HP Designjet T7100 User Manual

							The whole image is blurry or grainy
1.Check that the paper type you have loaded corr
esponds to the paper type selected in the front
panel and in your software. To check on the front panel, use the  View information key 
.
2. Check that you are printing on the correct side of the paper.
3. Check that you are using appropri
ate print-quality settings (see 
Print options on page 77). In some
cases, you can overcome a print-quality problem merely by select ing a higher print-quality level.
For instance, if you have set the Print Quality slider to  Speed, try setting it to Quality. If you
change the print-quality settings, you may wish to re print your job at this point in case the problem
has been solved.
4. Go to the front panel and select the Ink menu icon 
, then  Printhead information  to see the
printhead alignment status. If the status is  PENDING, you should align the printheads. See 
Align
the printheads on page 59. After alignment, you may wish to reprint your job in case the problem
has been solved.
5. Go to the front panel and press the 
View information key 
 to see the paper advance calibration
status. If the status is DEFAULT or RECO MMENDED, you should perform paper advance
calibration: see 
Perform paper advance calibration on page 35.
If the problem persists despite all the above actions,  contact your customer service representative for
further support.
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 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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							1.Check that the paper type you have loaded corr
esponds to the paper type selected in the front
panel and in your software. To check on the front panel, use the  View information key 
.
2. Try changing to a thicker pape
r type, such as HP Heavyweigh t Coated Paper or HP Super
Heavyweight Plus Matte Paper.
3. Select a paper type that is slightly thinner than 
the paper you have loaded; this will persuade the
printer to use less ink. Here are some example paper types in ascending order of thickness: Plain
Paper, Coated Paper, Heavyweight Coated  Paper, Super Heavyweight Plus Matte Paper.
The print is scuffed or scratched
The black ink pigment can be scuf fed or scratched when touched by a finger, a pen or some other
object. This is particularly  noticeable on coated paper.
Glossy paper may be extremely sensit ive to the basket or to anything else that it contacts soon after
printing, depending on the amount of ink used and the environmental conditions at the time of printing.
To reduce the risk of scuffs and scratches:
● Handle prints carefully.
● Avoid stacking prints on top of each other.
● Catch your prints as they are cut from the roll and 
do not let them fall into the basket. Alternatively,
leave a sheet of paper in the basket so that fres hly printed sheets do not make direct contact with
the basket.
Ink marks on the paper
If a lot of ink is used on plain  or coated paper, the paper absorbs the ink quickly and expands. As the
printheads move over the paper, the printheads ma y come into contact with the paper and smear the
printed image. This problem is normally seen only  on cut sheets of paper (not on roll paper).
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							Whenever you notice this problem, cancel the printing job immediately. Press the  Cancel key and also
cancel the job from your computer application. Soaked paper can damage the printheads.
Try the following suggestion s to avoid this problem:
1. Check that the paper type you have loaded corr
esponds to the paper type selected in the front
panel and in your software. To check on the front panel, use the  View information key 
.
2. Use a recommended paper type (see 
Order paper on page 39) and the correct print settings.
3. Try changing to a thicker paper type, such as
 HP Heavyweight Coated Paper and HP Super
Heavyweight Plus Matte Paper.
4. Select a paper type that is slightly thinner than 
the paper you have loaded; this will persuade the
printer to use less ink. Here are some example paper types in ascending order of thickness: Plain
Paper, Coated Paper, Heavyweight Coated  Paper, Super Heavyweight Plus Matte Paper.
5. Try to increase the margins by relocating the imag
e to the center of the page using your software
application.
Black ink comes off when you touch the print
This problem may be caused  by printing with matte black ink on  glossy paper. The printer will not use
matte black ink if it knows that the paper will not reta in it. To be sure of avoiding matte black ink, you
can select Photo Glossy Paper as the pa per type (in the Photo Paper category).
Vertical lines of different colors
If your print has vertical bands of different colors along it:
1.Try using thicker paper, choosing from the recommended paper types such as HP Heavyweight
Coated Paper and HP Super Heavyweight Paper. See 
Order paper on page 39
.
2. Try using higher print-
quality settings (see 
Print options on page 77). For instance, if you have set
the Print Quality slider to  Speed, try setting it to  Quality.
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							White spots on the print
You may notice white spots on the print. This is probably due to paper fibers, dust or loose coating
material. To avoid this problem:
1. Try cleaning the paper manually with a brush be
fore printing, to remove any loose fibers or
particles.
2. Always keep the cover of
 your printer closed.
3. Protect your paper rolls by storing them in bags or boxes.
Colors are inaccurate
If the colors of your print do not match yo
ur expectations, try the following remedies:
1. Check that the paper type you have loaded correspon
ds to the paper type that you selected on the
front panel and in your software. At the same time , check the color-calibration status. If the status
is RECOMMENDED or OBSOLETE, you shou ld perform color calibration. See 
Color calibration
on page 94. If you have made any changes, reprint  your job if the problem has been solved.
2. Check that you are printing on the correct side of the paper.
3. Make sure that you are using the ap
propriate print-quality settings. See 
Select print quality
on page 79. If you have selected the  EconoMode or Speed options, you might not get accurate
colors. If you change the print-qu ality settings, reprint your job if the problem has been solved.
4. If you are using Application Color Management, ma
ke sure that the color profile that you are
using corresponds to the selected paper type and pr int-quality settings. If you have doubts about
which color settings to use, see 
Color management on page 93.
5. If the problem consists of color differences be
tween your print and your monitor, follow the
instructions in the “How to calibrate your monito r” section of the HP Color Center. Reprint your job
if the problem has been solved.
6. Print the Image Diagnostics Print. See 
The Image Diagnostics Print on page 61
.
If the problem persists, contact your customer  service representative for further support. See 
Get help
on page 177.
PANTONE* colors are inaccurate
See HP Professional PANTONE Emulation on page 99.
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							Colors between different HP Designjets do not match
If you print an image on two different printer models (for instance, on an HP Designjet T7100 printer
series and an HP Designjet 4500 printer series), the colors of th e two prints might not match well.
Matching two printing devices that  use different ink chemistry, paper chemistry, and printheads is
unlikely to be completely successful.  Use the information provided here is to attempt to make one printer
match another.
Print with Post Script drivers
The situation describes printing with  the PostScript driver installed for that printer. In this example, we
are using an HP Designjet T7100 printer series  and an HP Designjet 4500 printer series.
1. Check that both printers have the 
most recent firmware version. See 
Update the printer firmware
on page 144.
2. Check that you have the most rece
nt printer driver for both printers. Download the latest versions
for any HP printer from 
http://www.hp.com/go/designjet .
3. Make sure that Color Calibration is turned on
. On the front panel of the HP Designjet T7100,
select the 
 icon, and then select  Image quality maintenance  > Enable color
calibration  > On .
4. Load the printers with 
the same type of paper.
5. Check that the Paper Type setting on the front panel corresponds to the paper that you have
loaded.
6. Use your normal settings to print yo
ur image on the HP Designjet 4500.
7. Now prepare to print the same image on the HP Designjet T7100.
In your software, set the color 
space of the image to emulate the HP Designjet 4500 and the
specific paper type that you used in that printe r. The data sent to the driver must be already
converted to this emulation color space, which is  a CMYK color space. See the online help for the
software program to find information about how to  do this. In this way, the T7100 will emulate the
colors that the 4500 can produce when printing on that paper type.
8. In the PostScript driver for the HP Designjet T7
100, go to the Color Management section and set
the CMYK input profile to the same HP Designje t 4500 color space that you selected in the
software (the emulation color space).
9. Print the image on the HP Designjet T7100.
Print with HP-GL/2 drivers
The situation describes printing with the 
HP-GL/2 driver installed for that printer.
1. Check that both printers have the 
most recent firmware version. See 
Update the printer firmware
on page 144.
2. Check that you have the most rece
nt printer drivers for both printers. You can download the latest
versions for any HP printer from 
http://www.hp.com/go/designjet .
3. Make sure that Color Calibration is turned on
. On the front panel of the HP Designjet T7100
printer series, select the 
 icon, then Image quality maintenance >  Enable color
calibration  > On .
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							4.Load the printers with 
the same type of paper.
5. Check that the Paper Type setting on the front panel corresponds to the 
paper you have loaded.
6. In the HP-GL/2 driver for the HP Designjet T7100, click the  Color tab, and select  Printer
Emulation  from the list of color management option s. Then select the HP Designjet 4500 from
the list of emulated printers.
7. In the HP-GL/2 driver for the HP Designjet 4500, click the  Options tab, and then select Manual
Color  > Color Control  > Match Screen . Also click the Paper Size tab, and then select
Paper Type .
Print the same HP-GL/2 file
The situation describes how to produce an HP-GL/2 file (also known as a PLT file) with the HP-GL/2
driver installed for one printer that you intend to send to another printer.
1.Check that both printers have the 
most recent firmware version. See 
Update the printer firmware
on page 144.
2. Make sure that Color Calibration is turned on. At
 the front panel of the HP Designjet T7100, select
the 
 icon, then  Image quality maintenance  > Enable color calibration  > On .
3. Load the printers with 
the same type of paper.
4. Check that the Paper Type setting on the front panel corresponds to the 
paper you have loaded.
5. If you have an HP-GL/2 file for an HP Designjet 45
00 and you want to print it on an HP Designjet
T7100, use the Embedded Web  Server or the front panel.
● Through the Embedded Web Server:  leave the color options set to Default.
● On the front panel: select the 
 icon, and then select  Setup > Printing preferences  >
Color options  > Emulate printer  > HP Designjet 4500 Series .
For other HP Designjet printers, se t both printers to match the screen colors (sRGB, if that is
available), as when printing  with separate HP-GL/2 drivers.
The output is completely blank
If the front-panel graphic language setting is Automatic (the default), try the other settings:
PostScript  for a PostScript file,  HP-GL/2 for an HP-GL/2 file, and so on. Then send the file again.
When you have finished this particular print,  remember to reset the graphic language to  Automatic.
The output contains only a partial print
●If you pressed 
Cancel before the printer received all the  data, you ended the data transmission
and will have to print the page again.
● The I/O timeout  setting might be too short. This setting  determines how long the printer waits for
the computer to send more data, before deciding  that the job is finished. On the front panel,
increase the  I/O timeout setting to a longer period and then  send the print again by selecting
the 
 icon, and then selecting  Connectivity > Advanced >  Select I/O timeout .
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							●A communications problem between your computer and the printer might exist. Check your USB or
network cable.
● Check that your software settings are correct for 
your current page size (for example, long-axis
prints).
● If you are using network software, ma
ke sure that it has not timed out.
The image is clipped
Clipping normally indicates a discrepancy between the actual printable area on the loaded paper and
the printable area as described by  your software. You can often iden tify this kind of problem before
printing by previewing your print. See 
Preview a print on page 85 .
● Check the actual printable area for 
the paper size that you have loaded.
printable area = paper size – margins
● Check what your software understa
nds to be the printable area (which it might cite as printing
area or imageable area). For example, some software programs assume standard printable
areas that are larger than those used in this printer.
● If you have defined a custom page size that has 
very narrow margins, the printer might impose its
own minimal margins and clip your image slightly.  You might want to use a larger paper size. See
Select margins options on page 83.
● If your image contains its own margins, you migh t be able to print it successfully by using the Clip
contents by margins  option. See 
Select margins options on page 83.
● If you are trying to print a very long image on 
a roll, make sure that your software can print an
image of that size.
● You might have asked to rotate 
the page to landscape orientation on a paper size that is not
sufficiently wide.
● If necessary, reduce the size of the image or docume
nt in your software, so that it fits between the
margins
Other explanations exist for a cl ipped images. Some programs, su ch as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe
Illustrator, and CorelDRAW, use an  internal 16-bit coordinate system which means that they cannot
handle an image of more than 32,768 pixels. If you try to print  a larger image, the bottom of the
image will be clipped. To print the  entire image, try these suggestions:
● If you are using an HP-GL/2 driver, you can re
duce the resolution so that the whole image
requires fewer than 32,768 pixels. The Wi ndows driver includes an option called 16-bit App.
Compatibility , which reduces the resolution automatically. The option is on the  Advanced tab,
under  Document Options  > Printer Features .
● Save the file in another format, such as TI
FF or EPS, and open it in another program.
● Use a RIP to print the file.
The image is in one portion of the printing area
●
In the software, have you selected a page size that is too small?
● Does your software read the image as
 being in one portion of the page?
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							The image is unexpectedly rotated
On the front panel, select the  icon, and then select Setup > Printing preferences  > Paper
options  > Rotate . Check that the setting is what you wanted.
For non-PostScript files: if  Nesting is On , pages are sometimes automati cally rotated to save paper.
See 
Nest jobs to save paper on page 89 .
The print is a mirror image of the original
On the front panel, select the  icon, and then select  Setup > Printing preferences  > Paper
options  > Enable mirror image . Check that the setting is what you wanted.
The print is distorted or unintelligible
●The interface cable that is connecting your printe
r to your network (or to your computer) might be
faulty. Try another cable.
● On the front panel, select the 
 icon, and then select  Setup > Printing preferences  >
Select graphics languag . If the language setting is Automatic (the default), try the other
settings:  PostScript  for a PostScript file,  HP-GL/2 for an HP-GL/2 file, on so on. Then send the
file again.
● Depending on the software, drivers,
 and RIPs that you are using with your printer, different ways
to solve this problem exist.  Refer to the vendors user documentation for details.
One image overlays another on the same print
The I/O timeout setting might be too long. On the front panel, decrease the setting and print again.
Select the 
 icon, and then select  Connectivity > Advanced >  Select I/O timeout .
Pen settings seem to have no effect
●
You have changed the settings on  the front panel by selecting the  icon followed by Setup >
Printing preferences  > HP-GL/2 > Define palette , but did not select that palette in  Setup
>  Printing preferences  > HP-GL/2 > Select palette .
● To enable the software-driven pen settings,  go to the front panel and select the 
 icon followed
by  Setup  > Printing preferences  > HP-GL/2 > Select palette  > Software .
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							The image has a wood-grain appearance
(aeroworms)
Aeroworms are wavy, horizontal bands produced by air-induced dot placement error (DPE). In extreme
cases, aeroworms give the image a wood-grain app earance. The problem occurs most commonly on
print jobs that are set for low-quality and high-speed . It does not occur when the custom print-quality
setting is se t to “best.”
To eliminate aeroworms, select a higher IQ print setting. See 
Select print quality on page 79 .
ENWW The image has a wood-grain
 appearance (aeroworms)
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							16 Troubleshoot paper issues
The paper has jammed
If a paper jam occurs, follow the instructions on the front panel.
These are the steps to follow:
1.Open the window.
2. The printer may ask whether you see jammed paper. If
 you reply no, the printer will offer to run a
diagnostic to check whether there is a problem with the carriage.
3. Move the carriage aside and remove jammed paper from the platen.
4. Go to the rear of the prin
ter and open the rear door.
5. Cut the paper with a sharp knife along the line in
dicated, and remove all the paper that you can
find.
6. Close the rear door.
7. If printer still detects paper present, it will ask yo
u to try again. If it still detects paper after the
retry, it will offer to run a diagnostic to chec k whether there is a problem with the paper sensor.
8. Restart the printer.
9. Reload the paper.
If you are using self-adhesive paper and performing  frequent roll switches, you may start to see paper
jams in the paper input path. This problem can be ca used by adhesive deposited from the edge of the
paper onto the conical surface of the paper sensor. To solve this particular problem, use a soft cotton
cloth to clean all the adhesi ve from the paper sensor.
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