HP DesignJet 4500ps User Manual

							Prints do not stack properly in the basket [4500]
NOTEThis topic applies to the HP Designjet 4500 Printer series only.
●Prints at the bottom of the basket may be damaged by the weight of the prints above them. For
this reason, we recommend to collect prints from the basket before it becomes full.
●Coated paper with high ink content may be crumpled when falling into the basket. In this case
prints need to be collected from the basket more frequently than usual.
The printer uses a lot of paper to align the printheads
In order to align the printheads accurately, the printer sometimes needs to feed through up to 3 m
(≈10 ft) of paper before starting the printhead alignment process. This is normal behavior and you
should not try to interrupt or prevent it. See 
Align the printheads.
The paper moves while the printer is in standby mode
[4500]
NOTEThis topic applies to the HP Designjet 4500 Printer series only.
While the printer is in standby mode, it may briefly come to life and move the paper slightly from time
to time in order to maintain the paper in the best possible condition. This is done only with certain
specific paper types (film, glossy paper, and heavyweight coated paper).
The printer unloads or trims the paper after a long period
of disuse [4500]
NOTEThis topic applies to the HP Designjet 4500 Printer series only.
The printer may automatically unload or trim a roll if it has not been used for several days, in order to
maintain the paper in the best possible condition. This is done only with certain specific paper types
(glossy and heavyweight coated paper).
The printer unloads the paper while switched off [4500]
NOTEThis topic applies to the HP Designjet 4500 Printer series only.
While the printer is switched off at the front panel, it may automatically unload a roll in order to
maintain the paper in the best possible condition. This is done only with certain specific paper types
(film, glossy paper, and heavyweight coated paper).
The printer unloads the paper when switched on [4500]
NOTEThis topic applies to the HP Designjet 4500 Printer series only.
If the printer is switched off using the switch at the rear, or by disconnecting the power cable, or by a
power cut, whenever it is switched on again it may automatically unload a roll in order to maintain the
paper in the best possible condition. This is done only with certain specific paper types (film, glossy
paper, and heavyweight coated paper).
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							CAUTIONIf you want to turn off the printer, you are strongly recommended to use the
Power button on the front panel before using the switch at the rear or disconnecting the power
cable.
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							18 The problem is... (print quality topics)
●General advice
●
Banding (horizontal lines across the image)
●
Lines are missing or thinner than expected
●
Solid bands or lines printed over the image
●
Graininess
●
The paper is not flat
●
The print smudges when touched
●
Ink marks on the paper
●
A defect near the start of a print
●
Lines are stepped
●
Lines are printed double or in wrong colors
●
Lines are discontinuous
●
Lines are blurred (ink bleeds from lines)
●
Lines are slightly warped
●
Color accuracy
●
PANTONE color accuracy
●
Color matching between different HP Designjets
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							General advice
When you have any print quality problem:
●To achieve the best performance from your printer, use only genuine manufacturers supplies
and accessories, whose reliability and performance have been thoroughly tested to give trouble-
free performance and best-quality prints. For details of recommended papers, see 
Supported
paper types.
●Make sure that the paper type selected in the front panel is the same as the paper type loaded
into the printer. To check this, highlight the 
 or  icon on the front panel.
●Bear in mind that roll paper will generally give better print quality than a single sheet of the
same kind of paper. When you are using single sheets of paper, we strongly recommend that
you always set the print quality to Best.
●Check that you are using the most appropriate print quality settings for your purposes (see
Choose print quality settings). You are most likely to see print quality problems if you have set
the print quality to Fast.
●To maintain the best print quality at the expense of speed, change the Printhead monitoring
setting to Intensive. See 
Manage printhead monitoring.
●Check that your environmental conditions (temperature, humidity) are suitable for high-quality
printing. See 
Environmental specifications.
Banding (horizontal lines across the image)
If your printed image suffers from added horizontal lines as shown (the color may vary):
1.Check that you are using appropriate print quality settings. See Choose print quality settings.
2.If the problem persists, clean the printheads. See 
Recover (clean) the printheads.
3.Consider changing to a heavier paper type: we recommend HP Heavyweight Coated Paper or
HP Productivity Photo Gloss when printing dense colors.
4.If the problem persists, use the Image Diagnostics Print to find out more about it. See 
How do
I... (Image Diagnostics Print topics).
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							Lines are missing or thinner than expected
1.Check that the line thickness and color settings are correct in your application.
2.Check that you are using appropriate print quality settings. See 
Choose print quality settings.
3.If the problem persists, clean the printheads. See 
Recover (clean) the printheads.
4.If the problem persists, use the Image Diagnostics Print to find out more about it. See 
How do
I... (Image Diagnostics Print topics).
Solid bands or lines printed over the image
This kind of problem can show itself in several different ways, illustrated below in magenta:
1.A thick colored band
2.Thinner colored bands
3.Discontinuous colored blocks
4.Thin lines
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							In each case the recommended procedure is as follows:
1.Clean the electrical connections of the printhead that seems to be responsible (in this example,
the magenta printhead). See 
Clean a printheads electrical connections.
2.Clean the printheads. See 
Recover (clean) the printheads.
3.Reprint your image with the same settings as before.
4.If the problem persists, replace the printhead that seems to be causing the problem. If you are
not sure which printhead is responsible, use the Image Diagnostics Print to identify it. See 
How
do I... (Image Diagnostics Print topics).
Graininess
1.Check that you are using appropriate print quality settings. See Choose print quality settings.
2.Use the Image Diagnostics Print to find out more about the problem. See 
How do I... (Image
Diagnostics Print topics).
The paper is not flat
If the paper does not lie flat when it comes out of the printer, but has shallow waves in it, you are
likely to see visible defects in the printed image, such as vertical stripes. This can happen when you
use thin paper that becomes saturated with ink.
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							Try changing to a heavier paper type: we recommend HP Heavyweight Coated Paper or HP
Productivity Photo Gloss for printing dense colors. See also 
Choose print quality settings.
The print smudges when touched
The black ink pigment can smudge when touched by a finger or pen. This is particularly noticeable
on the following materials: vellum, translucent bond, films, productivity photo paper, and natural
tracing paper.
To reduce the smudging:
●Try to print in an environment which is not too humid for the printer. See 
Environmental
specifications.
●Change pure black objects in your image to a dark color, such as dark brown, so that they will
be printed with colored inks instead of black ink.
●Use HP Heavyweight Coated Paper.
●Increase the drying time (see 
Change the drying time).
Ink marks on the paper
This problem may occur for several different reasons.
Smears on the front of coated paper
If a lot of ink is used on coated paper, the paper absorbs the ink quickly and expands. As the
printheads move over the paper, the printheads come into contact with the paper and the printed
image is smeared.
Whenever you notice this problem, you should cancel the printing job immediately. Press the Cancel
key and also cancel the job from your computer application. Otherwise the soaked paper may
damage the printheads.
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							Try the following suggestions to avoid this problem:
●Use a recommended paper type (see 
Supported paper types).
●If the image you are printing contains intense color, try using HP Heavyweight Coated Paper.
●Use extended margins (see 
Adjust the margins), or try to increase the margins by relocating the
image within the page using your software application.
●If necessary, try changing to a non-paper-based material such as transparent film.
Smears or scratches on the front of glossy paper
Glossy paper may be extremely sensitive to the bin or to anything else that it contacts soon after
printing. This will depend on the amount of ink printed and the environmental conditions at the time of
printing. Avoid any contact with the paper surface and handle the print with care.
HintLeave a sheet of paper in the bin so that freshly-printed sheets do not make direct
contact with the bin. Alternatively, you can remove an important print as soon as it emerges
from the printer, without allowing it to fall into the bin.
Ink marks on the back of the paper
Ink residues on the platen or on the input rollers are likely to mark the back of the paper. See Clean
the platen and Clean the input rollers.
Ink marks when the stacker is in use [4500]
NOTEThe stacker is available with the HP Designjet 4500 Printer series only.
Try the following suggestions:
●Clean the stacker roller. See 
Clean the stacker rollers.
●Check that the paper youre using is compatible with the stacker. See 
Using paper with the
stacker [4500].
●When printing in Fast mode on Translucent Bond, Vellum, or Natural Tracing Paper, there could
be some ink transfer marks in highly inked areas. Select Normal or Best mode to avoid this
problem. See 
Change the print quality.
A defect near the start of a print
There is a type of defect that affects only the start of a print, within 5.5 cm of the leading edge of the
paper. You may see a thin or thick band of inconsistent color:
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							To avoid this problem:
1.The easiest solution is to select the Extended Margins option in the driver, the Embedded Web
Server, or the front panel. This means that the area of the paper affected by the problem (at the
start of the page) will no longer be printed on. See 
Adjust the margins.
2.Align the printheads. See 
Align the printheads.
3.Check that you are using appropriate print quality settings. See 
Choose print quality settings.
Lines are stepped
If lines in your image appear stepped or jagged when printed:
1.The problem may be inherent in the image. Try to improve the image with the application you
are using to edit it.
2.Check that you are using appropriate print quality settings. See 
Choose print quality settings.
3.Turn on the Maximum Detail option.
Lines are printed double or in wrong colors
This problem can have various visible symptoms:
●Colored lines are printed double, in different colors.
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							●The borders of colored blocks are wrongly colored.
To correct this kind of problem:
1.Align the printheads. See 
Align the printheads.
2.Check that you are using appropriate print quality settings. See 
Choose print quality settings.
Lines are discontinuous
If your lines are broken in the following way:
1.Check that you are using appropriate print quality settings. See Choose print quality settings.
2.You are more likely to get good vertical lines with roll paper than with sheet paper. If you must
use sheet paper, set the print quality to Best.
3.Consider changing to a heavier paper type, such as HP Heavyweight Coated Paper or HP
Productivity Photo Gloss. See
Choose print quality settings.
4.Align the printheads. See 
Align the printheads.
Lines are blurred (ink bleeds from lines)
If you see that the ink is soaking into the paper, making the lines blurred and fuzzy, this could be
because of humidity in the air. Try the following:
1.Check that your environmental conditions (temperature, humidity) are suitable for high-quality
printing. See 
Environmental specifications.
2.Try changing to a heavier paper type, such as HP Heavyweight Coated Paper or HP
Productivity Photo Gloss. See
Choose print quality settings.
NOTEGlossy photo paper types are especially difficult to dry. Take extra care with them.
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