HP J500 Troubleshooting

Printing System Tr oubleshooting The Printing System

The Printing System

Printing systems contain hardware and software components which must
work together properly before printing can take place. The printer driver
provides the interface between the software applications that support
printing, the computer’s hardware, and the printer. The basic printing
system consists of the following:

1. Host computer (PC or Macintosh)

2. Application software (word processing, graphics design, desktop
publishing, etc.)

3. Printer driver (specific to your printer and, in some cases, your
application software)

4. Printer cable

5. Printer (HP DeskJet or DeskWriter)

6. The paper or other media upon which printing will take place

Note

HP ColorSmart printer drivers not only provide the hardware/software
interface, but also allow bi-directional communication between the printer
and the computer. Bi-directional communication allows printing information
to flow from the computer to the printer, and printer status and error
information to flow back from the printer to the computer.

Printing systems in networks may contain a somewhat
different configuration of hardware and software.

Resolving Printing System Problems

Many printer problems and their solutions are reported in error messages
that appear on the computer’s screen. When one of these messages is
received, follow the instructions given. Check the HP DeskJet Status
Monitor (MS Windows users) or the Print Monitor (Macintosh) for
information on the current status of the printer.

If you haven’t received an error message on the computer’s screen but
have noted a problem with your printer, read through the troubleshooting
topics that follow to find one that matches your printer’s symptoms.

Printing System Tr oubleshooting Troubleshooting Hints

Troubleshooting Hints

The table below describes DeskJet and DeskWriter printing system
problems along with their causes and solutions.

Note

To save time diagnosing printing system problems, the
Possible Cause column in the table below is given with the
most likely cause listed first. If the printing system does not
respond correctly after trying the first solution, proceed the
next, etc.

Printing System Problems, Causes and Solutions

Problem Possible Cause Solution

Printer does
not print.
(Power light
on, Form Feed
light off)

Continued on next page

The printer driver is
still preparing data
to send to the
printer.

The interface
connection or the
interface cable has
failed.

Failure of the host
computer.

The problem is
caused by TSR
programs or the
application
software.

Wait a few minutes. Some computers take several
minutes of processing time before sending any data
to the printer.

1. Verify the interface cable is an approved interface
cable. (Must conform to IEEE 1284-B standards)

2. The interface cable may be faulty. Check the
interface cable connections or try another
interface cable.

3. Wrong interface connection. For example, the
printer is connected to the serial port (e.g. COM1)
rather than a parallel interface port.

1. Verify the host is operating correctly by printing to
another printer.

2. The computer-to-printer connection has failed.
Unplug the printer from the host computer and try
printing a self-test. If the self-test prints OK, verify
the host computer and interface cable are
functional by printing to a different printer using
the same printer port and printer cable.

1. Close (or “rem-out”) any screen saver or other
TSR (Terminate Stay Resident) software
programs (such as MacDisk) that are open and
running in the background. Restart your
computer.

2. Your software program is not set up for the
printer. Follow the instructions in your software
program manual for setting up the software to run
with the printer.

Printing System Tr oubleshooting Troubleshooting Hints

Printing System Problems, Causes and Solutions (Cont.)

Problem Possible Cause Solution

Printer does
not print.
(Cont.)
(Power light is
on, the Form
Feed light is
off)

Continued on next page

The wrong printer is
selected

The problem is
caused by the
printer driver.

The printer’s name
does not appear in
the Installed
Printers list in the
Printers dialog box
in the MS Windows
Control Panel.

The problem is
caused by the
application software
or the printer driver.

(MS Windows) Open the Printers dialog box in the
MS Windows Control Panel and verify that the
correct printer is selected. (An on-screen message
may ask you to open Page Setup in your
application.)

(Macintosh) Open the Chooser, select the correct
printer, and close the Chooser. (An on-screen
message may ask you to open Page Setup in your
application.)

It may be necessary to reinstall the printer driver
software using the instructions from the setup card.

1. Close all TSRs (screen savers and other software
that runs in the background).

2. Exit and then restart MS Windows.

3. Verify all TSRs remained closed.

4. Reinstall the printer driver using the instructions
from the setup card.

1. Restart Windows and print the self-test from the
HP Toolbox.

2. Verify the proper printer driver and parallel port
are selected. The printer driver’s name should
appear in the Installed Printers dialog box.

3. Close any screen saver or other TSR (Terminate
Stay Resident) software programs that are open
and running in the background. Restart your
computer.

4. It may be necessary to reinstall the printer driver
software using the instructions from the setup
card.

5. Your software program is not set up for the
printer. Follow the instructions in your software
program manual for setting up the software to run
with the printer.

Printing System Tr oubleshooting Troubleshooting Hints

Printing System Problems, Causes and Solutions (Cont.)

Problem Possible Cause Solution

The printer does
not print.
(All lights are
blinking)

The printout
contains garbled
or strange text
characters (such
as hearts or
smiling faces), or
contains distorted
graphic images.

The paper does
not eject from the
printer.

Continued on next page

The printer-to­computer
connection failed.

The printer has
failed.

The wrong printer
may be selected.

The printer-to­computer
connection failed.

The printer did
not receive a
form-feed
command.

1. Switch off the printer, disconnect the printer
cable, switch the printer on.

2. If the Power light comes on and the Form Feed
light remain off, print a sample page.

3. If the sample page prints, the printer is not the
problem.

4. Reconnect the printer cable and re-send the file.

5. If the problem persists, the problem may be with
the printer cable, the cable connections, or the
computer port. (First, try another printer cable.)

1. Switch off the printer, disconnect the printer
cable, switch the printer on.

2. If all lights begin blinking again, the printer is
faulty.

Verify that the proper printer driver is selected. The
printer driver’s name should appear in the installed
printer’s dialog box (MS Windows) or the Chooser
menu (Macintosh).

1. Switch off the printer, disconnect the printer
cable, and switch the printer on.

2. Print a self-test (or demo) page.

3. If the self-test page prints, the printer is not the
problem.

4. Reconnect the printer cable and re-send the file
to the printer.

5. If the printout is still garbled, the problem may be
with the printer cable, the cable connections, or
the computer host. Try another printer cable. Try
a different computer.

If the software does not send automatic form-feed
commands, press the Form Feed key on the printer
to initiate a manual form-feed.