Hp DESKJET3900 User Manual
HP Deskjet 3900 series
User's guide
Hewlett-Packard Company
notices
The information contained in this
document is subject to change
without notice.
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Acknowledgements
Microsoft, MS, MS-DOS, and
Windows are registered trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation.
TrueType is a U.S. trademark of
Apple Computer, Inc.
Adobe, AdobeRGB, and Acrobat are
trademarks of Adobe Systems
Incorporated.
Copyright 2005 Hewlett-Packard
Development Company, L.P.
Terms and conventions
The following terms and conventions
are used in this user's guide.
Terms
The HP Deskjet printer is also
referred to as the HP printer or printer.
Cautions and warnings
A Caution indicates possible damage
to the HP Deskjet printer or to other
equipment. For example:
Caution Do not touch the
print cartridge ink nozzles or
copper contacts. Touching
these parts will result in
clogs, ink failure, and bad
electrical connections.
A Warning indicates possible harm to
you or to others. For example:
Warning Keep both new
and used print cartridges out
of the reach of children.
Contents
1 Welcome................................................................................................................3
2 Special features....................................................................................................4
3 Get started.............................................................................................................5
Printer features.......................................................................................................5
Power button and light............................................................................................6
Paper tray...............................................................................................................6
Print cartridges.......................................................................................................8
Ink-backup mode....................................................................................................9
4 Connect to the printer........................................................................................10
5 Print photos........................................................................................................11
Print borderless photos.........................................................................................11
Print photos with a border.....................................................................................13
HP Real Life technologies....................................................................................14
PhotoREt..............................................................................................................15
Maximum dpi........................................................................................................15
Exif Print...............................................................................................................16
Store and handle photo paper..............................................................................16
Save money when printing photos........................................................................16
6 Print other documents.......................................................................................18
E-mail...................................................................................................................18
Letters..................................................................................................................19
Documents...........................................................................................................20
Envelopes.............................................................................................................21
Brochures.............................................................................................................21
Greeting cards......................................................................................................22
Postcards..............................................................................................................23
Transparencies.....................................................................................................24
Labels...................................................................................................................25
Index cards and other small media.......................................................................26
Booklets................................................................................................................27
Posters.................................................................................................................28
Iron-on transfers...................................................................................................29
7 Printing tips.........................................................................................................31
Printing shortcuts..................................................................................................31
Fast/economical printing.......................................................................................31
General everyday printing..................................................................................... 32
Presentation printing.............................................................................................32
Set default settings for the printer.........................................................................32
Select a print quality.............................................................................................33
Set the page order................................................................................................33
Print multiple pages on a single sheet of paper....................................................33
Print preview.........................................................................................................34
Set a custom paper size.......................................................................................34
Select a paper type...............................................................................................34
Print task quick sets..............................................................................................35
User's guide 1
Two-sided printing................................................................................................36
8 Printer software..................................................................................................38
Printer Properties dialog box................................................................................38
What's This? help.................................................................................................38
Ink Status window.................................................................................................38
Download printer software updates......................................................................39
9 Maintenance........................................................................................................40
Install print cartridges...........................................................................................40
Align the print cartridges.......................................................................................42
Automatically clean print cartridges......................................................................43
Print a test page...................................................................................................43
View estimated ink levels...................................................................................... 43
Maintain the printer body......................................................................................44
Remove ink from your skin and clothing...............................................................44
Manually clean print cartridges.............................................................................44
Maintain print cartridges.......................................................................................46
Printer Toolbox.....................................................................................................46
10 Troubleshooting.................................................................................................48
Printer does not print............................................................................................48
Paper jam.............................................................................................................49
Paper problems....................................................................................................50
Printer is stalled....................................................................................................51
Print cartridge problems........................................................................................ 51
Photos do not print correctly.................................................................................53
Print quality is poor...............................................................................................54
Document is misprinted........................................................................................55
Problems with borderless documents...................................................................55
Error messages....................................................................................................58
Power light is flashing...........................................................................................60
Document prints slowly.........................................................................................61
If you continue to have problems..........................................................................61
11 Supplies...............................................................................................................62
Paper....................................................................................................................62
USB cables...........................................................................................................62
12 Specifications.....................................................................................................63
Printer specifications............................................................................................63
13 Environmental information................................................................................64
Environmental statement......................................................................................64
Print cartridge recovery......................................................................................... 65
Index...........................................................................................................................67
2 HP Deskjet 3900 series
1
Welcome
To find an answer to a question, select one of the following topics:
● Special features
● Get started
● Connect to the printer
● Print photos
● Print other documents
● Printing tips
● Printer software
● Maintenance
● Troubleshooting
● Supplies
● Specifications
● Environmental information
User's guide 3
2
Special features
Congratulations! You have purchased an HP Deskjet printer that is equipped with
several exciting features:
● User friendly: Easy to install and operate.
● Borderless printing: Print 4 x 6 inch photos to the edges of the paper by using
the borderless printing feature.
● Ink level indicator: Know the approximate ink level of each print cartridge with
the onscreen Ink Status window.
● Ink-backup mode: Use ink-backup mode to continue printing with one print
cartridge when the other print cartridge has run out of ink.
● Real Life technologies: HP Real Life technologies make it easy for you to get
better photos. Automatic red-eye removal and adaptive lighting to enhance detail
in shadows are just a few of the technologies included.
4 HP Deskjet 3900 series
3
Get started
● Printer features
● Power button and light
● Paper tray
● Print cartridges
● Ink-backup mode
Printer features
The printer has several features to make printing easier and more efficient.
1 Power button and light
2 Paper tray
1 Print cartridges
User's guide 5
Chapter 3
1 USB port
Power button and light
Use the Power button to turn the printer on and off. It can take a few seconds for the
printer to turn on after you press the Power button.
1 Power button and light
The Power light flashes when the printer is processing.
Caution Always use the Power button to turn the printer on and off. Using a
power strip, surge protector, or a wall-mounted switch to turn the printer on
and off might cause printer failure.
Paper tray
The fold-out paper tray holds paper and other media to be printed. Unfold the paper
tray before printing.
6 HP Deskjet 3900 series
Unfold the paper tray
Follow these steps to unfold the paper tray:
1. Raise the printer cover.
2. Lower the paper tray.
3. Fold out the tray extension.
4. Lower the printer cover.
User's guide 7
Chapter 3
Use the paper tray
Print on different sizes of media by sliding the paper guide to the right or to the left.
The printer deposits printed pages on the top of the paper tray.
Note The print cartridges must be installed before printing.
Print cartridges
Two print cartridges can be used with the printer.
1 Tri-color print cartridge
2 Black print cartridge
Replace print cartridges
When buying print cartridges, look for the print cartridge selection number.
You can find the selection number in three places:
● Selection number label: Look at the label on the print cartridge that you are
replacing.
8 HP Deskjet 3900 series
1 Selection number label
● Printer documentation: For a list of print cartridge selection numbers, see the
reference guide that came with the printer.
● Print Cartridge Ordering Information dialog box: For a list of print cartridge
selection numbers, open the printer Toolbox, click the Estimated Ink Levels tab,
and then click the Print Cartridge Information button.
If a print cartridge runs out of ink, the printer can operate in ink-backup mode.
For information about installing a replacement print cartridge, see the print cartridge
installation page.
Ink-backup mode
Use the ink-backup mode to operate the printer with only one print cartridge. The inkbackup mode is initiated when a print cartridge is removed from the print cartridge
cradle.
Ink-backup mode output
Printing in ink-backup mode slows the printer and affects the quality of printouts.
Installed print cartridge
Black print cartridge Colors print as grayscale.
Tri-color print cartridge
Exit ink-backup mode
Install two print cartridges in the printer to exit ink-backup mode.
For instructions about installing a print cartridge, see the print cartridge installation
page.
User's guide 9
Result
Colors print but black is grayed and is
not a true black.
4
Connect to the printer
The printer connects to the computer with a universal serial bus (USB) cable. The
computer must be running Windows 98 or later to use a USB cable.
For instructions about connecting the printer with a USB cable, see the setup poster
that came with the printer.
Note A USB cable might not be packaged with your printer.
10 HP Deskjet 3900 series
5
Print photos
The printer software offers several features that make printing digital photos easier
and improve photo quality.
Learn how to perform the following tasks:
● Print a borderless photo.
● Print a photo with a border.
● Use HP Real Life technologies to touch up photos.
● Get the best combination of speed and quality by using PhotoREt.
● Achieve the highest printing resolution with maximum dpi.
● Print an Exif Print-formatted photo if you have Exif Print-enabled software.
● Prevent photo paper from curling by following the photo paper storage and
handling guidelines.
● Use HP Everyday Photo Paper to save money and ink when printing photos.
Print borderless photos
To print borderless photos, use 4 x 6 inch photo paper with a 0.5 inch tab (10 x 15 cm
with 1.25 cm tab); the photo prints without borders on three sides and with a small
border on the bottom edge that you tear off to make the photo completely borderless.
If you print on 4 x 6 inch photo paper without tear-off tabs, the printout is borderless
on three sides and has a border on the bottom.
User's guide 11
Chapter 5
Guidelines
● Do not print borderless photos in ink-backup mode. Always have two print
cartridges installed in the printer.
● Open the file in a software program and assign the photo size. Ensure that the
size corresponds to the paper size on which you want to print the photo.
● For maximum fade resistance, use HP Premium Plus Photo Paper.
● Verify that the photo paper that you are using is flat. For information about
preventing photo paper from curling, see the photo paper storage instructions.
● Do not exceed the paper tray capacity: 15 sheets of photo paper.
Prepare to print
1. Slide the paper guide to the left.
2. Place the photo paper in the right side of the tray. The side to be printed on
should face down and the short edge should point towards the printer.
If you are using photo paper that has a tear-off tab, verify that the tab is pointing
away from the printer. Push the paper into the printer until it stops.
3. Slide the paper guide firmly against the edge of the paper.
Print
Note If your software program includes a photo printing feature, follow the
instructions that are provided with the software program. Otherwise, follow
these instructions.
1. Open the Printer Properties dialog box.
2. Click the Printing Shortcuts tab.
12 HP Deskjet 3900 series
3. In the What do you want to do? drop-down list, click Photo Printingborderless, and then select the following options:
– Print Quality: Normal or Best
Note For maximum dpi quality, go to the Paper/Quality tab, and
then click Maximum dpi in the Print Quality drop-down list.
– Paper Type: An appropriate photo paper type
– Paper Size: An appropriate borderless photo paper size
– Orientation: Portrait or Landscape
4. Set the HP Real Life technologies as appropriate.
5. Click OK to print the photo.
If you printed on photo paper with a tear-off tab, remove the tab to make the
document completely borderless.
Use the What's This? help to learn about the features that appear in the Printer
Properties dialog box.
Print photos with a border
Follow these instructions to print photos with a white border.
Guidelines
● For maximum fade resistance, use HP Premium Plus Photo Paper.
● Verify that the photo paper that you are using is flat. For information about
preventing photo paper from curling, see the photo paper storage instructions.
● Do not exceed the paper tray capacity: 15 sheets of photo paper.
Prepare to print
1. Slide the paper guide to the left.
2. For large photos, place the paper with the side to be printed on facing down in the
tray, and then push it into the printer until it stops.
The paper will extend over the edge of the tray.
3. For 4 x 6 inch (10 x 15 cm) photos, place the photo paper in the right side of the
tray.
The side to be printed on should face down and the short edge should point
towards the printer. Push the paper into the printer until it stops.
User's guide 13
Chapter 5
4. Slide the paper guide firmly against the edge of the paper.
Print
Note If your software program includes a photo printing feature, follow the
instructions that are provided with the software program. Otherwise, follow
these instructions.
1. Open the Printer Properties dialog box.
2. Click the Printing Shortcuts tab.
3. In the What do you want to do? drop-down list, click Photo printing-with white
borders, and then select the following options:
– Print Quality: Normal or Best
Note For maximum dpi quality, go to the Paper/Quality tab, and
then click Maximum dpi in the Print Quality drop-down list.
– Paper Type: An appropriate photo paper type
– Paper Size: An appropriate photo paper size
– Orientation: Portrait or Landscape
4. Set the HP Real Life technologies as appropriate.
5. Click OK to print the photo.
Use the What's This? help to learn about the features that appear in the Printer
Properties dialog box.
HP Real Life technologies
HP Real Life technologies make it easy for you to get better photos. Automatic redeye removal and adaptive lighting to enhance detail in shadows are just a few of the
technologies included.
Open HP Real Life technologies
Follow these steps to open the HP Real Life technologies dialog box:
1. Open the Printer Properties dialog box.
2. Click the Paper/Quality tab, and then click the Real Life Digital Photography
button.
14 HP Deskjet 3900 series
Use HP Real Life technologies
Use the HP Real Life technologies dialog box to set these options:
1. Automatic Red-Eye Removal: Click On to automatically remove or reduce redeye in the photo.
2. Photo Brightening: Make washed out images more vivid. Click Automatic to
allow the printer software to balance the contrast automatically.
3. Adaptive Lighting: Enhance detail in shadows. Click Automatic to allow the
printer software to balance lightness and darkness automatically.
4. SmartFocus: Enhance the image quality and clarity. Click On to allow the printer
software to focus the image automatically.
5. Sharpness: Adjust the image sharpness to your preference. Click Automatic to
allow the printer software to set the level of sharpening for the image automatically.
6. Smoothing: Soften an image. Click Automatic to allow the printer software to
set the level of smoothing for the image automatically.
PhotoREt
PhotoREt offers the best combination of print speed and quality for your image.
Follow these steps to print with PhotoREt technology:
1. Open the Printer Properties dialog box.
2. Click the Printing Shortcuts tab or the Paper/Quality tab.
3. Click Best in the Print Quality drop-down list.
4. Select any other print settings that you want, and then click OK.
Maximum dpi
The maximum dpi print quality setting offers 4800 x 1200 optimized dots per inch (dpi)
printing.
The 4800 x 1200 optimized dpi is the highest quality resolution for this printer. When
4800 x 1200 optimized dpi is selected in the printer software, the tri-color print
cartridge prints in the 4800 x 1200 optimized dpi mode (up to 4800 x 1200 optimized
dpi color and 1200-input dpi).
Note Using maximum dpi increases the printing time and requires a large
amount of disk space.
Follow these steps to print in the 4800 x 1200 optimized dpi mode:
1. Open the Printer Properties dialog box.
2. Click the Paper/Quality tab.
3. In the Type is drop-down list, click More, and then select the appropriate photo
paper type.
4. In the Print Quality drop-down list, click Maximum dpi.
5. Select any other print settings that you want, and then click OK.
Note Use an HP premium photo paper when printing in the maximum dpi
mode to enhance color matching and detail in the photo.
User's guide 15
Chapter 5
Exif Print
Exif Print (Exchangeable Image File Format 2.2) is an international digital imaging
standard that simplifies digital photography and enhances printed photos. When a
photo is taken with an Exif Print-enabled digital camera, Exif Print captures
information such as exposure time, type of flash, and color saturation, and stores it in
the image file. The HP Deskjet printer software then uses this information to
automatically perform image-specific enhancements to create outstanding photos.
To print Exif Print-enhanced photos, you must have the following items:
● A digital camera that supports Exif Print
● Exif Print-enabled photo software
Follow these steps to print Exif Print-enhanced photos:
1. Open the file that you want the Exif Print-enabled photo software to print.
2. Open the Printer Properties dialog box.
3. Click the Paper/Quality tab.
4. In the Type is drop-down list, click More, and then select the appropriate photo
paper type.
5. In the Print Quality drop-down list, click Normal, Best, or Maximum dpi .
6. Select any other print settings that you want, and then click OK.
The printer software automatically optimizes the printed image.
Store and handle photo paper
Follow these instructions to maintain the quality of HP brand photo paper.
Storage
● Keep unused photo paper in a plastic bag. Store the packaged photo paper on a
flat surface in a cool place.
● When you are ready to print, remove only the paper that you plan to use
immediately from the plastic bag. When you have finished printing, return any
unused photo paper to the plastic bag.
● Do not leave unused photo paper in the paper tray. The paper might start to curl,
which can reduce the quality of your photos.
Handling
● Always hold photo paper by its edges. Fingerprints on photo paper can reduce
print quality.
● If the corners of the photo paper curl more than 10 mm (0.4 inch), flatten the
paper by putting it in the storage bag, and then gently bending it in the opposite
direction of the curl until the paper lies flat.
Photo paper should be flat before it is printed on.
Save money when printing photos
To save money and ink when printing photos, use HP Everyday Photo Paper and set
the print quality to Normal.
HP Everyday Photo Paper is designed to create quality photos with less ink.
16 HP Deskjet 3900 series
Note For higher-quality photos, use HP Premium Plus Photo Paper and set
the print quality to Best or maximum dpi.
User's guide 17
6
Print other documents
E-mail Letters Documents Envelopes
Brochures Greeting cards Postcards
Transparencies Labels Index cards
Booklets Posters Iron-on transfers
Printing tips: Minimize your cost and effort while maximizing the quality of your
printouts with printing tips.
Printer software: Learn about the printer software.
To print an e-mail, use the Printing Shortcuts tab.
Guidelines
Do not exceed the paper tray capacity: 80 sheets of plain paper.
Prepare to print
1. Slide the paper guide to the left.
2. Place the paper with the side to be printed on facing down in the tray, and then
push it into the printer until it stops.
The paper will extend over the edge of the tray.
18 HP Deskjet 3900 series
3. Slide the paper guide firmly against the edge of the paper.
Print
1. Open the Printer Properties dialog box.
2. Click the Printing Shortcuts tab.
3. In the What do you want to do? drop-down list, click General Everyday
4. Click OK.
Use the What's This? help to learn about the features that appear in the Printer
Properties dialog box.
Letters
To print a letter, use the Printing Shortcuts tab.
Guidelines
● For help printing on an envelope, see envelopes.
● Do not exceed the paper tray capacity: 80 sheets of paper.
Prepare to print
1. Slide the paper guide to the left.
2. Place the paper with the side to be printed on facing down in the tray, and then
Printing or Fast/Economical Printing, and then specify the following print
settings:
– Paper Type: Plain paper
– Paper Size: An appropriate paper size
push it into the printer until it stops.
The paper will extend over the edge of the tray.
3. Slide the paper guide firmly against the edge of the paper.
User's guide 19
Chapter 6
Print
1. Open the Printer Properties dialog box.
2. Click the Printing Shortcuts tab.
3. In the What do you want to do? drop-down list, click Presentation Printing,
and then specify the following print settings:
– Paper Type: Plain paper
– Paper Size: An appropriate paper size
4. Select any other print settings that you want, and then click OK.
Use the What's This? help to learn about the features that appear in the Printer
Properties dialog box.
Documents
To print a draft or final document, use the Printing Shortcuts tab.
Guidelines
● For draft documents, use Fast/economical printing.
● Do not exceed the paper tray capacity: 80 sheets of paper.
Prepare to print
1. Slide the paper guide to the left.
2. Place the paper with the side to be printed on facing down in the tray, and then
push it into the printer until it stops.
The paper will extend over the edge of the tray.
3. Slide the paper guide firmly against the edge of the paper.
Print
1. Open the Printer Properties box.
2. Click the Printing Shortcuts tab.
3. In the What do you want to do? drop-down list, click General Everyday
Printing, and then specify the following print settings:
– Paper Type: Plain paper
– Paper Size: An appropriate paper size
4. Select the following print settings:
– Print Quality
– Print On Both Sides if you want to print on both sides of the paper
5. Click OK.
20 HP Deskjet 3900 series
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