HP t610, t620, t1100, t1120 Service Manual

HP Designjet

T1100/T1100ps/T610/

T1120/T1120ps/T620

printer series

Version 9.1

August 22, 2009

For HP internal use only

This document contains proprietary information that is protected by copyright. All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, or translated to another language without the prior written consent of Hewlett-Packard Company.

Warranty

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

Hewlett-Packard makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.

Hewlett-Packard shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

Warning

The procedures described in this manual are to be performed by HP-qualified service personnel only.

Electrical shock hazard

Serious shock hazard leading to death or injury may result if you do not take the following precautions:

• Ensure that the AC power outlet (mains) has a protective earth (ground) terminal.

• Disconnect the Printer from the power source prior to performing any maintenance.

• Prevent water or any other liquids from running onto electrical components or circuits, or through openings in the enclosure.

Electrostatic discharge

Refer to the beginning of Chapter 4 of this manual, for precautions you should take to prevent damage to the Printer circuits from electrostatic discharge.

WARNI NG

The Warning symbol calls attention to a procedure, practice, or the like, which, if not correctly performed or adhered to, could result in personal injury. Do not proceed beyond a Warning symbol until the indicated conditions are fully understood and met.

CAUTION

The Caution symbol calls attention to an operating procedure, practice, or the like, which, if not correctly performed or adhered to, could result in damage to or destruction of part or all of the product. Do not proceed beyond a Caution symbol until the indicated conditions are fully understood and met.

Content Management Department, Barcelona Division, Hewlett-Packard Espanola, S.A. Avda. Graells, 501 08190 Sant Cugat del Vallès Spain

Safety symbols

General definitions of safety symbols are given immediately after the table of contents.

Table of Contents 1

1 Troubleshooting 2 System Error Codes 3 Service Tests and Utilities 4 Service Calibrations 5 Parts and Diagrams 6 Removal and Installation 7 Preventive Maintenance

For information about Using this Manual, please refer to the next page.

Table of Contents

Using this manual

Purpose

This Service Manual contains information necessary to test, calibrate and service:

 HP Designjet T1100 Printer 24 inch (Model Q6683A)  HP Designjet T1100 Printer 44 inch (Model Q6687A)  HP Designjet T1100ps Printer 24 inch (Model Q6684A)  HP Designjet T1100ps Printer 44 inch (Model Q6688A)  HP Designjet T610 Printer 24 inch (Model Q6711A)  HP Designjet T610 Printer 44 inch (Model Q6712A)  HP Designjet T620 Printer 24 inch (Model CK835A)  HP Designjet T1120 Printer 24 inch (Model CK837A)  HP Designjet T1120 Printer 44 inch (Model CK839A)  HP Designjet T1120ps Printer 24 inch (Model CK838A)  HP Designjet T1120ps Printer 44 inch (Model CK840A)

For information about using these printers, refer to the corresponding User’s

ide.

Readership

The procedures described in this Service Manual are to be performed by HP Certified service personnel only.

Part numbers

Part numbers for printer options, accessories and service parts are located in

Chapter 5 Parts and Diagrams on page 5-1.

Conventions

Any text that uses the blue underlined format (except this one) is a link that directs you to the page number of the reference. If you are viewing the document as a PDF file, you can click on that link to be taken there directly.

2 HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual

Troubleshooting 1

Using the Front Panel 1-3 General Troubleshooting 1-4

Introduction 1-4 Troubleshooting System Error Codes 1-4 Performing a Service Test on a failed Assembly 1-4 Performing the Necessary Service Calibrations 1-4 The Front Panel is blank 1-5 Solving Print Quality Problems 1-5 The Printer does not Power ON 1-5 The Printer Continuously Rejects Printheads 1-5 Cover Sensors are not Working 1-5 The Line Sensor has Problems Detecting Media 1-5 Banding at variable extreme environmental conditions 1-6 Worm marks on HP Coated media with light area fills 1-6 Solving Media-Handling Problems 1-7

Print quality troubleshooting 1-9

Print Quality Troubleshooting Actions 1-9 The Service Image Quality Diagnostic Print 1-9 Reading the Diagnostic Print Results 1-11

Diagnostic Part 1: Printhead Reliability 1-11 Diagnostic Part 2: Printhead Alignment 1-12

Diagnostic Part 3: Printheads & Paper Advance 1-13 The Advanced Diagnostic Prints 1-15 Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results 1-16 Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems 1-24

Print Quality General Advice 1-24

Horizontal Lines Across the Image (Banding) 1-24

Lines are Missing, Too Thin, or Too Thick 1-25

Problems with Stepped Lines 1-26

Lines are Printed Double or in Wrong Colors 1-27

Lines are discontinuous 1-27

Lines are Blurred (Ink Bleeds from Lines) 1-28

Problems with Graininess 1-28

Paper is not Flat 1-29

Ink marks on the paper 1-30

Horizontal smears on the front of coated paper 1-30

Ink marks on the back of the paper 1-30

Problems with the Edges of objects 1-31

Stepped or not sharp 1-31

Darker than expected 1-31

Black and white prints do not look neutral 1-31

Horizontal lines at the end of a cut sheet print 1-31

Vertical lines of different colors 1-31

White spots on the print 1-32

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-1

Problems with Color Accuracy 1-32

Output Only Contains a Partial Print 1-33

Problems with Image Clipping 1-33

Some objects are missing from the printed image 1-34

A PDF file is clipped or objects are missing 1-34 Print Quality Troubleshooting Wizard 1-34

Ink Supplies Troubleshooting 1-38

Introduction to ink supplies 1-38

What are Ink Supplies? 1-38

Ink Cartridges 1-38

Available Ink Cartridges 1-39

Printheads 1-39

Available Printheads 1-40

General Information About the Ink Supplies 1-40

General Precautions When Handl

When Should You Replace the Ink Supplies? 1-41 Ink Cartridge Levels, Information, and Replacement 1-41

Ink Cartridge Levels 1-41

“View Ink Levels” Direct Access Key 1-41

“View Ink Levels” from the ink menu 1-41

Obtaining Ink Cartridge Information 1-41

The printer consumes more gray ink ink than M, C, or Y 1-43

Changing an Ink Cartridge 1-43 Printhead Information, Replacement and Alignment 1-45

Obtaining Printhead Information 1-45

Changing a Printhead 1-46

Aligning Printheads 1-48

Reinsert Printheads Procedure 1-48

Image Quality Maintenance Procedure 1-48

Scanning errors during alignment 1-49 Ink Cartridge and Printhead Status Messages 1-49

Ink Cartridge Status Messages 1-49

Printhead status messages 1-50

Printhead Error Codes 1-50 Solving Ink Supplies Problems 1-52

You Cannot Insert the Ink Cartridge Into the Printer 1-52

You Cannot Insert the Printhead Into the Printer 1-52

The front panel says to reset or replace a printhead 1-52 Maintaining and Cleaning the Printheads 1-53

Clean the printheads 1-53

Flex Contacts Cleaning Tool 1-54

ing Ink Supplies 1-40

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-2

Using the Front Panel

Below is a diagram of the front panel.

Using the Front Panel

View Loaded Paper

Unload Paper

Key Function

 Arrow Keys

Use the Arrow keys to scroll through a menu or toggle between YES or NO

 Cancel

Use the Cancel key to abort or stop a procedure or reject test results.

 OK

Use the OK key to select a menu option.

 Power

Use the Power key to turn the printer ON and OFF.

 Menu

Use the Menu key to enter the main menu.

 Back

Use the Back key to go back to the previous menu or reject test results.

View Ink Levels

Form Feed and Cut

when prompted.

Up and Down

Cancel

Power

Back

Service Key Combinations

 Diagnostic mode

With the printer OFF, press and hold the UP and OK keys. While holding the Up and OK k printer. Hold all three keys until the Power key stops flashing, usually about 5 seconds.

eys down, press and hold the Power key to turn on the

 Service Menu (Service Engineers Only)

From the main menu, press and hold the Up and Cancel keys.

 Service Menu (For users)

From the main menu, press and hold the Down and Cancel keys.

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-3

Troubleshooting

General Troubleshooting

Introduction

This chapter will guide you through the relevant steps to take when troubleshooting the printer.

Troubleshooting System Error Codes

Chapter 2 Introduction on page 2-2 contains a list of system error codes and

their respective descriptions and recommended corrective actions. Only try

ecommended action at a time and check if the error code has

one r disappeared.

If you have an error code which is not documented in this Service Manual or yo

u have an error which you cannot resolve, then report the error to the HP Response Center or the nearest HP Support Office. When reporting the error, have the following information ready:

 Model and Serial Number of the printer.  Which firmware revision the printer is using (See Note below). Check

firmware in Utilities / Statistics / Code rev.

 The complete error number (See Note below).  The Service Configuration Print.

The Current configuration sheet.

  Which software application the customer is using (name, version, etc.).

When reporting the System Error Code, make sure that you supply the full Er

ror Code and the firmware version. Without this information, HP Support

Personnel cannot help you.

Performing a Service Test on a failed Assembly

If possible, always perform a Service Test on the component/assembly that you are about to replace, just to make sure that is the component/assembly that has failed.

If the test on that component/assembly passes, you should NOT replace it.

For information on the Service Tests and how to use them see

Service Tests and Utilities on page 3-1.

Performing the Necessary Service Calibrations

Is the printer calibrated correctly after replacing a component? For information on the Service Calibrations and how to use them see

Service Calibrations on page 4-1.

Remember that certain Calibrations are required even if an Assembly has been disas

sembled to gain access to another Assembly or Component.

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

1-4 HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual

Solving Print Quality Problems

Whenever a Print Quality problem appears, it is advisable to print the Diagnostic Print to help diagnose the problem. The Diagnostic Print will help you differentiate between possible printhead errors and other problems such as incorrect front-panel selection, driver or RIP configuration or mechanical problems.

The Front Panel is blank

1 See What to do if the Front Panel is blank on page 2-5.

The Printer does not Power ON

1 Check that the power cord is connected correctly to the Printer and to the

Power Socket.

heck that the Power Switch on the BACK of the Printer is in the ON

2 C

position.

heck to see the LED on the Front Panel Power Switch are On.

3 C

heck that the Front-Panel Cable is correctly connected to the Electronics

4 C

Module. Also make sure that the Front-Panel cable is not damaged.

General Troubleshooting

eplace the Power Supply Unit. See Starwheel Assembly on page 6-214.

5 R

The Printer Continuously Rejects Printheads

1 Clean the flex contacts on the Printhead and in the Carriage Assembly using

the Carriage Interconnect Wiper and try again. See

Tool on page 1-54.

2 If A

LL the Printheads are rejected (the status message on the Front Panel does NOT show "OK" for ALL the Printheads) then perform the Electronic Module Test. See

3. Electronics Module on page 3-21.

Cover Sensors are not Working

1 Perform the Sensors Test. See 5. Sensors on page 3-31.

heck if the cable for the faulty sensor is not damaged and is connected

2 C

correctly.

eplace the faulty Sensor.

3 R

The Line Sensor has Problems Detecting Media

1 Check the type of media that is being used since the Line sensor may have

problems detecting transparent media or some types of Non-HP media. Try loading white HP media into the Printer and check if the Line sensor detects it.

he Line Sensor is not calibrated correctly. Perform the Line Sensor

2 T

Calibration. See

Line Sensor Calibration on page 4-14.

Flex Contacts Cleaning

he Line Sensor is damaged or faulty. Replace the Line Sensor. See Line

3 T

Sensor (T1120/T1120ps/T620) on page 6-161.

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-5

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting Media Jams/Printhead Crashes

The failure modes "media jam" and "head crash" are grouped together because in many cases a media jam causes the media to lift up into the Carriage path and cause a Printhead crash, thus causing many media jam failures to be reported as head crashes.

d the media jam occur when loading media?

4 Di

 If the client has had media jams, it is common for pieces of media to get

stuck in the media path. Clear the media path.

When clearing a media jam, sometimes media is stuck in the paper path. To c

lear this, you must lift the Media Lever and insert thicker media into the

paper path to push out the media that is still stuck there.

5 Is the c

ustomer using non-HP media?

 The use of non-HP media can easily be the cause of media jams and

head crashes (especially head crashes because HP media is specially formulated to avoid cockle, one of the primary causes of head crashes). If the media is not HP approved, advise the customer to use HP media and check to see if the problem is now solved.

Banding at variable extreme environmental conditions

Since the Accuracy Calibration has been done at normal environmental conditions, printing in extreme environmental conditions will cause banding because the advance of the Media Advance Roller does not correspond to the same conditions that the calibration was done in. To solve the problem, try the following:

Perform the Accuracy Calibration in the new environmental conditions (Refer

the User’s Guide).

Worm marks on HP Coated media with light area fills

Light bands (S-shaped) in Paper axis direction where light area fills are printed, causing unacceptable Image Quality defect.

 Print the Service Configuration Print and check if the level of Humidity is

very low (below 30%). Increasing humidity may help in reducing the severity of the problem.

The media is causing the problem and NOT the Printer. Do not attempt to try and r

eplace Printer parts to solve this problem.

1-6 HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual

The Media Basket was damaged during printer setup

1 There are three plastic parts that could break during printer installation and

need replacing.

heck the parts table and graphics in Parts and Diagrams to identify what

2 C

service parts you must order. See

eplace the component. See Bin Assembly on page 6-10.

3 R

Solving Media-Handling Problems

The Front Panel indicates that media is misaligned or incorrectly positioned

Printer Support on page 5-2.

Roll media

Sheet media

 The roll may be loaded the wrong way. The paper should load over the

roll toward you.

 Check that the paper is correctly loaded onto the spindle.  The paper may be loaded at an angle. The right-hand edge must be

aligned with the blue line on the Print Platen.

With 24 inch printers, ensure that the paper is wrapped tightly on the roll. T

his is a very important step to remember because if this is not done, the

media may be loaded at an angle, causing the media to be rejected.

 Check that the Right Spindle Holder (rewinder included) is properly

attached and screwed to the printer.

For 44 inch printers, the Rewinder, located on the Right Spindle Holder

ewinder included), should maintain proper back tension. If the Right

(r Spindle Holder (rewinder included) is misaligned or not properly attached to the printer, the Rewinder will not function properly.

For a graphic of a properly installed Rewinder, see

and Rewinder (T1120/T1120ps/T620) on page 6-87. To further diagnose

problems with the Rewinder, see

6. Rewinder on page 3-34.

Right Spindle Holder

 Always load sheet media using the Rear Input Tray. Do NOT load the

media as you would load roll media.

 It must be loaded with the right-hand edge against the blue line on the

Print Platen.

 The media may be crumpled or warped or may have irregular edges.  If hand-cut media is used, the edges may not form a right-angle or they

may be rough. If possible, hand-cut media should not be used. Only purchased sheet media should be used in the Printer.

 If you have problems with paper jams, check that the Overdrive is not

obstructed by bits of paper or using the Turn Drive Roller Service Utility.

1. Turn Drive Roller on page 3-57.

See

Check that the Right Spindle Holder (rewinder included) is properly attached and screwed to the printer.

For 44 inch printers, the Rewinder, locate (rewinder included), should maintain proper back tension. If the Right Spindle Holder (rewinder included) is misaligned or not properly attached to

d on the Right Spindle Holder

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-7

The Media Basket was damaged during printer setup

the printer, the Rewinder will not function properly.

To further diagnose problems with the Rewinder, See

3-34.

6. Rewinder on page

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-8

Print quality troubleshooting

Print Quality Troubleshooting Actions

For some Print Quality problems, a Call Agent can try and troubleshoot the Printer by requesting the Customer to perform certain actions. Using this process, most problems can resolved without the need of an on-site visit.

Use the Print Quality Troubleshooting Wizard to help customers with their pr

int quality or color problems. For information about how to use the Print

Quality Troubleshooting Wizard, see

on page 1-34.

When faced with a Print Quality problem, perform the following actions in or

der to resolve the problem:

inter Configuration:

1 Pr

 Check that the paper type loaded corresponds to the paper type selected

in the front panel and in the software. You can verify the paper type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper).

 Make sure that the correct Print Quality settings are used for different

types of print content. See

1- 9 for further information.

 Dry time should be set to “Optimal”.

Print Quality Troubleshooting Actions on page

Print quality troubleshooting

Print Quality Troubleshooting Wizard

erform Printhead recovery (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/

2 P

Clean Printheads).

3 Medi

 Select the correct media type through the front panel when loading it.  Make sure that HP or HP-approved media is being used.

erform the Printhead Alignment (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/

4 P

Align Printheads), using the same paper type with which you were experiencing unacceptable image quality, if feasible (some paper types are not suitable for Printhead Alignment).

heck if the latest version of the firmware is installed. If not, install the latest

5 C

firmware revision.

The Service Image Quality Diagnostic Print

What is the Service Image Quality Diagnostic Print?

The Printer contains an internal Image Quality Test which helps you to di

agnose the possible source of any image quality defects. The Service IQ

Diagnostic Print is available in the following options:

1 Image Q

detail the possible source of any image quality defects. It is accessible through the Service Utility Menu.

The Image Q in to three parts as follows:

 Diagnostic Part 1: Printhead Reliability Test. The purpose of this test is to

uality Service Best Plot. This plot helps you to diagnose in more

uality Service Best Plot uses the Best Print Mode and is divided

identify which Printhead is faulty.

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-9

Print quality troubleshooting

 Diagnostic Part 2: Printhead Alignment Test. This test is designed to check

any color-to-color and bi-directional misalignment the printer may have.

 Diagnostic Part 3: Printheads and Paper Advance test. This test is

designed to check whether the Printheads and the Media Advance Mechanism are working correctly.

2 Image Q

Quality Service Best Plot but uses the Normal Print Mode.

dvanced Diagnostic Plot. These tests provide more information of the IQ

3 A

defects that we could find in the Image Quality Service plot. For more information, see

Considerations for Printing the Diagnostic Print

he IQ Diagnostic Print prints in A3 and B sizes so you must have media

1 T

loaded (roll or sheet) that is this size or larger.

se the same type of media that the customer was using when they found

2 U

the image quality problem.

the customer is using non-HP media and after the Image Quality Test you

3 If

still have the same image quality problems, change to genuine HP media and repeat the Image Quality Test.

If you do see problems with the Image Quality Test, continue with the A

dvanced Diagnostic procedures which will help you diagnose the problem.

uality Service Normal Plot. This plot is the same as the Image

The Advanced Diagnostic Prints on page 1-15.

Printing the Diagnostic Print

1 In the

2 Y

3 If

Service Utilities submenu, scroll to “Diagnostic Print” and press OK.

ou will be given three options. Use the Arrow keys to make the selection

and press the OK key to start printing the required Diagnostic Print or to enter the Advanced Diagnostics menu.

you selected the Advanced Diagnostics Prints in the previous step, use the

Arrow keys to make the required selection Paper Advance, Printhead

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-10

Print quality troubleshooting

Alignment Diagnostic, Nozzle Health, Force Drop Detection or Print Banding P

lot, and press the Enter key to start printing.

4 Mak

5 T

e sure media is loaded, the Media Lever is lowered and that the Ink

System is correctly installed. Press the OK key to print the Diagnostic Print or press Back/Cancel to exit without printing the Diagnostic Print.

he selected Diagnostic Print will now be printed.

Reading the Diagnostic Print Results

Diagnostic Part 1: Printhead Reliability

The Nozzle Print Test test is designed to check if the Printhead nozzles print cor

rectly.

The nozzles check (top of the plot) is printed in a one-pass full swath mode. T

he diagnostics test prints out every single nozzle of each Printhead without

applying an error hiding or alignment algorithm. For each Printhead, you can see both the adjacent and the consecutive

zzles.

If any nozzles are not printing correctly each Printhead Nozzle test. There is a series of numbered stepped diagonal lines. If one or more of the nozzles are clogged, malfunctioning or mispositioned, you will see that the stepped lines are broken or misdirected in one or more places.

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-11

they will be shown on the right of

Print quality troubleshooting

Below, the stepped lines highlighted in yellow are broken. When the line is c

ompletely broken, this means the nozzle is out.

Below, the stepped lines highlighted in yellow are misdirected. When the

ne is misdirected, this means the nozzle is malfunctioning or out of

li position.

On the left of each Printhead Nozzle test, there is a series of horizontal

traight lines. If one or more nozzles are misdirected there will be unequal

s spaces between the corresponding lines.

Corrective Action

If the printer has nozzle defects, you can s The printer can automatically compensate for nozzle defects, so there is no need to replace the Printhead.

The method of improving Nozzle Defects is to:

ecover the Printheads, using the Front Panel Main Menu/Image Quality

1 R

Maintenance/Clean Printheads option.

eprint the Printhead Nozzles Test Plot to verify that the defective nozzles

2 R

have been corrected.

3 If the

problem continues, replace the defective Printhead.

Diagnostic Part 2: Printhead Alignment

This test is designed to check any color-to-color and bi-directional mi

salignment the printer may have.

till get perfect print quality results.

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-12

Print quality troubleshooting

1 If

the Printer is experiencing horizontal misalignment problems, the

Alignment Test will show something like this:

f the Printer is experiencing vertical misalignment problems, the Alignment

2 I

Test will show something like this:

the Printer is experiencing bi-directional misalignment problems, the

3 If

Alignment Test will show something like this:

Corrective Action

Perform the Printhead Alignment (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/

lign Printheads), using the same paper type with which you were

A experiencing unacceptable image quality, if feasible (some paper types are not suitable for Printhead Alignment).

Diagnostic Part 3: Printheads & Paper Advance

This test is designed to check whether the Printheads and the Paper Advance

hanism are working correctly. This part of the Image Quality Test should

Mec NOT be used to check for color consistency or accuracy.

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-13

Print quality troubleshooting

Banding

If the Printer is experiencing a banding problem, you will see repetitive hor

izontal bands within the printed image.

 Darker horizontal bands or lines repeated along the vertical band (from

top to bottom at the same distance).

 Whiter horizontal bands or lines along the vertical band (from top to

bottom at the same distance).

The plot is printed in Best or Normal mode (according to the menu option s

elected) with Error Hiding ON. The top band has 100% ink density patches

while the bottom band has 50% ink density patches.

Troubleshooting Banding Problems

If banding doe Printhead problem. In this case, try the following:

heck that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the

1 C

User’s Guide for more information).

ecover the printheads using the option through the Front Panel (Main

2 R

Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Clean Printheads). Reprint the Diagnostic Print or the print file and if the problem persists, replace the faulty Printhead.

If banding doe Advance problem:

s NOT occur in ALL the colors, then it is more than likely a

s occur in ALL the colors, then it is more than likely a Paper

 If the bands are light, it means that the paper has advanced too much.  If the bands are dark, it means that the paper hasn’t advanced enough.

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-14

Print quality troubleshooting

 In high quality modes, graininess in ALL colors can indicate problems

either with alignment or Paper Advance.

Corrective Action

In order to solve problems that result in banding, try the following:

heck that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the

1 C

User’s Guide for more information).

heck that the loaded media is the same type as selected in the printer. You

2 C

can verify the media type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/ Paper menu/View loaded paper).

the customer is using low quality paper, try recommending better quality

3 If

paper (preferably HP paper). Printer performance can only be guaranteed by using recommended papers.

erform the Paper Advance Calibration using the same type of paper that

4 P

will be used for the final print (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/ Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper Advance).

If there is white point banding in only one color band and the problem cannot be f a drop detection option can fix this issue. See

1-2 4.

ixed using the Printhead recoveries, in some cases using the force

Force Drop Detection on page

No Printing Defects Found in the Diagnostic Print

If all the test patterns from the Diagnostic Print are correct and you still e

xperience Image Quality problems, you can use the following procedures

to resolve the problem.

 Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results  Printhead Alignment  Nozzle Health  Force Drop Detection

The Advanced Diagnostic Prints

What are the Advanced Diagnostic Prints?

Advanced Diagnostic Plot. defects found in the Image Quality Service plot.

The Adva

 Visual Media Advanced Diagnostic. Used to check advance reliability.  Printhead Alignment Diagnostic. Used to check pen alignment reliability.  Visual Nozzle health Diagnostic. Used to check nozzle health reliability.  Force Drop Detection. Used to reset the nozzle health historic data base

nced Diagnostic Plot is divided into the following parts:

and force new drop detection.

These tests provide more information of the IQ

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-15

Print quality troubleshooting

Printing the Advanced Diagnostics Print

1 In the

2 Y

3 F

Service Utilities submenu, scroll to “Diagnostic Print” and press OK.

ou will be given three options. Use the Arrow keys to select the Advanced

Diagnostics menu.

rom the displayed options, use the Arrow keys to make the required

selection Paper Advance, Printhead Alignment Diagnostic, Nozzle Health, Force Drop Detection or Print Banding Plot, and press the OK key to start printing.

4 Mak

5 T

e sure media is loaded, the Media Lever is lowered and that the Ink

System is correctly installed. Press the OK key to print the Diagnostic Print or press Back/Cancel to exit without printing the Diagnostic Print.

he selected Advanced Diagnostic Print will now be printed and, if

necessary, automatically scanned.

Reading the Advanced Diagnostic Print Results

Paper Advance

This plot helps you to visually check any alignment problems of the printer. Y

ou use it to precisely measure the media advance error with a one dot row

accuracy, and to verify the stability of the media advance.

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-16

Print quality troubleshooting

The whitest vertical line should be positioned in the 0 offset column with mino

r variations between +2 and -2 columns. If the offset is not positioned

on the 0 column or between +2 and -2 columns and the whitest vertical varies greatly, the printer requires Paper Advance Calibration Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper

Adva

nce).

It is very important to verify that the loaded media is the same media type as sel

ected in the front panel. You can verify the media type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper). The wrong type of paper selected will produce an offset error in the Paper Advance.

(Main Menu/

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-17

Print quality troubleshooting

The following plot shows correct media advance, there is a straight white line po

sitioned close to the 0 column for the majority of the points.

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-18

Print quality troubleshooting

The following plot shows a bad media advance, there is a straight white line po

sitioned close to the -6 column, instead of the 0 column for the majority of

the points.

Corrective Action

To fix Paper Advance problems, try the following:

1 C

heck the Paper Advance Calibration Status. This can be done by going to Main Menu/Paper/View Loaded Paper. At the bottom, the Front Panel displays the Paper Advance Calibration status. There are three status messages:

 DEFAULT. The paper loaded is recognized as HP paper, which is

already optimized and calibrated for the printer. Do Not calibrate the Paper Advance for this paper.

 RECOMMENDED. The paper loaded is NOT recognized as HP paper,

and Paper Advance values have NOT been customized for this paper type. In this case, calibrate the Paper Advance from the user menu.

 OK. This indicates that the paper loaded has been calibrated before. If

the printer continues to have banding and graininess problems, calibrate the Paper Advance from the user menu.

Whenever the printer's firmware is upgraded, the paper advance calibr

ation values will be reset to factory default.

o calibrate the Paper Advance from the user menu, go to Main Menu/

2 T

Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper Advance.

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-19

Print quality troubleshooting

It is very important to verify that the loaded media is the same media type as sel

Some paper types are not suitable for Paper Advance Calibration. Do NOT use color film, matte film, tracing paper, or vellum.

aper Advance calibration from the user menu will only calibrate the Paper

3 P

Advance for the paper type loaded in the printer at that moment.

Calibrate Paper Advance has mostly solved the problem, try Adjust Paper

4 If

Advance to fine tune the Paper Advance (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Adjust Paper Advance).

Select the percentage of change from -100% to 100%. To correct light banding percentage.

he Paper Advance calibration from the service menu will calibrate the

5 T

Paper Advance for ALL paper types. This action is recommended when:

ed papers or transparent materials such as translucent bond, clear

, decrease the percentage. To correct dark banding, increase the

 The Paper Advance calibration from the user menu does NOT solve the

problem.

 The Paper Advance problems affect ALL paper types.

The procedure for Paper Advance Calibration from the service menu is

umented in Chapter 5, Service Calibrations. See

doc

Calibration on page 4-6.

Paper Advance

Printhead Alignment

To ensure you obtain meaningful results, use the same type of media that t

he customer was using when they encountered the image quality problem.

This plot helps you to visually check any alignment problems of the printer. Y

ou use it to precisely measure the alignment error with a 3 dot row accuracy. For the printer to be considered correctly aligned, the results must be within ±3 dot row.

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-20

Print quality troubleshooting

The illustration shows the complete Printhead Alignment that identifies each

f the specific alignment test results covered.

The Printhead Alignment Diagnostic print sh results:

ine Sensor Calibration

a L

en to Pen Align

b P

rriage thetaZ

c Ca

directional align (high)

d Bi

directional align (Low)

e Bi For tests a, b, and c, the order of the color band is:

For tests e and

Once the printer has correctly printed and scanned the Printhead Alignment Di

agnostic print, the Front Panel displays the results. The top row displays the

printhead, and the left column displays the test.

f, the order of the color band is:

ows the following diagnostic test

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-21

Print quality troubleshooting

The results are seperated onto two screens. Use the A the second results screen.

Any printhead with a test result containing dot row range is misaligned.

The mK printhead is used as a reference to test the other printheads. If all t

he printheads fail the Pen to Pen tests, it is the mK printhead that is

misaligned.

a number that is not within the ±3

rrow keys to display

Reading the Printhead Alignment Diagnostic Print

The following plot shows correct printhead alignment for all patterns. The

lear band is in the center of the pattern.

The following plot shows bad printhead alignment. The clear band is not in

center of the pattern.

the

Corrective Action

 If any of the printheads are misaligned beyond the ±3 dot row range,

perform a Printhead Alignment. See

Aligning Printheads on page 1-48.

 If a Printhead Alignment does not correct the problem, replace the bad

printhead.

If the customer is using non-HP media and af still have the same image quality problems, change to genuine HP media and repeat the Image Quality Test. The best alignment calibration is obtained using HP Photo Paper.

ter the Image Quality Test you

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-22

Print quality troubleshooting

Nozzle Health

The print contains three separate parts.

b c

a T

he Variable Frequency Nozzle health plot with odd/even nozzles separation. This is used to detect misdirected nozzles, weak nozzles, or nozzles not working correctly at all frequencies.

spector measuring tool test plot.

b In

Test b should NOT be used by Service Engineers.

c Nozzle Print Test

which is also part of the Image Quality Service Plot. This test is designed to check that the Printhead nozzles print correctly. The test prints out every single nozzle of each Printhead. No error hiding or Printhead Alignment algorithm is applied. For each Printhead, you can see both the adjacent and the consecutive nozzles.

This is what you would see in the N

ozzle Print Test part if there are

nozzles not printing correctly:

n the right of each Printhead Nozzle test, there is a series of numbered

1 O

stepped diagonal lines. If one or more of the nozzles are malfunctioning or mis-positioned, you will see that the stepped lines are broken or misdirected in one or more places.

2 On

the left of each Printhead Nozzle test, there is a series of horizontal straight lines. If one or more nozzles are misdirected there will be unequal spaces between the corresponding lines.

Corrective Action for Nozzle Defects

If the printer has nozzle defects, it

does not mean that you will not get perfect print quality results. The printer has automatic procedures to hide many nozzle defects.

ecover the Printheads using the option through the Front Panel (Main

1 R

menu/Image quality maintenance/clean printheads).

eprint the Nozzle Print test to check that the defective nozzles have been

2 R

corrected.

3 If the

problem continues, replace the defective Printhead.

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-23

Force Drop Detection

If the N one color that cannot be fixed with a printhead recovery, you can use this option to resolve the problem by resetting the nozzle health data base so that all nozzles are assumed to be correct.

Once the nozzle health data base has b The normal cause of this white point banding in

incorrect detection of failed nozzles by the drop detector.

ozzle Print Test plot has persistent white point banding in only

Troubleshooting Print Quality Problems

Print Quality General Advice

o achieve the best performance from the printer, only genuine HP

1 T

accessories and supplies should be used.

2 Mak

e sure that the paper type selected in the Front Panel is the same as

the paper type loaded into the Printer.

Print quality troubleshooting

een reset drop detection is forced.

a single color is the

3 Mak

4 C

5 C

e sure to use the most appropriate print quality settings for your

purposes. A lower print quality is likely to be seen if the print quality slider has been moved to the Speed end of the scale, or the custom quality level set to Fast.

heck that the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity) are within the temperature/humidity range as specified for the Printer (refer to the User’s Guide for more information).

heck that the ink cartridges and printheads have not exceeded their expiration dates.

Horizontal Lines Across the Image (Banding)

Description of problem

When you look at the image you have printed, there are horizontal lines

ross the image. Shown below is an example of what you might see if you

ac have this problem:

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-24

Print quality troubleshooting

Corrective Action

heck that the paper type loaded corresponds to the paper type selected in

1 C

the front panel and in the software. You can verify the paper type selected through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper).

heck that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the

2 C

User’s Guide for more information) and reprint the image. In some cases print quality problems can be resolved by selecting a higher print quality level.

int the Service Image Diagnostics Print, and clean any printheads that

3 Pr

need cleaning. Reprint the job in case the problem has been solved

4 Check the paper advance calibration status. If the status is PENDING,

perform the Paper Advance Calibration (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper Advance).

fter calibration reprint the job.

5 A

atch the printer carriage when it reaches the end of its swath. If there is an

6 W

unexpected delay, this may cause the banding.

This delay is possibly the result of the following:

 The user is performing tasks with other applications while printing

(particularly image processing applications). These applications are using too many computer resources, and the computer cannot effectively process the print job.

 The file to be printed is complex, and the computer does not have the

capacity to print such complex files.

 If printing over a LAN, it is possible that the LAN is too slow to meet the

requirements of the print job.

If this is the case, the following corrective measures can be taken:

1 Do

not use the computer while printing. Close applications that use a large

amount of computer resources.

onvert the file PDF. Formats like PDF require less resources to print, which

2 C

may solve your banding problem.

Lines are Missing, Too Thin, or Too Thick

Description of problem

Shown below is an example of what you

Corrective Action

heck that the paper type loaded corresponds to the paper type selected in

1 C

the front panel and in the software. You can verify the paper type selected

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-25

might see if you have this problem:

Print quality troubleshooting

through the Front Panel (Main Menu/Paper menu/View loaded paper).

heck that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the

2 C

User’s Guide for more information). Select the custom print quality options in the Print dialog, and if you are using best quality and glossy paper, try turning on the Maximum detail option. Reprint the job in case the problem has been solved.

3 If the

4 C

5 C

6 U

resolution of the image is greater than the printing resolution, a loss of line quality may be seen. You can find the Max. Application Resolution option in the Windows driver dialog's Advanced tab, under Document Options > Printer Features. Reprint the job in case the problem has been solved.

heck the Printhead alignment status. If the status is PENDING, perform the Printhead Alignment (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Align Printheads). After alignment reprint the job.

heck the paper advance calibration status. If the status is PENDING, perform the paper advance calibration (Main Menu/Image Quality Maintenance/Paper Advance Calibration/Calibrate Paper Advance). After calibration reprint the job.

se Part 3 of the Image Quality Diagnostic Print, check if there are a significant amount of nozzles out in the color that is actually causing the problem (if see you a problem with the Black color in the customer print, then only check the Black printhead in the Image Quality Diagnostic Print). If there is a significant amount of nozzles out then replace the defective Printhead.

Problems with Stepped Lines

Description of problem

When you look at the image you have printed there are ‘ the borders of arrows and diagonal lines. The lines should be straight with no stepping.

Shown below is an example of what y with Stepped Lines:

ou might see if you have problems

stepped lines’ in

Corrective Action

he problems may be inherent in the image that you are trying to print. Try

1 T

to improve the image with the application that generated the file.

heck that the appropriate print quality settings are being used (refer to the

2 C

User’s Guide for more information).

elect the custom print quality options in your Print dialog, and if you are

3 S

using Glossy media and BEST quality, turn on the Maximum Detail option.

HP Designjet T Series — Service Manual 1-26

+ 466 hidden pages