Hp LaserJet 8500, LaserJet 8500 N, LaserJet 8500 DN User Guide

8500, 8500 N, 8500 DN Printer

English

Take a look at all HP Support has to offer!

Thank you for your purchase. Along with your product, you receive a
variety of support services from Hewlett-Packard and our support
partners designed to give you the results you need, quickly and
professionally.

Online Services:for 24-hour
access toinformation over your
modem, wesuggest theseservices.

Obtaining Software:
For U.S. and Canada:

ForAsia-PacificCountries/Regions:

ForAustralia,NewZealand,and
India:

For EuropeanEnglish:
HP DirectOrdering for

Accessories and Supplies
HP Support AssistantCD-ROM: This support tool offers a comprehensive online information system designed to provide technical and

HP ServiceInformation: To locateHP-authorized dealers,call (1) [phone] (U.S.) or (1)[phone] (Canada).
HP ServiceAgreements: Call (1) [phone] (U.S.)or (1)[phone] (Canada).

HP FIRST: HP FIRSTFax will deliverdetailed troubleshooting information on common software and troubleshooting tipsfor yourHP product.

Call from any touch-tone phone and request up to threedocuments per call.These documents will be sent to the fax ofyour choice.
Australia

Austria
Belgium (Dutch)
Belgium (French)
Canada
China
Denmark
English (outside of UK)
Finland
France
Germany
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Italy
Japan

WorldWideWeb URL—Printer drivers, updated HP printer software, plus product and support
information can be obtained fromthe followingURLs:
in the U.S.: http://www.hp.com in Europe: http://www2.hp.com
Printer driverscan beobtained from thefollowing sites:
in Japan: ftp://www.jpn.hp.com/drivers/ in Korea: http://www.hp.co.kr
in Taiwan: http://www.hp.com.tw orfrom a local driverwebsite of http://www.dds.com.tw

HP Bulletin Board Service—Our electronic download service provides convenientaccess toHP
printer drivers,updated HP printer software, product information,and troubleshootinghints. Set your
communication softwareto N,8,1 and dial or use:
in the U.S. andCanada: (1) [phone] in Taiwan: (886) (2) 923-3233
in Korea: HITEL or CHOLIAN (Go HPK) in Australia: (61)(3) 9890-0276
in New Zealand: (64) (9)356-3660 in China: (86) (10) 6261-4172
European Bulletin Board Service numbers are listedat http://www2.hp.com.

America OnLine—(America OnLine/Bertelsmann is available in France, Germany, and the
UK)—Printer drivers,updated HP printer software, and support documentationare available to help
answer questions on HP products. UseKeyword HP to start yourtour orcall (1) [phone] and ask
for representative #1118 tosubscribe.

CompuServe—Printer drivers, updated HP printer software, and interactivesharing of technical
information with other members are availableon CompuServe’sHP User’s forums (GOHP), or call (1)
[phone]and askfor representative#51 tosubscribe. (CompuServe is alsoavailable in the UK,
France,Belgium, Switzerland,Germany,and Austria.)

Phone: (1) [phone] Mail: Hewlett-Packard Company
Fax: (1) [phone] P.O.Box 1754

ContactFulfill Plusat(65)740-4477(HongKong,Indonesia,Malaysia,Philippines,orSingapore).For
Korea,call (82) (2) 3270-0805 or (82)(2) 3270-0893.

For Australia and NewZealand, call (61) (2) 565-6099.For India,call (91) (11) 682-6035.
Call (44) [phone].

Call (1) [phone] (U.S.)or (1) [phone] (Canada).

product information on HP products.Tosubscribe tothis quarterly service inthe U.S.or Canada,call (1)
[phone].In Hong Kong, Indonesia,Malaysia, orSingapore, call Fulfill Plusat (65)740-4477.

(61) (3)9272-2627
(43) (1)0660-8128
(32) (2)0800-11906
(32) (2)0800-17043
(1) [phone]
(86) (10)6505-5280
(45) 8001-0453
(31) (20)681-5792
(358) (9)0800-13134
(01) (43)623-444
(49) (13)081-0061
(852) 2506-2422
(36) (1)252-4647
(91) (11)682-6035
(62) (21)352-2044
(39) (2)1678-59020
(81) (3)3335-8622

Korea
Malaysia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Portugal
Singapore
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland (French)
Switzerland (German)
Taiwan
Thailand
United Kingdom
United States

Greeley, CO 80632USA

(82) (2)769-0543
(60) (3)298-2478
(31) (20)0800-222420
(64) (9)356-6642
(47) 800-11319
(65) 291-7951
(351) (1)0505-313342
(65) 275-7251
(34) (90)099-3123
(46) (2)079-5743
(41) (1)0800-551526
(41) (1)0800-551527
(886) (2)719-5589
(66) (2)661-3511
(44) (134)0800-960271
(1) [phone]

Customer Support Options Worldwide

In addition to the phone numbers listed below, appendix E, “Warranty
and Support Information,” contains worldwide sales and service
addressesandphone numbersforcountries/regions notlisted here.

Customer Support & Product
Repair Assistance for the U.S. and
Canada:

(See the warranty in appendix E for
additional product repair information.)

European Customer Support Center Languageand In-Country Options Available

HP provides a free telephonesupport service during the warranty period. Bycalling a telephonenumber listed below, you will beconnected to
a responsive team waiting to help you.If yourequire support after your warranty has expired, youcan receive support for a feethrough the
same telephonenumber.The fee ischarged ona per-incidentbasis. When calling HP,please have the following information ready:product
name andserial number, date of purchase, and descriptionof theproblem.

Danish: Denmark (45) 3929-4099
Dutch: Belgium (32) (2) 626-8806

English: Ireland (353) (1)662-5525

Finnish: Finland (358) (9)0203-47288
French: Belgium (32) (2)626-8807

Ifyourequiresupportafteryourwarrantyhasexpiredoradditionalproductrepairservices,orifyourcountry/region isnotlistedbelow,see
“Worldwide HP Sales and Service Offices” inappendix E.

Argentina
Australia

Brazil
Canada
China

Czech Republic
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
India

Indonesia
Japan
Korea

Netherlands (31) (20)606-8751
UK (44) [phone]

International (44) [phone]

France (01) (43) 623-434
Switzerland (41)(84) 880-1111

Call (1) [phone] Mondaythrough Friday from 6 am to6 pm(Mountain Time)

during theWarranty Period. However, your standard long-distance phonecharges stillapply.

your serial number ready when calling.
Post-warrantytelephone assistanceis available to answer your productquestions.Call (1) (900)

555-1500 ($2.50* per minute, U.S. only) or call(1) [phone] ($25* per call, Visa or MasterCard,
U.S.and Canada).

change.

Open Mondaythrough Friday 8:30to 18:00CET

(54) (1)781-4059
(54) (1)781-4069
(61) (3)272-8000
(55) (11)709-1444
(1) [phone]
(86) (10)6261-4174
(86) (10)6261-4175
(86) (10)6261-4176
(86) (10)6262-5666
(42) (2)471-7321
(30) (1)689-6411
[phone]
(36) (1)343-0310
(91) (11)682-6035
(91) (11)682-6069
(62) (21)350-3408
(81) (3)3335-8333
(82) (2)3270-0700;outside Seoul,
call (82) (80)999-0700

Charges beginonly whenyou connect with a support technician.*Prices subject to

German: Austria (43) (1) 0660-6386
Italian: Italy (39) (2) 264-10350

Norwegian: Norway (47)2211-6299
Portuguese: Portugal (351)(1) 441-7199
Spanish: Spain (34) (90)232-1123
Swedish: Sweden (46) (8) 619-2170

In-country/region Support Numbers

Malaysia
México D.F.
México Guadalajara
México Monterey
Middle East/Africa
New Zealand
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Russia
Singapore
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand

Turkey

Germany (49)[phone]

(60) (3)295-2566
(52) (5)326-4600
(52) (3)669-9500
(52) (83)378-4240
(41) (22)780-7111
(64) (9)356-6640
(63) (2)894-1451
(48) (22)37-5065
(351) (1)301-7330
(7) (95)923-5001
(65) 272-5300
(41) (1)753-7111
(886) (2)717-0055
(66) (2)661-4011
(66) (2)661-4012
(90) (1)224-5925

free ofcharge

Have

HP Color LaserJet 8500,
8500 N, 8500 DN Printer

User’s Guide

Copyright Information

©1997 Hewlett-Packard
Company

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

Part number: C3983-90937
First Edition, October 1997

Warranty

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

Hewlett-Packard makes no
warranty of any kind with
respect to this information.
HEWLETT-PACKARD
SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS
THE IMPLIED WARRANTY
OF MERCHANTABILITY
AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Hewlett-Packard shall not be
liable for any direct, indirect,
incidental, consequential, or
other damage alleged in
connection with the furnishing
or use of this information.

TrademarkCredits

Adobe™ and PostScript™ are
trademarks of Adobe Systems
Incorporated which may be
registered in certain jurisdictions.

®

Arial

and Times NewRoman

®

are U.S. registered trademarks of
the Monotype Corporation.

CompuServe™ is a U.S.
trademark of CompuServe, Inc.

®

dBASE

is a U.S. registered
trademark of Borland
International, Inc.

E

NERGY STAR

®

is a U.S.
registered service mark of the
United States Environmental
Protection Agency.

HP-UX 9.* and 10.0 for HP
9000 Series 700 and 800
computers are X/Open Company
UNIX 93 branded products.

®

Lotus

1-2-3 ® and Lotus

®

Symphony®are U.S. registered

trademarks of Lotus
Development Corporation.

Microsoft
Windows
MS-DOS

®

, Windows®, MS

®

, Windows NT®, and

®

are U.S. registered
trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation.

PANTONE

®

* is Pantone, Inc.’s
check-standard trademark for
color.

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

®

UNIX

is a registered trademark
in the United States and other
countries, licensed exclusively
through X/Open Company
Limited.

All other products mentioned
herein may be trademarks of
their respective companies.

Contents

Take a look at all HP Support has to offer! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Customer Support Options Worldwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Chapter 1 The HP Color LaserJet 8500 Printer

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Locating the Printer’s Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Optional Paper Handling Accessories and Status Lights . . . . . . 18

Finding Information About the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Chapter 2 Using the Printer Control Panel

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Printer Control Panel Keys and Indicator Lights . . . . . . . . . . 22

When to Use the Printer Control Panel Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Using the Printer Control Panel in Shared Environments . . . . . 24

Resetting the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Factory Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Printing Menu Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Changing Settings in the Printer Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Configuring Menu Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Auto Continue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Selecting the Mode for Tray 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Configuring Media Type and Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Selecting an Output Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Setting Media Type and Size Overrides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Selecting the A4 Override . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Controlling a Proof and Print Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Selecting Toner Low Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Setting the Power Save Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Selecting Parallel Advanced Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Selecting the Default Printer Personality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Setting the I/O Timeout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Locking the Printer Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Selecting the Display Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Printing Internal Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Interpreting the Configuration Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Managing Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Downloading Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Resource Saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Configuring the Printer for a Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Configuring Novell NetWare Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Configuring TCP/IP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Configuring Apple EtherTalk Phase Parameter . . . . . . . . . . 45

EN Contents 7

Disabling Network Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Chapter 3 Common Printing Tasks

Selecting Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Supported Media Weights and Sizes for Input Trays . . . . . . . 50

Supported Media Weights and Sizes for the Optional Multi-bin

Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Preprinted Forms and Letterhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Recycled Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Transparencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Heavy Paper Stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Colored Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Media to Avoid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Controlling Your Print Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Changing Page Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Printing from Tray 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Printing Envelopes from Tray 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Printing Tips for Tray 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Orienting Media in Tray 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Printing from Trays 2 and 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Printing Tips for Trays 2 and 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Orienting Media in Trays 2 and 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Printing from the Optional Tray 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Printing Tips for Tray 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Orienting Media in Tray 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Chapter 4 Using Color

Controlling Color Output with Printer Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

HP ColorSmart II Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

ICC/CMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Black and White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Adjusting the Print Color and Quality Settings . . . . . . . . . . 76

Selecting Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

PANTONE Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Color Swatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Resolution Considerations for Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Using Digital Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Using Scanners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Adjusting the Color Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Chapter 5 Using Fonts

Installing Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Using Internal TrueType Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Understanding the Printer Font Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

8 Contents EN

Font Selection Priority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Selecting Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Selecting Fonts Through Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Selecting PCL Fonts Through the Printer Control Panel . . . . . . 88

Printing a List of Available Printer Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Interpreting the PCL Font List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Using PostScript Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Using Fonts on a Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Adding Support for Fonts to an Optional Printer Hard Disk . . . . . 93

Installing Fonts on Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Install Fonts to Printer Hard Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Using Special Effects with Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

HP Custom Font Services for Microsoft Windows . . . . . . . . . 94

Chapter 6 Printer Interfaces

Parallel Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Network Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Available Networking Software Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

LocalTalk Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Macintosh DIN-8 Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

LocalTalk Network Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Enhancing Network Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Novell NetWare 3.x and 4.x Based Products . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

IBM OS/2 Warp Server Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Microsoft Windows 3.1, Windows 3.11,

Windows 95, and Windows NT 4.0 Networks . . . . . . . . . 100

UNIX Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Chapter 7 Maintaining the Printer

Making Room for Printer Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Locating Printer Consumables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Frequency for Replacing Printer Consumables . . . . . . . . . . 103

Removing and Replacing Trays 2 and 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Chapter 8 Printer Control Panel Messages

Printer Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Chapter 9 Solving Printer Problems

Performing Basic Troubleshooting Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Working with Toner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Media Jam Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Media Handling Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Printer Response Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Printer Control Panel and Configuration Problems . . . . . . . . . . 140

Application Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Incorrect Printer Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

EN Contents 9

Color Printing Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Print Quality Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Cleaning the Density Sensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Troubleshooting with Print Quality Test Pages . . . . . . . . . . 154

Cleaning the Transfer Drum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Cleaning the Post Charger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Cleaning the Transfer Charger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Accessories, Options, and Related Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

AppendixA DIMM Installation

Supported DIMMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Installing DIMMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Appendix B PCL Commands

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Understanding PCL Printer Command Syntax . . . . . . . . . . 170

Combining Escape Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Entering Escape Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Selecting PCL Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Common PCL Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Appendix C PJL Commands

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Printer and Network Security Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

File System Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Multi-bin Mailbox Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Proof and Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Appendix D Specifications

Electrical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Operating Environment Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Acoustic Emissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

Environmental Product Stewardship Program . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Regulatory Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

FCC Regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Canadian DOC Regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Declarations of Conformity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

VCCI Statement (Japan) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Korean EMI Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Safety Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Laser Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Product Information Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Laser Statement for Finland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

10 Contents EN

Appendix E Warranty and Support Information

Hewlett-Packard Warranty Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Worldwide HP Sales and Service Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Index

EN Contents 11

12 Contents EN

Chapter 1

The HP Color LaserJet 8500 Printer

Features

Congratulations on your purchase of the HP Color LaserJet 8500, 8500
N, or 8500 DN printer. This printer is designed to produce high-quality,
high-speed color printouts for business environments.

This printer provides the quality and reliability of Hewlett-Packard
printers as well as these specific features:

Performance

Approximate
Print Speeds

Paper
Handling

•24 pages per minute (ppm) black and white printing

•6 ppm color printing

•Letter-, A4-sized media: 24 ppm black and white; 6 ppm color

•Legal-, Executive-, 11-by-17 inch sized media: 12 ppm black and white;

3 ppm color

•Transparencies: 2.8 ppm black and white; 2.1 ppm color

•Labels: 12 ppm black and white; 3 ppm color

•Printing on 12-by-18.50 inch (304.80-by-469.90 mm) sized media

•Printing on heavy media up to 58 lb (216 g/m²) bond

•Two 500-sheet input trays (trays 2 and 3) that support letter-, legal-, and

A4-sized media; 11-by-17 inch and A3-sized media supported by tray 3
only

•A 100-sheet multipurpose tray that supports letter-, legal-, executive-, A3-,

A4-, B4-, 11-by-17 inch, B5-, and custom-sized media, as well as
envelopes, labels, and card stock

•Face-down (top) output bin

•Printer driver selectable face-up (left) output bin with straight-through

paper path

EN Chapter 1 – The HP Color LaserJet 8500 Printer 13

Font and
Memory

•24 MB standard DIMM (dual inline memory module) memory, expandable

to 128 MB DIMM*

•HP LaserJet 45 TrueType font set

•HP FontSmart utility, which provides 65 additional TrueType fonts for

Microsoft®Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and Windows NT 4.0

•Supports forms and fonts

Printer
Personality
Support

User Interface
and EIO

Accessories

•PCL5 color extension support in the printer

•Automatic printer personality switching

•PostScript™ support

•Standard ECP or bidirectional parallel cable interface (IEEE-1284

compliant)

•2 enhanced input/output (EIO) slots

•Automatic I/O (input/output) switching

•HP JetAdmin software for Windows NT 4.0, Windows NT 5.0, Novell NetWare,

andOS/2WarpServer

•Optional printer hard disk, which provides storage for fonts and macros as

well as proof and print and mopying capabilities (multiple original prints)

•Optional ROM (read-only memory) or synchronous DRAM (dynamic

random-access memory) DIMM device memory

•Optional multi-bin mailbox, which provides multiple output destinations

•Optional 2,000-sheet input tray (tray 4)

•Optional duplexer, which provides two-sided printing

•Optional HP JetDirect 600N internal print server for network connections

* Toexpand the DIMM memory to 128 MB, install 16 MB DIMMs in all eight DIMM
slots.

For more information on supported media, see “Selecting Media” in
chapter 3.

14 Chapter 1 – The HP Color LaserJet 8500 Printer EN

The approximate print speeds offered by this printer might vary from
those listed above because the following factors affect processing time:

• Complex graphics or large graphics

• I/O configuration

• Type of computer

• Computer configuration

• Amount of printer memory

• Network operating system

• Network configuration

1

The HP Color

LaserJet 8500

EN Chapter 1 – The HP Color LaserJet 8500 Printer 15

Figure 1

Locating the Printer’s Parts

The following figures show the locations of the printer’s parts.

A Printer Control Panel
B Left Output Bin (face up)
C Front Door
D Input Tray 2
E Power Button

F Input Tray 3
G Top Output Bin (face down)
H Flip-Up Media Stop

I Upper Right Door

J Input Tray 1
K Lower Right Door
L Printer Stand

16 Chapter 1 – The HP Color LaserJet 8500 Printer EN

Figure 2

A Air Filter Door
B EIO Slot 2
C Tray 4 Connector (C-Link Connector)
D Parallel Connector
E Upper Left Door

F Lower Left Door
G EIO Slot 1 (shown with optional HP JetDirect internal print server)
H Power Connector

1

The HP Color

LaserJet 8500

Note For information on the locations of printer consumables, see “Locating

Printer Consumables” in chapter 7.

EN Chapter 1 – The HP Color LaserJet 8500 Printer 17

Figure 3

Optional Paper Handling Accessories and Status
Lights

The following figure shows the locations of optional or packaged
accessories and their status lights (if applicable).

A Multi-bin Mailbox
B Multi-bin Mailbox Status Light
C Duplexer (internal)
D Optional Tray 4 (2,000-Sheet Input Tray)
E Tray 4 Status Light

F Media Transfer Door

18 Chapter 1 – The HP Color LaserJet 8500 Printer EN

Use the following table to interpret the status lights on tray 4 and the
multi-bin mailbox.

Light Tray 4 Multi-Bin Mailbox

Solid Green Theaccessory is on and ready. The accessory is on and ready.

1

The HP Color

LaserJet 8500

Solid Amber The accessory is experiencing a

hardware malfunction.

Flashing Amber The accessory has a media jam or

a page needs to be removed from
tray 4, even if the page is not
jammed.

The lower right door might be open.

Off The printer might be in PowerSave

mode.Press [Go].
The accessory is not receiving

power.Check both the power
supply and the power cables.

The accessory is experiencing a
hardware malfunction.

The accessory has a media jam or
a page needs to be removed from
the multi-bin mailbox, even if the
page is not jammed.

The accessory is not correctly
attached to the printer.

The printer might be in PowerSave
mode.Press [Go].

The accessory is not receiving
power.Check both the power
supply and the power cables.

EN Chapter 1 – The HP Color LaserJet 8500 Printer 19

Finding Information About thePrinter

Getting Started Guide provides information on installing
the hardware and software for the printer.

Quick Reference Guide provides information at the
printer on media jams, loading media, and common
printer control panel messages.

Online Help provides information at your computer about
the printer software and printer drivers.

Online User’s Guide provides information at your
computer on the printer hardware, troubleshooting, and
customer service.

20 Chapter 1 – The HP Color LaserJet 8500 Printer EN

Chapter 2

Using the Printer Control Panel

Overview

The most convenient way to control the printer is through your
application or the printer driver. The commands in your application
override the printer control panel settings. For more information on
changing the printer settings from within an application or printer driver,
see the associated online help files.

Use the printer control panel to configure the default settings for the
printer or to obtain printer status information. Also, use the printer
control panel to access printer features not supported by the application.

Note Unless otherwise specified, control panel refers to the control panel on

the printer. Keys on the printer control panel are indicated by the [Key]
font.

Note For more information on controlling the printer in a network

environment, see the HP JetDirect software installation guide and the
HP JetAdmin online help.

EN Chapter 2 – Using the Printer Control Panel 21

Figure 4

Printer Control Panel Keys and Indicator Lights

The following figure shows the locations of printer control panel
features.

A Go

Brings the printer online or offline, and exits menus.

B Menu

Accesses the printer control panel menus to set the printer defaults. This
key permits both forward and backward movement through the list of
available menus.

C Display

Presents data about the printer (such as printer status, required actions,
or data and print errors) in one or two lines of characters.

D – Value +

Steps through the value choices for a particular menu item using –/+.
This key permits both forward and backward movement through the
values.

E Cancel Job

Stops the currently printing job from printing. If no job is printing and
the display indicates that a job is processing, [Cancel[Job] cancels the
currently processing job and the next job begins printing. While the job
is being canceled,

CANCELING JOB is displayed.

22 Chapter 2 – Using the Printer Control Panel EN

F Item

Steps through the items in a particular menu. This key permits both
forward and backward movement through the available items.

G Ready Indicator (green)

• On—The printer is online and able to accept and process data.

• Off—The printer is offline and unable to accept or process data.

• Flashing—The printer is going from online to offline, or from offline

to online.

H Data Indicator (green)

• On—Data is in the printer buffer, or the printer is processing data.

• Off—The printer buffer is empty.

• Flashing—The printer is receiving or processing data.

I Attention Indicator (amber)

• On—An error has occurred in the printer.

• Off—The printer does not require attention.

• Flashing—The printer requires attention.

J Select

Selects the item or value currently shown on the printer control panel
display. An asterisk (

For information on the status lights for the optional multi-bin mailbox
and the optional tray 4, see “Optional Paper Handling Accessories and
Status Lights” in chapter 1.

) is displayed when an item has been selected.

*

2

Control Panel

EN Chapter 2 – Using the Printer Control Panel 23

When to Use the Printer Control Panel
Menus

The printer control panel menus allow you to select items such as the
number of copies and test pages. Use the printer control panel to
perform the following tasks:

• Set the media type for each input tray

• Continue a proof and print job

• Switch between online and offline status

• Print configuration pages

• Set the printer defaults when the application does not support the option

• Change the printer’s EIO configuration

• Make a selection that your application does not allow you to make

• Print a file directory page to identify the fonts and macros available on

the printer hard disk

Using the Printer Control Panel in Shared
Environments

The printer control panel functions in a network or other shared-printer
environment in the same way as it does when it is connected to a
standalone computer. Follow these guidelines before you change printer
control panel settings:

• Set the paper type (and size for tray 1 in Cassette mode) in the printer

control panel whenever changing or loading media in the input trays.
Configuring the media type (and size for tray 1 in Cassette mode) will
help ensure high-quality printouts on the correct media. For more
information on configuring the media type (and size for tray 1 in
Cassette mode), see “Configuring Media Type and Size” later in this
chapter.

• See the system administrator before making printer control panel

changes. Any printer control panel changes could affect other print jobs.

• Coordinate setting the default printer font and downloading fonts with

other users. Coordinating these operations conserves memory and
reduces the chances of unexpected printer output.

24 Chapter 2 – Using the Printer Control Panel EN

Resetting the Printer

Use the procedures below to reset the printer to the factory defaults
listed in the table following this section.

To reset the printer to factory defaults

1 Press [Menu] until INFORMATION MENU appears on the printer control

panel display.

2 Press [Item] until PRINT CONFIG PAGE appears on the display.
3 Press [Select] to print the page.
4 Press [Menu] until RESETS MENU appears on the display.
5 Press [Item] until FACTORY DEFAULT RESET appears on the display.
6 Press [Select]. The printer will reset all factory defaults.

Note Resetting the printer to factory defaults clears all print jobs from the

print buffer. After resetting the defaults, reprint any lost print jobs.

7 Reset the EIO type and configure the printer, if necessary.
8 Press [Go] to bring the printer online.
9 Use the printer configuration page to reconfigure the printer.

Factory Defaults

2

Control Panel

The following table lists factory defaults for printer settings.

Menu Item Factory Default

PAPER HANDLING MENU TRAY 1 MODE = FIRST

TRAY 1 TYPE =
TRAY 1 SIZE =
TRAY 2 TYPE = PLAIN
TRAY 3 TYPE = PLAIN
TRAY 4 TYPE =
PAPER DEST = TOP OUTPUTBIN
DUPLEX =
BINDING
MANUAL FEED OFF
OVERRIDEA4 WITH LETTER NO
AUTO PAPER OVERRIDE OFF

EN Chapter 2 – Using the Printer Control Panel 25

1

1

3

4

5

PLAIN
LETTER (8.5-by-11inch)

PLAIN

OFF
LONG EDGE

2

Menu Item Factory Default

CONFIGURATION MENU POWERSAVE= 30 MIN

PERSONALITY AUTO
CLEARABLEWARNINGS ON
TONERLOW CONTINUE
PRINT PS ERRORS OFF

PRINTING MENU COPIES = 1

PAPER LETTER
ORIENTATION PORTRAIT
FORM LENGTH 60 LINES
PCL FONT SOURCE INTERNAL
PCL FONT NUMBER 0 (Courier)
PCL PITCH 10.00
PCL POINT SIZE 12.00
PCL SYMBOLSET PC-8
COURIER REGULAR
WIDE A4 NO
APPEND CRTO LF NO

I/O MENU I/O TIMEOUT 30 (seconds)

PARALLEL ADVFUNCTIONS = ON

1

Appears only ifCASSETTE MODEis selected.

2

This setting will defaulttoA4in somecountries/regions.

3

Appears only ifthe optionaltray 4 is properly installed.

4

Appears only ifthe optionalduplexer is installed.

5

Appears only ifthe optionalduplexer is installed and DUPLEX is setto ON.

2

Printing Menu Maps

Print menu maps from the printer control panel, and then use the menu
maps to view printer settings and to help navigate the printer control
panel menus.

To print menu maps

1 Press [Menu] until INFORMATION MENU appears on the printer control

panel display.

2 Press [Item] until PRINT MENU MAP appears on the display.
3 Press [Select] to print. The printer will automatically bring itself online.

26 Chapter 2 – Using the Printer Control Panel EN

Changing Settings in the Printer Control
Panel

Use the printer control panel to configure the default printer selections
and to obtain printer status information. Also, use the printer control
panel to access printer features not supported by your application. For
more information on navigating the printer control panel, see “Printing
Menu Maps” on the previous page.

Configuring Menu Selections

Use the following instructions to configure all printer control panel
settings, including the default printer settings.

To configure menu selections in the printer control panel

1 Press [Menu] until the menu you want appears on the printer control

panel display.

2 Press [Item] until the item you want appears on the display.
3 Press [–[Value[+] until the value you want appears on the display.
4

Press [Select] to save the selection. An asterisk (*) appears to the right
of the selection.

5 Repeat steps 1 through 4 until all of your changes are complete.
6 Press [Go] to bring the printer online.

Note Changes to the printer control panel will not take effect until all current

data in the print buffer prints or until the next print job.

Auto Continue

The Auto Continue feature allows the printer to continue printing when
certain warnings or conditions occur (such as
message will be displayed on the printer control panel, but the printer
will continue printing. Auto Continue is always on, and most printer
control panel messages that do not disable the printer will not stop
subsequent jobs from printing. However, the job where the error
occurred might not print correctly.

TONER LOW). The printer

2

Control Panel

If in the Configuration Menu
printer control panel messages can be cleared by pressing [Go].If

CLEARABLE WARNINGS is set to JOB, the clearable messages will be

cleared from the display automatically when the job where the error
occurred finishes printing.

EN Chapter 2 – Using the Printer Control Panel 27

CLEARABLE WARNINGS is set to ON, many

Selecting the Mode for Tray 1

Tray 1 has two modes, First mode and Cassette mode. First mode is the
default mode for tray 1. In First mode, tray 1 functions as a
multipurpose tray. When tray 1 is in First mode, the printer will look
first for media loaded in tray 1. If there is media loaded in tray 1, the
printer will print from tray 1 regardless of media type and size, or media
source information sent with the print job.

In Cassette mode, tray 1 functions as a regular input tray. When tray 1 is
in Cassette mode, you load media in the input tray and configure the
media type and size on the printer control panel.

Note When using First mode, specify the media type and size in the printer

driver. If the printer senses that the media in tray 1 is a different size
from what you specified in the printer driver, then the printer either will
not feed the media or will only feed one page of the media and then stop
printing to prevent damage to the printer.

To select the mode for tray 1

1 Press [Menu] until PAPER HANDLING MENU appears on the printer

control panel display.

2 Press [Item] until TRAY 1 MODE = appears on the display.
3 Press [–[Value[+] until the correct mode appears on the display.
4

Press [Select] to save the selection. An asterisk (*) appears to the right
of the selection.

5 Press [Go] to bring the printer online.

28 Chapter 2 – Using the Printer Control Panel EN

Configuring Media Type and Size

Configure the media type (such as plain paper, letterhead, or
transparencies) for each of the input trays. Also configure the media size
(such as letter, A4, or legal) if the printer is configured for Cassette
mode in tray 1. If the media type and size have been correctly
configured for the input trays, the printer will print based on the type
and size of media and will automatically use the correct input tray.
Configuring the media type is beneficial for several reasons:

• Setting the media type prevents printing on the wrong, possibly

expensive, media.

• The printer will automatically adjust its print speed to accommodate

special media (such as card stock, labels, and transparencies). These
adjustments will give the best quality output, saving time and resources.

Note If the media type is not set properly, the printer might not print on the

correct media or at the correct speed for the media type, which can
result in poor print quality.

To configure the input trays

1 Press [Menu] until PAPER HANDLING MENU appears on the printer

control panel display.

2 Press [Item] until TRAY [number] TYPE = appears on the display.
3 Press [–[Value[+] until the correct media type appears on the display.
4

Press [Select] to save the selection. An asterisk (*) appears to the right
of the selection.

2

Control Panel

Note Trays 2, 3, and the optional tray 4 will automatically sense the media

size. To configure the media size for tray 1 in Cassette mode, continue
with step 5. Otherwise, proceed to step 8.

5 To configure tray 1 in Cassette mode, press [Item] until TRAY 1SIZE=

appears on the display.

6 Press [–[Value[+] until the correct media size appears on the display.
7

Press [Select] to save the selection. An asterisk (*) appears to the right
of the selection.

8 Repeat steps 2 through 4 to configure the media type in another input

tray.

- Or ­Press [Go] to bring the printer online.

For more information on First and Cassette modes, see “Selecting the
Mode for Tray 1” later in this chapter.

EN Chapter 2 – Using the Printer Control Panel 29

Selecting an Output Bin

Select the top output bin (face down) or the left output bin (face up) in
the printer control panel. The top output bin stacks the pages in
sequential order, so that the first page is on top and the last page is on
bottom. The left output bin provides a straight paper path which is
useful to prevent curling when printing on card stock, labels, or other
special media.

If you have an optional multi-bin mailbox, the system administrator
must select the mode for the multi-bin mailbox through the HP
JetAdmin software or with a PJL (printer job language) command.
Three modes are available:

• mailbox—a mailbox name or user name can be assigned to each

mailbox bin

• job separator—each print job is delivered to a separate mailbox bin,

beginning with the lowest bin

• stacker—print jobs are delivered to mailbox bins, beginning with the

lowest bin, until bins are full
Select the default destination for print jobs in the printer control panel.

The printer will send print jobs to the default destination if a destination
is not selected in the printer driver, or if your printing environment does
not use printer drivers. For more information on using the HP JetAdmin
software, see the online help. For more information on using PJL
commands to set the multi-bin mailbox mode, see appendix C, “PJL
Commands.”

Note Changes made to the multi-bin mailbox mode settings in the printer

driver will not override the multi-bin mailbox mode set in the HP
JetAdmin software or through PJL commands.

To select an output bin

1 Press [Menu] until PAPER HANDLING MENU appears on the printer

control panel display.

2 Press [Item] until PAPER DEST = appears on the display.
3 Press [–[Value[+] until the correct destination appears on the display.
4

Press [Select] to save the selection. An asterisk (*) appears to the right
of the selection.

5 Press [Go] to bring the printer online.

30 Chapter 2 – Using the Printer Control Panel EN