HP Designjet T7100 User Manual

							8.Using the blue handle, gently disengage the printhead.
9.
Gently pull the blue handle upward until th
e printhead is released from the carriage.
CAUTION:Do not pull abruptly. That action can damage the printhead.
10.The front-panel display identifies the missing printhead.
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							Insert a printhead
1.Remove the orange protective 
caps by pulling them down.
2.The printhead is designed to prevent you from acci
dentally inserting it into the wrong slot. Check
that the colored label on the printhead matches th e colored label of the carriage slot into which
the printhead is to be inserted.
3. Insert the new printhead into its correct slot in the carriage.
CAUTION:
Insert the printhead slowly and vertically, straight down. It can be damaged if you
insert it too quickly, or at an angle,  or if you rotate it as you insert it.
4.Push down as indicated by the arrow.
CAUTION:
You might feel some resistance when installing the new printhead, so you need to
press it down firmly but smoothly. You should hear  a beep and see confirmation on the front-panel
display that the printhead has been in serted. If you have difficulty, see 
Cannot insert a printhead
on page 165.
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							5.Insert all of the other printheads that need 
to be installed, and close the carriage cover.
6.Make sure that the end of the blue handle catche
s the wire loop on the near side of the carriage.
7.Lower the handle to rest on the carriage cover.
When all of the printheads have been inserted 
correctly and the printer has accepted them, the
printer beeps.
NOTE: If the printer does not beep when  you insert the printhead and the  Replace message
appears on the front-panel display, you  might need to reinsert the printhead.
8.Close the printer window.
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							9.The front-panel display confirms that all of the 
printheads are correctly inserted, and the printer
starts checking and preparing the printheads. The  default routine process, when all printheads are
changed, takes about 18 minutes. If the prin ter identifies a problem when preparing the
printheads, the process takes longer , up to 30 minutes. For a single printhead insertion, the time
varies between 10  and 20 minutes.
10. After all printheads are checked and prepared, the printhead realignment procedure runs
automatically if paper is loaded. See 
Align the printheads on page 59
.
11. Depending on the paper type, the paper advance 
calibration procedure may run automatically if
paper is loaded. See 
Perform paper advance calibration on page 35 .
Clean (recover) the printheads
Periodic printhead cleaning is pe rformed automatically, as long as the printer is kept turned on.
However, you should clean the pr intheads if you are experiencing poor image quality and cannot
resolve the issues by other methods. This ensures  that there is fresh ink in the nozzles and helps to
prevents nozzle clogs.
If you have printed the printhead  status plot, you know which colors  are failing. Clean the pair of
printheads that are not performing  adequately. If you are not sure which printheads to clean, clean all
of the printheads.
To clean the printheads, go to the printers front  panel and select the Image Quality Maintenance menu
icon 
, select  Clean printheads , and then select which printhe ads you want to clean. You can
clean all of the printheads or only some of them.
Cleaning all printheads takes about 5 minutes. Cl eaning any two printheads takes about 3 minutes.
NOTE:Cleaning all printheads  uses more ink than cleaning a single pair.
NOTE:HP recommends that you purge the ink from the pr intheads before printing a job if the printer
has been turned off for more than  six weeks or if you are experiencing inconsistent colors from print to
print after long storage periods. Purging the ink fr om the printheads helps to ensure maximum color
consistency; it is not  a remedy for poor printhead health.
Clean the electrical conn ections on a printhead
It is possible that the printer will not recognize a printhead after it has been installed. This can happen
when ink builds up on the electrical connections  between the printhead and the printhead carriage.
Under these circumstances, HP recommends that you  clean the electrical connections on the printhead.
However, routine cleaning of  the connections when no problems are apparent is not recommended.
Use an absorbent lint-free cloth, slightly dampened  with isopropyl alcohol, to clean the electrical
interconnects on both the printhead  carriage and the printhead if the Reseat or Replace  message
persists next to the printhea d on the front-panel display.
1. Open the printhead carriage latch and extract th
e printhead that is causing the problem, as
indicated on the front panel. See 
Remove a printhead on page 51 .
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							2.Cover your finger with the cloth and insert
 it into the printhead slot at the back.
CAUTION:If the carriage remains in the central part  of the printer for more than 7 minutes, it
attempts to return to its  home position to the right.
3.Rub the cloth against the electrical contacts with a 
light force along the entire depth of the flex
connector. Try to avoid picking  up any ink deposit that may have accumulated on the bottom
surface of the slot.
4. Take special care to clean all contacts thoroughly
, including the ones at the lowest point of the
connector.
5. Using the same cloth, clean the strip of electrical
 contacts on the printhead (unless the printhead is
new). Avoid touching the printhead nozzles.
CAUTION: Do not touch the surface of the printhead  that contains the nozzles, because the
nozzles are easily damaged.
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							6.After waiting a few moments to 
allow both connectors to dry, replace the printhead into the
printhead carriage. See 
Insert a printhead on page 54.
7. Wash or dispose of the cloth. Take care to prevent the transfer of ink onto hands and clothing.
If the front panel continues to show the Reseat  or Replace  message, replace the printhead or contact
your HP customer service representative.
Clean the printhead drop detector
The printhead drop detector is a se nsor that detects which nozzles on the printheads are not printing,
so that other nozzles can substitute  for them. If particles block the sensor (such as fibers, hair or small
pieces of paper), print quality is affected.
When the front panel displays a warning message that the drop detector needs cleaning, you are
recommended to clean it. If you do  not clean it immediately, the printer continues working normally, but
the front panel display cont inues to show the warning.
CAUTION:Wear gloves to avoid getting ink on your hands.
1.
On the printers front panel, select the  icon, then select  Replace printheads .
2. Turn off the printer at the front panel.
3. To avoid an electric shock, swit
ch the printer off and unplug it.
4. Open the printer window.
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							5.Find the printhead drop detector to 
the right of the printhead carriage.
6.Remove any debris blocking 
the printhead drop detector.
7. With a dry, lint-free cloth, wipe the surface of th
e drop detector to remove any non-visible debris.
8.Close the printer window.
9.Plug in and switch on the printer.
10. 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 ha s an automatic printhead alignment process which
runs whenever a printhead has been accessed or replaced.
If the paper has jammed or you are  experiencing problems with color accuracy, 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-trans parent paper to align the printheads.
Reinsert printheads procedure
1.If the realignment process is running an
d 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 Handle the paper on page 26
. It should be at least 420 mm
(16.54 in) wide.
CAUTION: Do not use transparent or semi-transpa rent paper to align the printheads.
3.Remove and re-insert a
ll the printheads, see Remove a printhead on page 51 and Insert a
printhead on page 54. This starts the printhead alignment procedure.
4. Ensure the window is closed, as a strong li
ght source near the printer during printhead
realignment can affect alignment.
5. The process takes about six minute
s. 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 Maintena nce menu procedure
1.Load the paper you wish to use, see Handle the paper on page 26
. It should be at least 420 mm
(16.54 in) wide.
CAUTION: Do not use transparent or semi-transpa rent paper to align the printheads.
2.
From the front panel, select the Im age Quality Maintenance menu icon , then Align
printheads. The printer checks to see if it has enough paper to run the realignment.
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 mi
nutes. 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 complete d successfully. Therefore the printer is not aligned and the alignment
should be repeated before printing with good  image quality. Possible reasons for failure:
● The paper used was not acceptable; repeat 
the alignment with a different paper type.
● The printheads are not clean; see 
Clean (recover) the printheads on page 56
.
● The window was open; repeat the alignment with the window closed.
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							If the problem persists after correcting these potent ial problems, there may be a failure in the scanning
system requiring repair, or the prin theads may need to be replaced.
The Image Diagnostics Print
The Image Diagnostics Print consists of patterns desi gned to highlight printhead reliability problems. It
helps you to check the performance of the printheads  that are currently installed in your printer, and
whether any printhead suffers from clogging or other problems.
To print the Image Diagnostics Print:
1. Use the same paper type that you were
 using when you detected a problem.
2. Use the 
View information  key 
 on the front panel to check that the selected paper type is the
same as the paper type loaded into the printer.
3. At the printers front panel, select th e Image Quality Maintenance menu icon 
, then Print
diagnostic image .
It takes about two mi nutes to print the Image Diagnostics Print.
The print is divided into two parts, bo th of which test printhead performance.
● Part 1 (top) consists of rectangles
 of pure colors, one for each printhead. This part represents the
print quality that you will get from each color.
● Part 2 (bottom) consists of small dashes, one 
for each nozzle on each printhead. This part
complements the first, and aims  more specifically to detect how many faulty nozzles each
printhead has.
Please look carefully at the print.  The names of the colors are shown above the rectangles and in the
center of the patterns of dashes.
First look at the upper part of the print (part 1) . Each colored rectangle should be a uniform color
without any horizontal  lines across it.
Then look at the bottom part of the print (part 2). Fo r each individual colored pattern, check that most of
the dashes are present.
If you see horizontal lines in part  1 and also missing dashes in part 2 for the same color, the printhead
responsible needs cleaning. However, if the rectangles look solid, do not worry about just a few
missing dashes in part 2; these are acceptable because the printer can compensate for a few clogged
nozzles.
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							Here is an example of a gray printhead in a good state:
And here is an example of the same printhead in a bad state:
Corrective action
1.Clean any faulty printheads (see Clean (recover) the printheads on page 56
). Then reprint the
Image Diagnostics Print to see whet her the problem has been solved.
2. If the problem remains, clean the printheads agai
n, and reprint the Image Diagnostics Print to see
whether the problem has been solved.
3. If the problem remains, consider cleaning your printheads manually (see 
Clean (recover) the
printheads on page 56
). You could also try reprinting your  current print job, in case it now prints
satisfactorily.
4. If the problem remains, try cleaning the printhead drop detector. The printe
r normally notifies you
when this is necess ary, but it may be worth trying even  if the printer has not suggested it. See
Clean the printhead drop detector on page 58.
5. If the problem still remain
s, replace any persistently  faulty printheads (see 
Handle the ink system
on page 44), or contact HP Support (see HP Customer Care on page 180 ).
Remove the maintenance cartridge
A message appears on the front panel when you must  change the maintenance cartridge. Follow these
precautions when removing  a maintenance cartridge:
● Be careful not to get ink on your hands. In
k might be on, around, and inside the replaced
maintenance cartridge.
● Always handle and store the replaced maintenanc
e cartridge upright to avoid spilling any ink.
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