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Acknowledgements
Apple, the Apple logo, ColorSync, the
ColorSync logo, Finder, Mac,
Macintosh, MacOS, Powerbook,
Power Macintosh, and Quickdraw are
trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.,
registered in the U.S. and other
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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:
Warning Keep both new
and used print cartridges out
of the reach of children.
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:
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 guide3
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 level indicator.
●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.
4HP 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 guide5
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.
6HP 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 guide7
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.
8HP 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.
●HP Printer Utility: Open the HP Printer Utility, and then select the Supplies
Status pane.
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 cartridgeColors 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 guide9
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.
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.
10HP 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.
●Achieve the highest printing resolution with maximum dpi.
●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 guide11
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
Show me how to load photo paper.
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.
Note Some panoramic paper sizes might extend beyond the edge of the
paper tray.
3.Slide the paper guide firmly against the edge of the paper.
Print
1.Open the Page Setup dialog box.
12HP Deskjet 3900 series
2.Choose the appropriate borderless paper size in the Paper Size menu, and then
click OK.
3.Open the Print dialog box.
4.Select the Paper Type/Quality pane, and then select the following settings:
–Paper Type: The appropriate photo paper type
–Quality: Best or Maximum dpi
5.Select the Real Life Digital Photography pane, and then set the HP Real Life
technologies as appropriate.
6.Select any other print settings that you want, and then click Print.
If you printed on photo paper that has a tear-off tab, remove the tab to make the
document completely borderless.
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
Show me how to load photo paper.
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.
User's guide13
Chapter 5
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.
4.Slide the paper guide firmly against the edge of the paper.
Print
1.Open the Page Setup dialog box, and then select the following settings:
–Paper Size: The appropriate paper size
–Orientation: The appropriate orientation
2.Click OK.
3.Open the Print dialog box.
4.Select the Paper Type/Quality pane, and then select the following settings:
–Paper Type: The appropriate photo paper type
–Quality: Best or Maximum dpi
5.Select the Real Life Digital Photography pane, and then set the HP Real Life
technologies as appropriate.
6.Select any other print settings that you want, and then click Print.
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 access the HP Digital Photography Real Life technologies:
1.Open the Print dialog box.
2.Select the Real Life Digital Photography pane.
14HP Deskjet 3900 series
Use HP Real Life technologies
Choose from the following items:
●Summary: View all the current settings at a glance.
●Auto Red-eye Removal: Click On to automatically remove or reduce red-eye in
the photograph.
●Adaptive Lighting: Adjust the exposure in dark areas of photos to bring out
detail. Click Auto to allow the printer software to automatically balance lightness
and darkness.
●Photo Brightening: Automatically enhance colors and contrast for washed-out
photos. Click Auto to allow the printer software to intelligently brighten your
photo, focusing only on areas that need adjustment.
●SmartFocus: Enhance the image quality and clarity of low resolution images
such as those downloaded from the Internet. Click On to allow the printer
software to sharpen details in the image automatically.
●Smoothing: Soften an image. Click Auto to allow the printer software to set the
level of smoothing for the image automatically.
●Sharpness: Adjust the image sharpness to your preference. Click Auto to allow
the printer software to set the level of sharpening for the image automatically.
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 Print dialog box.
2.Select the Paper Type/Quality pane.
3.In the Paper Type pull-down menu, click Photo Paper, and then click the
appropriate photo paper type.
4.In the Quality pull-down menu, click Maximum dpi.
5.Select any other print settings that you want, and then click Print.
Note Use an HP premium photo paper when printing in the maximum dpi
mode to enhance color matching and detail in the photo.
Store and handle photo paper
Follow these instructions to maintain the quality of HP brand photo paper.
User's guide15
Chapter 5
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.
Note For higher-quality photos, use HP Premium Plus Photo Paper and set
the print quality to Best or maximum dpi.
16HP Deskjet 3900 series
6
Print other documents
E-mailLettersDocumentsEnvelopes
BrochuresGreeting cardsPostcardsTransparencies
LabelsIndex cardsIron-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.
E-mail
To print e-mail, use the Paper Type/Quality pane in the Print dialog box to select the
paper type and print quality.
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.
User's guide17
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