HP DesignJet T610 A1 User Manual

							14 Troubleshooting ink cartridge and
printhead issues
●Cannot insert an ink cartridge
●
Ink cartridge status messages
●
Cannot insert a printhead
●
The front-panel display recommends reseating or replacing a printhead
●
Clean the printheads
●
Clean the printhead drop detector
●
Align the printheads
●
Printhead status messages
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							Cannot insert an ink cartridge
1.Check that you have the correct type of cartridge (model number).
2.Check that the colored label on the cartridge is the same color as the label on the slot.
3.Check that the cartridge is correctly oriented, with the letter or letters marking the cartridge label
right-side up and readable.
CAUTION:Never clean inside the ink cartridge slots.
Ink cartridge status messages
These are the possible ink cartridge status messages:
●OK: the cartridge is working normally, with no known problems.
●Missing: there is no cartridge present, or it is not correctly connected to the printer.
●Low: the ink level is low.
●Very low: the ink level is very low.
●Empty: the cartridge is empty.
●Reseat: you are recommended to remove the cartridge and then reinsert it.
●Replace: you are recommended to replace the cartridge with a new cartridge.
●Altered: there is something unexpected about the cartridges status.
●Expired: it is past the cartridges expiration date.
Cannot insert a printhead
1.Check that you have the correct type of printhead (model number).
2.Check that you have removed the two orange protective caps from the printhead.
3.Check that the colored label on the printhead is the same color as the label on the slot.
4.Check that the printhead is correctly oriented (compare with the others).
5.Check that you have correctly closed and latched the printhead cover, see Insert a printhead
on page 93.
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							The front-panel display recommends reseating or
replacing a printhead
1.From the front panel, turn the power off then on.
2.Check the front-panel display message, if it shows the ready message, the printer is ready to print.
If the problem remains continue with the next step.
3.Remove the printhead, see 
Remove a printhead on page 90.
4.Clean the electrical connections on the backside of the printhead with a lint free cloth. You can
carefully use a mild rubbing alcohol if moisture is needed to remove residue. Do not use water.
CAUTION:This is a delicate process and may damage the printhead. Do not touch the nozzles
on the bottom side of the printhead, especially not with any alcohol.
5.Reinsert the printhead, see Insert a printhead on page 93.
6.Check the front-panel display message. If the problem remains, try a new printhead.
Clean the printheads
As long as the printer is kept turned on, an automatic cleaning is performed periodically. This ensures
there is fresh ink in the nozzles and prevents nozzle clogs, which ensures color accuracy. If you have
not already done so, please see 
The Image Diagnostics Print on page 136 before proceeding.
To clean the printheads, press the Menu key to return to the main menu and select the Image Quality
Maintenance menu icon 
, then Clean printheads. If you have gone through the Image Quality
Diagnostic print process, you know which colors are failing. Select the pair of printheads which contain
the failing colors. If you are not sure which colors to clean, you can also select to clean all printheads.
Cleaning all printheads takes about nine minutes. Cleaning a single pair of printheads takes about six
minutes.
NOTE:Cleaning all printheads uses more ink than cleaning a single pair.
If you have cleaned the printheads using the Clean printheads procedure from the front panel and are
still experiencing image quality problems, you can try cleaning the printhead nozzles manually using the
following procedure.
CAUTION:This is a delicate process and may damage the printhead. Do not touch the electrical
connections on the backside of the printhead.
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							You must remove the printhead, see Remove a printhead on page 90, and using a lint free cloth, clean
the bottom of the printhead until the residue is removed.
Clean the printhead drop detector
The printhead drop detector is a sensor that detects which nozzles on the printheads are not printing in
order to substitute them for good printing nozzles. If particles, such as fibers, hair, or paper pieces, block
the sensor print-quality is affected.
When the front panel displays a warning message that the clean process is needed, you are
recommended to clean the printhead drop detector. If you do not clean the printhead drop detector
immediately, the printer continues working normally, however, the front panel display continues to show
the warning.
CAUTION:Wear gloves to avoid getting ink on your hands.
1.Turn off the printer at the front panel.
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							2.To avoid an electric shock, switch the printer off and unplug it.
3.Open the window.
4.Find the printhead drop detector beside the stored printhead carriage.
5.Remove any debris blocking the printhead drop detector.
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							6.With a dry lint free cloth, wipe the surface of the drop detector to remove any non-visible debris.
7.Close the window.
8.Plug in and switch on the printer.
9.Power the printer on at the front panel.
Align the printheads
Precise alignment between printheads is essential for accurate colors, smooth color transitions, and
sharp edges in graphical elements. Your printer has an automatic printhead alignment process which
runs whenever a printhead has been accessed or replaced.
In cases where the paper has jammed or you are experiencing problems with color accuracy, see 
Color
management on page 55; you may need to align the printheads.
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							NOTE:If the paper has jammed, it is recommended that you reinsert the printheads and initiate the
realignment procedure with the Image Quality Maintenance menu 
.
CAUTION:Do not use transparent or semi-transparent paper to align the printheads.
Reinsert printheads procedure
1.If the realignment process is running and the wrong paper is loaded, press the Cancel key on the
front panel.
CAUTION:Do not print if the realignment process has been canceled. You can restart the
alignment with the Image Quality Maintenance menu procedure.
2.Load the paper you wish to use, see Paper handling on page 25. You can use a roll or cut sheet,
however, it must be A3 landscape or larger.
CAUTION:Do not use transparent or semi-transparent paper to align the printheads.
3.Remove and re-insert all the printheads, see Remove a printhead on page 90 and Insert a
printhead on page 93. This starts the printhead alignment procedure.
4.Ensure the window is closed, as a strong light source near the printer during printhead realignment
can affect alignment.
5.The process takes about six minutes. Wait until the front-panel display shows the process complete
before using the printer.
NOTE:The printer prints a calibration image. Do not worry about the image. The front-panel
display shows any errors in the process.
Image Quality Maintenance menu procedure
1.Load the paper you wish to use, see Paper handling on page 25. You can use a roll or cut sheet,
however, it must be A3 landscape or larger (420 by 297 mm).
CAUTION:Do not use transparent or semi-transparent paper to align the printheads.
2.Press the Menu key to return to the main menu and select the Image Quality Maintenance menu
icon 
, then Align printheads. The printer checks to see if it has enough paper to run the
realignment.
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							3.If the loaded paper is satisfactory, the printer runs the realignment and prints a realignment pattern.
Ensure the window is closed, as a strong light source near the printer during printhead realignment
can affect alignment.
4.The process takes about five minutes. Wait until the front-panel display shows the process
complete before using the printer.
Scanning errors during alignment
If the alignment process fails, a Scanning problems message appears on the front panel. This means
that the alignment has not completed successfully. Therefore the printer is not aligned and the alignment
should be repeated before printing with good image quality. The problem may be due to:
●The paper used was not valid, repeat the alignment with valid paper
●Printhead health problems, clean printheads, see 
Clean the printheads on page 143
●The alignment was done with the window open, repeat the alignment with the window closed
If the problem persists after using valid paper, cleaning the printheads, and keeping the window closed,
there may be a failure in the scanning system needing reparation or the printheads, although clean, may
not work and need to be replaced.
Printhead status messages
These are the possible printhead status messages:
●OK: the printhead is working normally, with no known problems
●Missing: there is no printhead present, or it is not correctly installed in the printer.
●Test printhead separately: you are recommended to test the printheads individually to find the
failing printhead. Remove all the printheads and insert them alone one by one, closing the latch
and the carriage cover after every insertion. The front-panel display indicates the failing one
showing the reseat or replace message.
●Reseat: you are recommended to remove the printhead and then reinsert it. If that fails, clean the
electrical connections, see 
The front-panel display recommends reseating or replacing a
printhead on page 143. If that fails, replace the printhead with a new printhead, see Remove a
printhead on page 90 and Insert a printhead on page 93.
●Replace: the printhead is failing. Replace the printhead with a working printhead, see 
Remove a
printhead on page 90 and Insert a printhead on page 93.
●Replacement incomplete: a printhead replacement process has not completed successfully, re-
launch the replacement process and let it finish completely (it is not needed to change the
printheads).
●Remove: the printhead is not a suitable type for use in printing.
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							15 Troubleshooting general printer issues
●The printer does not print
●
The printer seems slow
●
Communication failures between computer and printer
●
Cannot access HP Easy Printer Care (Windows) or HP Printer Utility (Mac OS)
●
Cannot access the Embedded Web Server
●
Automatic file system check
●
An AutoCAD 2000 memory allocation error
●
No output when printing from Microsoft Visio 2003
●
Unavailable driver features when printing from QuarkXpress
●
Printer alerts
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							The printer does not print
If all is in order (paper loaded, all ink components installed, and no file errors), there are still reasons
why a file you have sent from your computer may not start printing when expected:
●You may have an electrical power problem. If there is no activity at all from the printer, and the front
panel does not respond, check that the power cable is connected correctly and that there is power
available at the socket.
●You may be experiencing unusual electromagnetic phenomena, such as strong electromagnetic
fields or severe electrical disturbances, which can cause the printer to behave strangely or even
stop working. In this case, turn off the printer using the Power key on the front panel and unplug
the power cord, wait until the electromagnetic environment has returned to normal, then turn it on
again. If you still experience problems, please contact your customer service representative.
●You may have the wrong graphic language setting, see 
Change the graphic language setting
on page 24.
●You may not have installed in your computer the correct driver for your printer, see the Assembly
instructions.
●If you are printing on a sheet, you must specify sheet as the paper source in your printer driver.
●The printer may be holding the job for paper.
●You may have requested a print preview from your printer driver. This is a function you can use to
check that the image is the one you want. In this case, the preview is displayed on your screen,
and you must click the Print button to start printing.
The printer seems slow
Here are some possible explanations.
●Did you set the print-quality to Best or Max Detail? Best-quality and maximum detail prints take
longer.
●Did you specify the correct paper type when loading the paper? Some paper types require more
time for printing, for example, photo and coated papers require more drying time between passes.
To find out the printers current paper type setting, see 
View information about the paper
on page 43.
●Do you have a network connection to your printer? Check that all components used in the network
(network interface cards, hubs, routers, switches, cables) are capable of high-speed operation. Is
there a lot of traffic from other devices on the network?
●Did you specify Extended drying time in the front panel? Try changing the drying time to
Optimal.
Communication failures between computer and printer
Some symptoms are:
●The front-panel display does not show the Receiving message when you have sent an image to
the printer.
●Your computer displays an error message when you are trying to print.
●Your computer or printer hangs (stays idle), while communication is taking place.
●Your printed output shows random or inexplicable errors (misplaced lines, partial graphics etc.)
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