, coupled with HP's multilevel printing process, result in a 600-by-600 dpi printer that provides 2400-dpi color laser-class quality with millions of smooth colors.

In contrast, the single-level printing process found in the default mode of other color laser printers does not allow the colors to be mixed within a single dot. This process, called dithering, significantly hinders the ability to create a wide range of colors without reduced sharpness or visible dot structure.

Media selection

For the best color and image quality, it is important to select the appropriate media type from the software printer menu or from the printer driver. See information.

Print-media specifications for more

Color options

Color options enable optimal color output automatically for diverse types of documents.

Color options use object tagging, which allows optimal color and halftone settings to be used for different objects (text, graphics, and photos) on a page. The printer driver determines which objects are used on a page and uses halftone and color settings that provide the best print quality for each object. Object tagging, combined with optimized default settings, produces great color from the printer without having to establish any special settings.

In the Windows environment, the Automatic and Manual color options are on the Color tab in the printer driver.

Standard red-green-blue (sRGB)

Standard red-green-blue (sRGB) is a worldwide color standard that was originally developed by HP and Microsoft as a common color language for monitors, input devices (scanners and digital cameras), and output devices (printers and plotters). It is the default color space that is used for HP products, Microsoft operating systems, the World Wide Web, and most office software that is sold today. The sRGB standard is representative of the typical Windows computer monitor today and is the convergence standard for high-definition television.

62 Chapter 5 Color ENWW

Note

Factors such as the type of monitor you use and the room's lighting can affect the appearance of colors on your screen. For more information, see

Matching colors.

The latest versions of Adobe® PhotoShop®, CorelDRAW™, Microsoft Office, and many other applications use sRGB to communicate color. Most importantly, as the default color space in Microsoft operating systems, sRGB has gained broad adoption as a way to exchange color information between software programs and devices by using a common definition that assures that typical users will experience greatly improved color matching. The sRGB standard improves your ability to match colors between the printer, the computer monitor, and other input devices (scanners and digital cameras) automatically, without the need to become a color expert.

ENWW Using color 63

Managing color options

Setting color options to Automatic typically produces the best possible print quality for color documents. However, in some situations, you might want to print a color document in grayscale (black and shades of gray) or to change one of the printer's color options.

● Using Windows, print in grayscale or change the color options by using settings on the

Color tab in the printer driver.

● Using a Macintosh computer, print in grayscale or change the color options by using the

Color Matching pop-up menu in the Print dialog box.

Print in Grayscale

Selecting the Print in Grayscale option from the printer driver prints a document in black and shades of gray. This option is useful for printing color documents that will be photocopied or faxed.

When Print in Grayscale is selected, the printer goes into monochrome mode. Printing in this mode reduces wear on the color print cartridges.

Automatic versus Manual color adjustment

The Automatic color adjustment option optimizes the neutral gray color treatment, halftones, and edge enhancements that are used for each element in a document. For more information, see your printer-driver online Help.

Note

Automatic is the default setting and is recommended for printing all color documents.

Use the Manual color adjustment option to adjust the neutral gray color treatment, halftones, and edge enhancements for text, graphics, and photographs. To gain access to the Manual color options, on the Color tab, click Manual, and then click Settings.

Manual color options

Use the Manual color adjustment to adjust the Color (or Color Map) and Halftoning options.

Some software programs convert text or graphics to raster images. In these cases, the

Photographs setting also controls the text and graphics.

Halftone options

Halftoning is the method by which the printer mixes the four primary colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) in varying proportions to create millions of colors. Halftone options affect the resolution and clarity of your color output. You can independently adjust halftone settings for text, graphics, and photos. The two halftone options are Smooth and Detail.

● The Smooth option provides better results for large, solid-filled print areas. It also

enhances photos by smoothing out fine color gradations. Choose this option when uniform and smooth area fills are the most important attributes.

● The Detail option is useful for text and graphics that require sharp distinctions among

lines or colors, or images that contain a pattern or a high level of detail. Choose this option when sharp edges and details are the most important attributes.

64 Chapter 5 Color ENWW

Neutral Grays

The Neutral Grays setting determines the method for creating gray colors that are used in text, graphics, and photographs.

● Black Only generates neutral colors (grays and black) by using only black toner. This

option guarantees that neutral colors do not have a color cast.

● 4-Color generates neutral colors by combining all four colors of toner. This option

produces smoother gradients and transitions to non-neutral colors. It also produces the darkest possible black.

Edge Control

The Edge Control setting determines how edges are rendered. Edge Control consists of two components: Adaptive Halftoning and Trapping. Adaptive Halftoning increases the edge sharpness. Trapping reduces the effect of color-plane misregistration by slightly overlapping the edges of adjacent objects. The following levels of edge control are available:

● Maximum provides the most trapping. Adaptive Halftoning is set to On.

● Normal provides the default trapping settings. Adaptive Halftoning is set to On.

● Light provides minimal trapping. Adaptive Halftoning is set to On.

● Off sets Trapping and Adaptive Halftoning to Off.

RGB Color

The RGB Color option determines how colors are rendered.

● Default interprets RGB color as sRGB, which is the accepted standard for many

software companies and organizations, such as Microsoft and the World Wide Web Consortium. (See http://www.w3.org.)

● Vivid instructs the printer to increase the color saturation in the midtones. Less colorful

objects are rendered more colorfully. This value is recommended for printing business graphics.

● Device sets the printer to print RGB data in raw device mode. To render photographs

properly when this option is selected, you must manage color in the program in which you are working or in the operating system.

ENWW Managing color options 65

Matching colors

The process of matching printer output color to your computer screen is quite complex because printers and computer monitors use different methods of producing color. Monitors display colors by light pixels using an RGB (red, green, blue) color process, but printers print colors using a CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) process.

The following factors can influence your ability to match printed colors to those on your screen:

● print media

● printer colorants (inks or toners, for example)

● printing process (inkjet, press, or laser technology, for example)

● overhead lighting

● programs

● printer drivers

● computer operating system

● monitors

● video cards and drivers

● operating environment, (very humid or very dry)

● personal differences in perception of color

Keep these factors in mind when colors on your screen do not perfectly match your printed colors. For most users, the best method for matching colors on your screen to your printer is to print sRGB colors. The printer uses sRGB and automatically optimizes color output.

For more information about solving issues that are related to color output, see

with color documents.

Solving issues

66 Chapter 5 Color ENWW

Maintenance

This chapter contains information about these maintenance topics:

●

Managing supplies

●

Cleaning the printer

●

Calibrating the printer

ENWW 67

Managing supplies

For warranty information about these supplies, see Print Cartridge Limited Warranty

Statement.

Supplies life

The life of the imaging drum depends on the number of black-only or color pages that print jobs require. An HP color LaserJet 2550 series printer imaging drum could last an average of 20,000 pages when printing black-only pages and 5,000 pages when printing color pages. Actual life lies somewhere between these two numbers, depending on the number of blackonly pages you print versus color. The average life is between 6,000 and 8,000 pages.

Imaging-drum life is also affected each time the printer calibrates because calibrating causes the imaging drum to rotate. Imaging-drum life is measured in terms of number of rotations rather than number of pages printed.

The type and length of print jobs also affects drum life. A series of short print jobs uses more drum life than an equivalent number of pages printed in a single large job. To extend drum life, print multiple copies of a print job at one time rather than sending the same job to the printer multiple times.

The life of a print cartridge depends on the amount of toner that print jobs require. When printing text at 5 percent coverage, a cyan, magenta, or yellow print cartridge for the HP color LaserJet 2550L printer lasts an average of 2,000 pages, and a black print cartridge lasts an average of 5,000 pages. When printing text at 5 percent coverage, a cyan, magenta, or yellow print cartridge for the HP color LaserJet 2550Ln or 2550n printer lasts an average of 4,000 pages, and a black print cartridge lasts an average of 5,000 pages. A typical business letter has 5 percent coverage.

Note

The imaging drum and print cartridges for this printer are not compatible with older printer models such as the HP color LaserJet 1500 series printer or the HP color LaserJet 2500 series printer.

For longer supplies life, you can order replacement cyan, magenta, or yellow print cartridges for the HP color LaserJet 2550L printer that last an average of 4,000 pages at 5 percent coverage. See

Accessories and ordering information for ordering information.

Checking and ordering supplies

You can check the supplies state by using the printer control panel, printing a Supplies Status page, viewing the HP Toolbox, or viewing HP Web Jetadmin. Hewlett-Packard recommends that you place an order for a replacement print cartridge when you first receive the Low message for a print cartridge. For typical use, the Low message indicates that approximately two weeks of life remains. When you use a new, authentic HP print cartridge or imaging drum, you can obtain the following types of supplies information:

● amount of cartridge or drum life remaining

● estimated number of pages remaining

● number of pages printed

● other supplies information

68 Chapter 6 Maintenance ENWW

Note

If the printer is connected to the network, you can set the HP Toolbox to notify you by e-mail when a print cartridge is low or the imaging drum is near the end of its useful life. If the printer is directly connected to a computer, you can set HP Toolbox to notify you when supplies are low.

To check status and order using the control panel

Do one of the following:

● Check the supplies status lights on the printer control panel. These lights indicate when

a print cartridge or the imaging drum is low or empty. The lights also indicate when a non-HP print cartridge is first installed. See patterns.

Supplies Status lights to interpret the light

●

Press Configuration page, and possibly the HP Jetdirect page) prints. Check the supplies levels on the Supplies Status page. See

If the supplies levels are low, you can order supplies through your local HP dealer, by telephone, or online. See

http://www.hp.com/go/ljsupplies to order online.

(GO) and (C

Accessories and ordering information for part numbers. See

ANCEL JOB

) simultaneously. A Supplies Status page (and the

Supplies Status page for more information.

To check and order using HP Toolbox

You can configure HP Toolbox to notify you when the supplies are low. You can choose to receive alerts by e-mail or as a pop-up message or taskbar icon. To order supplies by using the HP Toolbox, in the Other Links area, click Order supplies. You must have Internet access to connect to the website.

For more information, see

HP Toolbox.

To check and order using HP Web Jetadmin

In HP Web Jetadmin, select the printer device. The device status page shows supplies information. To order, use the HP Toolbox. Or, see

Accessories and ordering information.

Storing supplies

Follow these guidelines for storing print cartridges and the imaging drum:

● Do not remove the print cartridge or imaging drum from its package until you are ready

to use it.

CAUTION

To prevent damage, do not expose the print cartridge or imaging drum to light for more than a few minutes.

● See

● Store the supply in a horizontal position.

● Store the supply in a dark, dry location away from heat and magnetic sources.

Environmental specifications for operating and storage temperature ranges.

Replacing and recycling supplies

To install a new HP print cartridge or imaging drum, follow the instructions that are included in the box that contains the new supply, or see the getting started guide.

ENWW Managing supplies 69

To recycle supplies, place the used supply in the box in which the new supply arrived. Use the enclosed return label to send the used supply to HP for recycling. For complete information, see the recycling guide that is included with each new HP supply item. See

LaserJet printing supplies for more information about HP's recycling program.

HP policy on non-HP supplies

Hewlett-Packard Company cannot recommend the use of non-HP supplies, either new or remanufactured. Because they are not HP products, HP cannot influence their design or control their quality. Service or repairs required as a result of using a non-HP supply will not be covered under the printer warranty.

When you insert a supply into the printer, the printer will inform you if the supply is not a genuine HP supply. If you insert a genuine HP supply that has reached the low state from another HP printer, the printer identifies the supply as non-HP. Simply return the supply to the original printer to reactivate HP features and functionality.

Resetting the printer for non-HP supplies

When you install a non-HP print cartridge or imaging drum, the light next to the print cartridge or imaging drum you replaced blinks and the Attention light is on. In order to print

with this supply, you must press The status lights will not indicate when this type of supply is low or empty.

ANCEL JOB

) the first time you install this non-HP supply.

CAUTION

The printer will not stop printing when this type of supply is empty. Printer damage could occur if the printer prints with an empty print cartridge or imaging drum. See

limited warranty statement and Print Cartridge Limited Warranty Statement.

Hewlett-Packard

HP fraud hotline

Call the HP fraud hotline if the supplies status lights or HP Toolbox indicates that the print cartridge or imaging drum is not an HP print cartridge and you think that it is genuine. HP will help determine if the product is genuine and take steps to resolve the problem.

Your print cartridge or imaging drum might not be a genuine HP one if you notice the following issues:

● You are experiencing a large number of problems with the print cartridge or imaging

drum.

● The print cartridge or imaging drum does not look like it usually does (for example, the

pull tab or the box is different).

In the United States, call toll-free: (1) (877) 219-3183.

Outside the United States, you can call collect. Dial the operator and ask to place a collect

call to this telephone number: (1) (770) 263-4745. If you do not speak English, a representative at the HP fraud hotline who speaks your language will assist you. Or, if someone who speaks your language is not available, a language line interpreter will connect approximately one minute after the beginning of the call. The language line interpreter is a service that will translate between you and the representative for the HP fraud hotline.

70 Chapter 6 Maintenance ENWW

Cleaning the printer

During the printing process, paper, toner and dust particles can accumulate inside the printer. Over time, this buildup can cause print-quality problems such as toner specks or smearing. This printer has a cleaning mode that can correct and prevent these types of problems.

Note

To clean the engine

The following procedure must be performed from the HP Toolbox. To clean the engine when the computer is running an operating system that does not support HP Toolbox, see the latebreaking Readme on the root of the CD-ROM, or visit http://www.hp.com/support/clj2550.

1. Make sure that the printer is turned on and in the Ready state.

2. Open the HP Toolbox.

3. On the Troubleshooting tab, click Maintenance, click Cleaning Page and then click

Print. A page with a pattern prints from the printer.

4. At the printer, remove any print media that might be in tray 1.

5. Remove the page that printed and load it face-down into tray 1.

6. At the computer, press Clean.

ENWW Cleaning the printer 71

Calibrating the printer

The printer automatically calibrates at various times. You can adjust the calibration settings by using the HP Toolbox.

Environmental differences, aging print cartridges, aging toner, and an aging imaging drum might cause fluctuations in image density. The printer accounts for this with image stabilization control. The printer automatically calibrates at various times to maintain the highest level of print quality. You can also request a calibration by using the HP Toolbox.

The printer does not interrupt a print job to calibrate. It waits until the job is complete before calibrating or cleaning. While the printer is calibrating, it pauses printing for the time that is required to complete the calibration.

To calibrate the printer at the printer

Note

Press (GO) and (R

OTATE CAROUSEL

) simultaneously to start a calibration.

To calibrate the printer from the HP Toolbox

This procedure applies to Windows operating systems only. Macintosh users should calibrate the printer manually using the procedure above.

1. Open the HP Toolbox in one of these ways:

● On the desktop, double-click the HP Toolbox icon.

● On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to HP color LaserJet 2550, and click

HP Toolbox.

2. On the Troubleshooting tab, click Diagnostic Tools (on the left side of the screen).

3. Click Color Calibration.

72 Chapter 6 Maintenance ENWW

Problem solving

This troubleshooting information is organized to help you resolve printing problems. Choose the general topic or type of problem from the following list.

●

Resolving problems that did not generate messages

●

Checking the network

●

Solving general printing problems

●

Solving PostScript (PS) errors

●

Solving common Macintosh problems

●

Resolving problems that generated messages

●

Resolving the control panel messages

●

Clearing jams

●

Solving print-media problems

●

Solving print-quality problems

ENWW 73

Resolving problems that did not generate messages

If the printer is not responding properly, complete the steps in the following checklist, in order. If the printer does not pass a step, follow the corresponding troubleshooting suggestions. If a step resolves the problem, you can stop without performing the rest of the steps on the checklist.

Troubleshooting checklist

1. Make sure the printer Ready light is on. If no lights are on, complete these steps:

a. Check the power cable connections.

b. Check that the power switch is on.

c. Check the power source by plugging the printer directly into the wall or into a

different outlet.

d. If none of these measures restores power, contact HP Customer Care. (See

customer care or the support flyer that came in the printer box.)

2. Check the cabling.

a. Check the cable connection between the printer and the computer or network port.

Make sure that the connection is secure.

b. Make sure that the cable itself is not faulty by using a different cable, if possible.

c. Check the network connection. See

3. Ensure that the print media you are using meets specifications. See

specifications.

Press Supplies Status page. If the printer is network-enabled, an HP Jetdirect page also prints.

a. If the pages do not print, check that at least one tray contains print media.

b. If the page jams in the printer, go to

5. If the Configuration and Supplies Status pages print, check the following items.

a. If the pages print correctly, then the printer hardware is working. The problem is with

b. If the pages do not print correctly, calibrate the printer. See

(GO) and (C

the computer you are using, with the printer driver, or with the program.

Print the pages again. If the pages still do not print correctly, the problem is with the printer hardware. Contact HP Customer Care. (See flyer that came in the printer box.)

ANCEL JOB

Checking the network.

Print-media

) simultaneously to print a Configuration page and a

Clearing jams.

Calibrating the printer.

HP customer care or the support

6. At the computer, check the print queue or print spooler (Print Monitor or Print Center

Queue for Mac OSs) to see if the printer is paused or set to print offline.

7. Verify that you have installed the HP color LaserJet 2550 series printer driver. Check the

program to make sure that you are using an HP color LaserJet 2550 series printer driver.

8. Print a page from the HP Toolbox.

a. If it prints, then the problem is with the printer driver. For Windows, try using the

other printer driver. Or, for Windows or Macintosh, uninstall the printer driver (see

Uninstalling the printing software) and reinstall it (see the getting started guide).

b. If the page does not print, then the problem is with the computer or the program.

74 Chapter 7 Problem solving ENWW

9. Print a short document from a different program that has worked in the past. If this

solution works, then the problem is with the program you are using. If this solution does not work (the document does not print) complete these steps:

a. Try printing the job from another computer that has the printer software installed.

b. If you connected the printer to the network, connect the printer directly to a computer

with a parallel or USB cable. Redirect the printer to the proper port, or reinstall the software, choosing the new connection type you are using.

10. If the problem is still not resolved, see

Solving general printing problems.

ENWW Resolving problems that did not generate messages 75

Checking the network

It is recommended that you use the HP color LaserJet 2550 CD-ROM to install and set up the printer on a network. Follow these steps to see if the problem is caused by the network.

● When you printed the Configuration page, an HP Jetdirect configuration page should

have printed if the printer is network-enabled. (If these pages do not print in your language, see For more information about the HP Jetdirect page, see the HP Jetdirect Administrator's Guide, which can be installed from the View Documentation or User Documentation sections on the HP color LaserJet 2550 CD-ROM.

● See the HP Jetdirect Administrator's Guide, which can be installed from the View

Documentation or User Documentation sections on the HP color LaserJet 2550 CDROM.

● Contact your network administrator for assistance.

Special pages.) Verify that all network settings are properly configured.

76 Chapter 7 Problem solving ENWW

Solving general printing problems

In addition to the problems listed in this section, see Solving common Macintosh problems if you are using a Macintosh computer, and see the PS driver.

The print job is extremely slow.

Solving PostScript (PS) errors if you are using

Cause

The job might be very complex (if it contains graphics, for example).

The maximum printer speed is 19 ppm in black for A4-size paper, 20 ppm in black for letter-size paper, and 4 ppm in color (for A4 or letter). This speed cannot be exceeded even when more memory is added.

Printing speeds might be automatically reduced when printing on special-sized media.

In the printer driver, the Type or Size is set for card stock or other special media.

Solution

● Wait for the job to print.

● Reduce the complexity of the page or try adjusting the

print-quality settings. If this problem occurs frequently, add memory to the printer.

Wait for the print job to finish.

● If you are printing on special media, the Type or Size

should be set to match the media. The printer prints more slowly for some media types to provide better quality. Wait for the job to print.

● If you are not printing on special media, set Type or

Size in the printer driver to plain paper.

● In the default settings for this printer, click the Paper tab

and ensure that Type is set to plain paper. You can override this setting from the printer driver when you print on special media.

An issue might exist with the driver. If you were printing by using the PCL driver, print by using

the PS driver, or vice versa.

The printer might be hot. If the printer has been printing for a long time and is hot, it

automatically slows its printing speed to prevent print-quality defects. To restore the printer to full speed, stop printing and wait for the printer to cool.

ENWW Solving general printing problems 77

The printer pulls paper or print media from the wrong tray.

Cause

The Source (tray) selection might be incorrect. ● For Windows, ensure that the Source is selected from

The Type or Size setting does not match the size of paper or print media that is loaded in the tray.

Media is loaded in tray 1. Remove any media from tray 1. The printer pulls from tray 1

Printer does not pull paper from optional tray 2 or optional tray 3.

Cause

The rear paper length guide (optional tray 2) or the rear paper stop (optional tray 3) is set incorrectly.

Solution

the Print dialog box (which is part of the program) if possible or from the printer driver. If you select the Source in the printer driver and then select a different Source in the Print dialog box, the Source setting in the printer driver changes to match the Source setting in the Print dialog box.

● For Macintosh, set the Source in the Print dialog box.

● Remove any print media from other trays to make the

printer select from the tray that you want.

Using the HP Toolbox, change the Type or Size setting for the tray to match the size of print media that is loaded.

if you did not specify a tray that had a compatible size or type loaded and tray 1 is unconfigured.

Solution

To set the rear guides properly, see Loading optional tray 2 or

Loading optional tray 3.

The tray is not recognized in the printer driver. Set the printer driver to recognize the tray as follows:

Windows: Click Start, point to Settings, and click Printers. Right-click the printer name, and click Properties. Click the Configure tab or the Device Settings tab. Select the correct tray as an installed option.

Mac OS X: (OS 9.x setup might vary): Open Print Center and click the HP color LaserJet print queue. Click Printers, and then click Show Info. Click Installable Options, and select correct tray. Click Apply Changes.

If the printer does not pull paper from either tray, the paper might be the problem.

The printer does not recognize the tray. Turn the printer off then on.

The separation pad and the pickup rollers might be worn. Replace the separation pad and pickup rollers. Contact HP

● Try a different type or brand of paper.

● Ensure that you are using a high-quality paper made for

laser printers. Coated and photo papers are not supported. See see

Accessories and ordering information.

Customer Care to order parts. See the support flyer that shipped in the printer box.

Print-media specifications. To order,

HP customer care or see

78 Chapter 7 Problem solving ENWW

The printer does not recognize a DIMM that is installed.

Cause

The DIMM is not recognized in the printer driver. Set the printer driver to recognize the DIMM. See Enabling

The DIMM is not properly installed. Remove the DIMM, and reinstall it.

The printer does not respond when the Print command is selected in the software.

Cause

The printer experienced an error. Check the control panel lights on the printer to determine if

If no control panel lights are on, the printer is not receiving power.

The printer might be in Manual Feed mode (Attention light blinking and Go light on).

Solution

memory.

Solution

an error exists.

● Check the power cable connection between the printer

and the power source.

● Check that the power switch is on.

● Check that the power source (outlet or surge protector)

is receiving power.

● If none of the above measures works, contact HP

Customer Care. See support flyer that shipped in the printer box.

Add paper to tray 1 if it is empty. If paper is already in the

tray, press

(GO).

HP customer care or see the

The wrong printer was selected in the software. In the Print or Printer Setup dialog box, make sure that the

HP color LaserJet 2550 printer is selected.

A jam might exist. Clear any jams. See Clearing jams.

The printer is on a network and is not receiving a signal. ● Disconnect the printer from the network and attach it

directly to a computer by using a parallel or USB cable.

● Clear any stopped jobs from the print queue.

● Print a job that you know works.

● Reinstall the printing software.

The interface cable between the computer (or network) and the printer is not connected properly.

The interface cable is defective. ● If possible, connect the interface cable to another

If the printer is connected to a computer, the software for the printer is not configured for the printer port.

Disconnect and reconnect the interface cable.

computer (or network port) and print a job that you know works.

● Try using a different cable.

Check the printer selection menu in the software to make sure that it is using the correct port. If the computer has more than one port, make sure that the printer is associated with the correct one.

ENWW Solving general printing problems 79

Pages print, but not all of the colors print, or the pages are completely blank.

Cause

If one color is completely missing, the sealing tape might not have been removed completely from the print cartridge.

If pages print completely blank, the file might have blank pages.

If you are using non-HP print cartridges, one or more print cartridges is low or empty. The control panel lights do not indicate low or empty status for non-HP print cartridges.

The Font DIMM check box might be selected but the font DIMM is not physically installed in the printer. (This issue only applies to printers that are using an Asian-language font DIMM.)

The media curls when exiting the top output bin.

Cause

The media needs to print to the straight-through paper path. Open the rear output door to print to the straight-through

Solution

Remove the print cartridge for the missing color and make sure all the sealing tape has been removed completely.

Check the file to see if it contains blank pages. Delete those pages if they are unnecessary.

Replace one or more of the print cartridges.

In the settings for this printer, click to clear the Font DIMM check box on the Configure tab if no font DIMM is installed in the printer. Select the Font DIMM check box only if the font DIMM is physically installed in the printer. If you think that the font DIMM is installed, make sure that it is installed correctly.

Solution

paper path. Remove each sheet as it exits the printer.

The stack was slightly curled when it was placed in the tray. Turn the stack over in the tray.

The print media does not meet specifications. See Print-media specifications.

If you are printing on light media, the Type setting might not be correct.

The printer prints, but the text is wrong, garbled, or incomplete.

Cause

The interface cable is loose or defective. Disconnect the printer cable and reconnect it. Try a print job

The printer is on a network or sharing device and is not receiving a clear signal.

The wrong driver was selected in the software. In the Print or Printer Setup dialog box, make sure that the

The printer driver is malfunctioning. Print a page from the HP Toolbox. If the page prints, then

Select Light in the Type is field in the printer driver.

Solution

that you know works. If possible, attach the cable and printer to another computer and try a print job that you know works. Finally, try a new cable.

Disconnect the printer from the network and attach it directly to a computer by using a parallel or USB cable. Print a job that you know works.

HP color LaserJet 2550 printer is selected.

the problem is with the printer driver. Uninstall and reinstall the printer driver.

The program is malfunctioning. Try printing a job from another program.

80 Chapter 7 Problem solving ENWW

The printer prints, but the text is wrong, garbled, or incomplete.

Cause

If the printer is connected to a computer, the operating system is malfunctioning.

The font DIMM check box might be selected but the font DIMM might not be physically installed in the printer. (This issue only applies to printers with an Asian-language font DIMM installed.)

Solution

Check the operating system. If you do not know how to use the following method, see the documentation that came with the computer.

Restart the computer. When it beeps during startup, press F5 and select Command Prompt Only. At the C:\ prompt on the computer, type Dir>LPT1 and then press Enter. (This assumes the printer is connected to LPT1.) If the Go

light comes on at the printer, press eject the page. If the page prints correctly, then the operating system is malfunctioning.

● If the font DIMM is not installed in the printer, open the

printer driver and on the Configure tab, and click to clear the Font DIMM check box.

● If a font DIMM is installed, the check box should be

selected, but make sure that the actual font DIMM is installed correctly in the printer.

(GO) to print and

ENWW Solving general printing problems 81

Solving PostScript (PS) errors

The following situations are specific to the PS language and might occur when several printer languages are being used.

Note

To receive a printed or an onscreen message when PS errors occur, select this option in the PS printer driver or the HP Toolbox.

The job prints in Courier (the printer default typeface) instead of the typeface that you requested.

Cause

The requested typeface is not downloaded. A personality switch might have been performed to print a PCL job just before the PS printing job was received.

A PS error-page prints.

Cause

The print job might not be PS. Make sure that the print job is a PS job. Check to see

A virtual memory (VM) error occurs.

Solution

Download the font that you want, and send the print job again. Verify the type and location of the font. Download the font to the printer, if applicable. See the software documentation for more information.

Solution

whether the program expected a setup or PS header file to be sent to the printer.

Cause

This is a PS font error that occurs when you are using several fonts.

A Range Check error occurs.

Cause

This is a PS font error that occurs when you are using several fonts.

Solution

● Select Unlimited Downloadable Fonts from the printer

driver.

● Simplify the document by reducing the number of

graphics or fonts.

Solution

● Try printing from a different tray.

● Select Unlimited Downloadable Fonts from the printer

driver.

82 Chapter 7 Problem solving ENWW

Solving common Macintosh problems

In addition to the problems that are listed in Solving general printing problems, this section lists problems that can occur when using Mac OS 9.x, or Mac OS X.

Note

The HP color LaserJet 2550 series printer supports USB and Internet protocol (IP) printing by using an Ethernet connection (networked models only). Setup for USB and IP printing is performed through the Desktop Printer Utility. The printer will not appear in the Chooser.

Problems with Mac OS 9.x.

The printer name or IP address does not show or verify in the Desktop Printer Utility.

Cause

The printer might not be ready. Make sure the cables are connected correctly, the printer is

The wrong connection type might be selected. Make sure that Printer (USB) or Printer (LPR) is selected

The wrong printer name or IP address is being used. Check the printer name or IP address by printing a

Solution

on, and the ready light is on. If connecting through a USB or Ethernet hub, try connecting directly to the computer or use a different port.

in the Desktop Printer Utility, depending on the type of connection that exists between the printer and the computer.

configuration page. (Briefly press

JOB) simultaneously.) Verify that the printer name or IP

address on the configuration page matches the printer name or IP address in the Desktop Printer Utility.

(GO) and (C

ANCEL

The interface cable might be defective or of poor quality. Replace the interface cable. Make sure to use a high-quality

cable.

The PostScript Printer Description (PPD) file for the printer does not appear as a selection in the Desktop Printer Utility

Cause

The printer software might not have been installed or was installed incorrectly.

The Postscript Printer Description (PPD) file is corrupt. Delete the PPD file from the following hard drive folder:

Solution

Make sure that the HP color LaserJet 2550 PPD is in the following hard drive folder: System folder/Extensions/ Printer Descriptions. If necessary, reinstall the software. See the getting started guide for instructions.

System Folder/Extensions/Printer Descriptions. Reinstall the software. See the getting

started guide for instructions.

ENWW Solving common Macintosh problems 83

Problems with Mac OS 9.x. (continued)

A print job was not sent to the printer that you wanted.

Cause

Solution

The print queue might be stopped. Restart the print queue. Open the Printing menu in the top

menu bar and click Start Print Queue.

The wrong printer name or IP address is being used. Another printer with the same or similar name or IP address might have received your print job.

Check the printer name or IP address by printing a

configuration page. (Briefly press

(GO) and (C

ANCEL

JOB) simultaneously.) Verify that the printer name or IP

address on the configuration page matches the printer name or IP address in the Desktop Printer Utility.

The printer might not be ready. Make sure the cables are connected correctly, the printer is

on, and the ready light is on. If connecting through a USB or Ethernet hub, try connecting directly to the computer or use a different port.

The interface cable might be defective or of poor quality. Replace the interface cable. Make sure to use a high-quality

cable.

You cannot use the computer while the printer is printing.

Cause

Solution

Background Printing has not been selected. For LaserWriter 8.6 and later: Turn Background Printing on

by selecting Print Desktop on the File menu and then clicking Background Printing.

An encapsulated PostScript (EPS) file does not print with the correct fonts.

Cause

Solution

This problem occurs with some programs. ● Try downloading the fonts that are contained in the EPS

file to the printer before printing.

● Send the file in ASCII format instead of binary encoding.

Your document is not printing with New York, Geneva, or Monaco fonts.

Cause

Solution

The printer might be substituting fonts. Click Options in the Page Setup dialog box to clear

substituted fonts.

You are unable to print from a third-party USB card.

Cause

This error occurs when the software for USB printers is not installed.

Solution

When adding a third-party USB card, you might need the Apple USB Adapter Card Support software. The most current version of this software is available from the Apple website.

84 Chapter 7 Problem solving ENWW

Problems with Mac OS 9.x. (continued)

When connected with a USB cable, the printer does not appear in the Desktop Printer Utility or the Apple System Profiler after the driver is selected.

Cause

This problem is caused by either a software or hardware component.

Solution

Software troubleshooting

● Check that your Macintosh supports USB.

● Verify that your Macintosh operating system is Mac OS

9.1 or later.

● Ensure that your Macintosh has the appropriate USB

software from Apple.

Note

The iMac and Blue G3 desktop Macintosh systems meet all of the requirements to connect to a USB device.

Hardware troubleshooting

● Check that the printer is turned on.

● Verify that the USB cable is properly connected.

● Check that you are using the appropriate high-speed

USB cable.

● Ensure that you do not have too many USB devices

drawing power from the chain. Disconnect all of the devices from the chain and connect the cable directly to the USB port on the host computer.

● Check to see if more than two nonpowered USB hubs

are connected in a row on the chain. Disconnect all devices from the chain and connect the cable directly to the USB port on the host computer.

Note

The iMac keyboard is a nonpowered USB hub.

Problems with Mac OS X

The printer driver is not listed in Print Center

Cause

The printer software might not have been installed or was installed incorrectly.

The Postscript Printer Description (PPD) file is corrupt. Delete the PPD file from the following hard drive folder:

Solution

Make sure that the HP color LaserJet 2550 PPD is in the following hard drive folder: Library/Printers/PPDs/ Contents/Resources/<lang>.lproj, where “<lang>” represents the two-letter language code for the language you are using. If necessary, reinstall the software. See the getting started guide for instructions.

Library/Printers/PPDs/Contents/Resources/ <lang>.lproj, where “<lang>” represents the two-letter

language code for the language you are using. Reinstall the software. See the getting started guide for instructions.

ENWW Solving common Macintosh problems 85

Problems with Mac OS X (continued)

The printer name, IP address, or Rendezvous host name does not appear in the printer list box in the print center.

Cause

Solution

The printer might not be ready. Make sure the cables are connected correctly, the printer is

on, and the ready light is on. If connecting through a USB or Ethernet hub, try connecting directly to the computer or use a different port.

The wrong connection type might be selected. Make sure that USB, IP Printing, or Rendezvous is selected,

depending on the type of connection that exists between the printer and the computer.

The wrong printer name, IP address, or Rendezvous host name is being used.

Check the printer name, IP address, or Rendezvous host

name by printing a configuration page. (Briefly press

(GO) and (C

ANCEL JOB

) simultaneously.) Verify that the name, IP address, or Rendezvous host name on the configuration page matches the printer name, IP address, or Rendezvous host name in the Print Center.

The interface cable might be defective or of poor quality. Replace the interface cable. Make sure to use a high-quality

cable.

The printer driver does not automatically set up your selected printer in Print Center.