HP DesignJet Z3100 24 User Manual

							2.To avoid an electric shock, switch the printer off and unplugged it.
3.Open the transparent window.
4.Find the printhead drop detector beside the stored printhead carriage.
5.Remove any debris blocking the printhead drop detector.
ENWW Clean the printhead drop detector 181Ink system issues
 
						

							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, you have used a custom paper, or are experiencing problems with
color accuracy, see 
Color management on page 61; you may need to align the printheads.
182 Chapter 14   Troubleshooting ink cartridge and printhead issues ENWW
Ink system issues
 
						

							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 
.
TIP:Photo paper is recommended for the best quality; plain, bond and thin coated papers
provide acceptable but marginal results.
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 (420 by 297 mm). Photo paper is recommended for the
best results.
NOTE:If you are using an A3 cut sheet, ensure it is loaded so the larger side feeds into the
printer.
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 122 and Insert a
printhead on page 125. This starts the printhead alignment procedure.
4.Ensure the transparent 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.
ENWWAlign the printheads 183
Ink system issues
 
						

							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). Photo paper is recommended for the
best results; plain, bond and thin coated papers provide acceptable but marginal results.
NOTE:If you are using an A3 cut sheet, ensure it is loaded so the larger side feeds into the
printer.
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.
3.If the loaded paper is satisfactory, the printer runs the realignment and prints a realignment pattern.
Ensure the transparent 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 179
●The alignment was done with the transparent 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
184 Chapter 14   Troubleshooting ink cartridge and printhead issues ENWW
Ink system issues
 
						

							the carriage lid 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 179. If that fails, replace the printhead with a new printhead, see Remove a printhead
on page 122 and Insert a printhead on page 125.
●Replace: the printhead is failing. Replace the printhead with a working printhead, see 
Remove a
printhead on page 122 and Insert a printhead on page 125.
●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.
ENWWPrinthead status messages 185
Ink system issues
 
						

							186 Chapter 14   Troubleshooting ink cartridge and printhead issues ENWW
Ink system issues
 
						

							15
Troubleshooting general printer
issues
●The printer does not print
●
The printer seems slow
●
The printer printed on undesirable paper
●
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
ENWW187
General printer issues
 
						

							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.
●Nesting may be on and the printer is waiting for the specified nest wait time before calculating the
appropriate nests. In this case, the front panel shows the remaining time needed for nesting.
●You may have the wrong graphic language setting, see 
Change the graphic language setting
on page 22.
●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 or accounting information, see 
Job status messages
on page 110.
●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.
●If you are using Mac OS with a USB connection, you may find that you need to change the data
encoding. Select the Setup menu icon 
, then Printing preferences > PS  > Select
encoding > ASCII. Then configure your application to send ASCII data.
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
as they require more passes.
●Did you specify the correct paper type when loading the paper? 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 39. Some paper types require more time for printing.
●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.
The printer printed on undesirable paper
If the printer prints your job before you were able to load your desired paper, you may have Any selected
for the Paper Type in the printer driver. When Any is selected the printer prints immediately on whichever
188 Chapter 15   Troubleshooting general printer issues ENWW
General printer issues
 
						

							paper is loaded. Load your desired paper, see Paper handling on page 25, and select your paper type
specifically in the driver.
●In the Windows driver dialog: select the Paper/Quality tab, then select your paper type in the
Paper Type drop-down list.
●In the Mac OS Print dialog (T1100): select the Paper Type/Quality panel, then select your
paper type in printer in the Paper Type drop-down list.
●In the Mac OS PS Print dialog (T1100ps): select the Image Quality panel, then select your
paper type in the Paper Type drop-down list.
NOTE:Any is the driver default.
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.)
To solve a communication problem:
●Ensure that you have selected the correct printer in your application, see 
Printing on page 45.
●Ensure that the printer works correctly when printing from other applications.
●Remember that very large prints may take some time to receive, process, and print.
●If the printer is connected to a network, try using it when connected directly to your computer through
a USB cable.
●If your printer is connected to your computer through any other intermediate devices, such as switch
boxes, buffer boxes, cable adapters, cable converters, etc., try using it when connected directly to
your computer.
●Try another interface cable.
●Ensure that the graphic language setting is correct, see 
Change the graphic language setting
on page 22.
●If the printer is connected with a USB, try to disconnect and reconnect the USB cable with the
computer.
ENWW Communication failures between computer and printer 189
General printer issues
 
						

							Cannot access HP Easy Printer Care (Windows) or HP
Printer Utility (Mac OS)
If you have not done so already, please read Access HP Easy Printer Care (Windows) or HP Printer Utility
(Mac OS) on page 19.
1.
Press the Menu key to return to the main menu and select the Connectivity menu icon 
.
2.Select Advanced > Web Services > Printer Utility Software > Enable.
3.If you have a TCP/IP connection to your printer, press the Menu key to return to the main menu and
select the Connectivity menu icon 
 again.
4.Select the type of connection you are using.
5.Select View Information.
If you still cannot connect, switch the printer off and back on with the Power key on the front panel.
Cannot access the Embedded Web Server
If you have not done so already, please read Access the Embedded Web Server on page 20.
NOTE:If you connect directly to your printer with a USB cable, use HP Easy Printer Care
(Windows) or HP Printer Utility (Mac OS).
1.
Press the Menu key to return to the main menu and select the Connectivity menu icon 
.
2.Select Advanced > Allow EWS > On.
3.If you have a TCP/IP connection to your printer, press the Menu key to return to the main menu and
select the Connectivity menu icon 
 again.
4.Select the type of connection you are using.
5.Select View Information.
6.Ensure that you see IP enabled. If not, you may need to use a different connection.
If you are using a proxy server, try bypassing the server and accessing the Web server directly.
●In Internet Explorer 6 for Windows, go to Tools > Internet Options > Connections > LAN
Settings, and check the Bypass proxy server for local addresses box. Alternatively, for
more precise control, click the Advanced button and add the printers IP address to the list of
exceptions, for which the proxy server is not used.
●In Safari for Mac OS, go to Safari > Preferences > Advanced and click the Proxies: Change
Settings button. Add the printers IP address or its domain name to the list of exceptions, for which
the proxy server is not used.
If you still cannot connect, switch the printer off and back on with the Power key on the front panel.
Automatic file system check
When you turn on the printer, you occasionally see a front panel display similar to the one shown below.
190 Chapter 15   Troubleshooting general printer issues ENWW
General printer issues