Solving Printer Problems

Introduction

This chapter helps you to troubleshoot printer problems in the following areas:

Clearing Paper Jams

If a 13 PAPER JAM or 13 DUPLEX JAM message appears in the display panel, look for jammed paper in any of the locations in Figure 8-1. If you get repeated paper jams or if the paper jam message appears repeatedly, see " Repeated Paper Jams" at the end of this section. Paper jams occur most often when:
Note
The top cover or rear cover of the printer must be opened and then closed in order to clear the paper jam message. If paper jams occur frecuently, clean the printer and check the quality of your paper or other print media.

Paper Jams: Paper Pickup and Transfer Guide Areas

  1. Remove the paper cassette
  2. Pull the paper out through the front of the printer

Note
Do not force the paper. If you can see paper in the cassette opening but cannot remove it easily, remove the paper through the Transfer Guide Area (see next steps)
  1. Open the top cover and remove the toner cartridge.
  2. Raise the green handle to free the paper, and pull the paper out through the front of the printer.

Paper Jams: Fusing Assembly Area - Top Cover

  1. Open the top cover and remove the toner cartridge.
  2. Remove the paper by pulling it back out of the fuser, into the printer body. Roll the paper toward you to avoid spilling loose (unfused) toner.
  3. Clean any loose toner that may have fallen into the printer with a clean lint-free cloth

Note
If loose toner falls into the fuser, it may cause print quality problems

If toner gets on your clothes, wipe it off with a dry cloth and wash your clothes in cold water. Hot water sets toner into fabric.


Paper Jams: Rear Cover - Fusing Assembly and Paper Exit Areas


Warning
The fusing area gets HOT.
  1. Open the rear cover.
  2. Open the rear door of the fusing assembly, if necessary
  3. Pull the jammed paper from the fusing assembly.
  4. Remove the leading edge from the paper exit in the output bin if necessary

Note
Make sure that the orange packing spacers have been removed from the fusing assembly.

Paper Jams: 500-sheet Lower Cassette

(not applicable at ING)
  1. Partially remove the 500-sheet Lower Cassette
  2. Remove jammed paper.
  3. If necessary, partially remove the 500-sheet Paper Cassette and remove jammed paper.
  4. Remove any pages in the cassette that are damaged. Do not reload damaged paper into the cassette.

Note
If there are frequent paper jams or multi-feed problems in the lower cassette area, see "Printing from the OPtional lOwer Cassette" in Chapter 3 and " Repeated Paper Jams" at the end of this section.

Paper Jams: Optional Duplex Unit

(not applicable at ING)
  1. Remove the Paper Cassette
  2. Open the front access cover of the duplex unit and remove any paper. Also, remove any paper protruding from the rear of the duplix unit.
  3. Open the rear duplex door.
  4. Lift paper guide and remove any paper, then lift paper guide and remove any paper, then close.
  5. Close rear duplex door (it should latch when completely closed). Replace the Paper Cassette and close the duplex unit's front access cover.

Repeated Paper Jams: Situations and Solutions

Repeated Paper Jams: Situations and Solutions
Situation Solution
General repeated paper jam problems.
  1. Check to see that media is correctly loaded in trays (see Chapter 3, "Printing Tasks ").
  2. Previously printed paper or torn, worn, or irregular paper should not be used.
  3. Certain media jams, other media does not. For the recommended paper and other media for your printer, see Appendix C, "Media Specifications." Try turning over the stack of paper in the tray.
  4. Parts may be worn. See " User-Replaceable Parts " in Chapter 7.
  5. If jams continue, contact your authorized HP service provider.
Multipurpose (MP) Tray repeated jams. If jams persist after you have cleaned the printer, check the media specifications and verify that you are loading the Multipurpose (MP) tray correctly (see Chapter 3 "Printing Tasks"). You may need to replace the Multipurpose (MP) Tray Pickup Roller as described in Chapter 7.
Paper Cassette repeated jams. If jams persist after you have cleaned the printer, check the media specifications and verify that you are loading the Multipurpose (MP) tray correctly (see Chapter 3 " Printing Tasks"). You may need to replace the Multipurpose (MP) Tray Pickup Roller as described in Chapter 7. If using the universal (adjustable) Paper Cassette, verify that the paper size knob and other adjustments are set correctly and that the tray is not overloaded.
Lower Cassette repeated jams (not applicable at ING). Adjust the Lower Cassette as described in "Printing from the Optional Lower Cassette " in Chapter3. Verify that the paper size, tension, and other adjustments are set correctly and that the tray is not overloaded. If two or more pieces of media are being selected at once, it may help to decrease the tension (turn the adjustment clockwise). If the media is not being picked up from the tray, increase the tension (turn the adjustment counterclockwise).

Improving Print Quality

General causes of print quality problems are given in the checklist below, followed by specific samples of common print quality problems. If the listed solutions do not work, call for help.

Print Quality Checklist

Vertical Fade

If a vertical white streak or faded area appears on the page:

Dropouts

If faded-out areas, generally rounded, occur randomly on the page:

Vertical Lines

If sharp black vertical streaks appear on the page, the photosensitive drum inside the toner cartridge has probably been scratched. Replace the toner cartridge.

If smeared black vertical streaks appear, the fuser may be bad. Inspect the rollers for scratches and escessive wear, and, if necessary, replace the fusing assembly as described in 'User-Replaceable Parts' in Chapter 7.

Toner Smear

If toner smears appear on the leading edge of the paper, the paper guides are dirty. Clean the printer as described in 'Cleaning the Printer' in Chapter 7.

If toner on the paper is loose or can be wiped off easily, your fuser may be damaged. See your service representative.

Background Gray Toner Shading

If the amount of background toner shading becomes unacceptable, the procedures described below may help to clear the condition:

Vertical Repetitive Defects

If marks appear repeatedly on the printed side of the page:

Improperly Formed Characters

If characters are improperly formed, producing hollow characters, your paper stock mat be too slick. Try a different paper.

If characters are improperly formed, producing a wavy effect, the laser scanner needs service. Call your authorized HP dealer or HP service representative

Vertical Line at Edge of Paper

If a vertical line appears on the page's margin (usually the right margin) after printing about 10,000 pages, the drum in your toner cartridge is wearing out. The line will grow wider, with cross-hatching. Replace the toner cartridge. Shaking the cartridge will not temporarily relieve the problem.

Understanding Printer Messages

Printer Messages
Message Description Recommended Action
00 READY The default ready message. The printer is ready to use. No action required
00 POWERSAVE Printer is in Power Save mode. In Power Save mode all control panel keys operate normally. (See 'Saving Power with the Power Save Feature' in Chapter 5). Press any key to take printer out of Power Save mode. Receipt of data or an error condition will also take pronter out of Power Save mode. The job will print when the fuser has warmed.
00 OFFLINE Printer is off line and not able to receive data. Press On Line
02 WARMING UP The printer is warming up and is not ready to accept data. Wait until the printer signals ready. If necessary, press On Line.
04 SELF TEST Printing a continous self test. Press On Line or Shit + Continue to stop the test. Several more pages may print.
05 SELF TEST Printer self test in process (non-printing). No action required.
06 PRINTING TEST Printing a self test. No action required.
06 TYPEFACE LIST Printing a Typeface List. (Note that PCL/Postscript formats are different.). No action required.
06 DEMO PAGE Printing a Demonstration Page. (Note that PCL/Postscript format are different). No action required.
06 CONFIG PAGE Printing a Configuration Page. No action required.
07 RESET Follows a control panel Shift+Reset selection. The printer returns all Printing,PCL,Job,and installed personality (PS,etc.) Menu items to user-selected settings and clears buffered page data, temporary soft fonts, and temporary macros. No action required unless the printer is receiving data(you may have to press Shift+Reset several times to prevent printing unwanted pages.
08 COLD RESET The printer returns all Printing, PCL, Job, Config, Mem Config, Parallel, Serial, MIO (if installed), and installed personality(PCL, PS, etc.) Menu settings to their factory default configurations, except for page count, MP Tray size, Envelope Feeder size, and display language. Reconfigure your printer and MIO. When you install a MIO card, to reinitialize the printer's control panel you may need to perform a cold reset. (Note: In a shared environment, this task should only be performed by the system administrator.) To perform a cold reset, hold down On Line while switching the printer ON until 08 COLD RESET appears in the display.
00 OFFLINE Printer is off line and not able to receive data. Press On Line
02 WARMING UP The printer is warming up and is not ready to accept data. Wait until the printer signals ready. If necessary, press On Line.
00 OFFLINE Printer is off line and not able to receive data. Press On Line
02 WARMING UP The printer is warming up and is not ready to accept data. Wait until the printer signals ready. If necessary, press On Line.
00 OFFLINE Printer is off line and not able to receive data. Press On Line
02 WARMING UP The printer is warming up and is not ready to accept data. Wait until the printer signals ready. If necessary, press On Line.
00 OFFLINE Printer is off line and not able to receive data. Press On Line
02 WARMING UP The printer is warming up and is not ready to accept data. Wait until the printer signals ready. If necessary, press On Line.
00 OFFLINE Printer is off line and not able to receive data. Press On Line
02 WARMING UP The printer is warming up and is not ready to accept data. Wait until the printer signals ready. If necessary, press On Line.