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Author Topic: Problem with HP B9180 installation  (Read 13683 times)

Henrik Paul

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Problem with HP B9180 installation
« on: December 21, 2006, 02:35:28 pm »

So, I'm a happy owner of a brand new HP B9180. I was merrily going my way on the path of installation, when all of a sudden, during the installation phase, the printer claims the magenta ink is depleted.

I am between the steps where I just inserted the print heads and was supposed to load the calibration sheets in the tray. But the "i" button is blinking and the display urges me to replace the magenta cartidge, as it is already empty.

Has anyone encountered this? Do I already have to buy a new cartidge, before printing even the first sheet?

Help?!

PS: I tried to take the cartidge out, shake it a bit and replace it, to no avail. I think i can feel some weight sloshing back and forth, though.

PPS: I took out both the yellow and magenta cartidges (they were paired, thought there was something wrong with them), gave them both a shake, replaced them, no help. Powered off, took the power cord out, in again, no help. Now, out of nowhere it has been doing a head maintenance for a few minutes, while making some hellish and, by normal senses, unhealthy sounds (clicks, whirrs and buzzes - a few *bloings* aswell). Just as an update...

PPPS: Hm. Now it's acting like nothing wrong happened, asking nicely for some paper to churn on, and I thought a few minutes ago that my 600 Euro investment had just chewed up its own internals. I think I'm going to have a long talk with it. Still scared witless.

Looked like a false alarm from a non-existing problem. Sorry, and let this be a notice for future owners.
« Last Edit: December 21, 2006, 03:04:26 pm by Henrik Paul »
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Tim Ernst

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Problem with HP B9180 installation
« Reply #1 on: December 21, 2006, 03:53:20 pm »

My 9180 showed three ink carts to be empty all at once, but all I did was take them out and shake and replace and they have been printing just fine for a couple of months now. It is a high-strung critter that will send out silly messages like this from time to time - best to test first before replacing.
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Henrik Paul

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Problem with HP B9180 installation
« Reply #2 on: December 21, 2006, 04:48:17 pm »

Yes, it seemed like some kind of a hitch. The unit works perfectly now, and I've already done several succesful testing prints.

The shaking didn't work for me the first time around, but it's good to know in the future, and hopefully a future owner is now informed of this kind of possibility.

Even if I got quite scared there for a moment, this printer seems like a great investment.
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Henrik Paul

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Problem with HP B9180 installation
« Reply #3 on: December 22, 2006, 11:42:23 am »

Argh! now it's doing it again! First it complained about both magenta and yellow, but when I replaced both of them, it still goes on about magenta.

I wonder if I have to return this, at least for repairs. *sigh* No christmas printing for me, seems like it.
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Henrik Paul

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Problem with HP B9180 installation
« Reply #4 on: December 22, 2006, 10:20:40 pm »

In case someone is interested on the follow-ups, I contacted HP's live support and after a brief-ish Q&A, the supportperson thought the problem lies in the cartidge itself and recommending contacting my local support.

Having already sent a support request, I guess I'm forced to wait until wednesday at the very least (*sigh*) due to the christmas days.

The plot thickens
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eoghanoneill

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« Reply #5 on: December 23, 2006, 12:23:03 am »

I had the same issue but after a good shake and firmly re seating them all was well, I would give it another try
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bob mccarthy

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« Reply #6 on: December 23, 2006, 02:58:49 am »

Did you clean the copper contacts before insertion? On the 130 designjet. it requires a cotton swab and distilled water be used on contacts. I had the same issue until cleaning. Check instructions.

Bob
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Henrik Paul

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Problem with HP B9180 installation
« Reply #7 on: December 23, 2006, 08:11:20 am »

Quote
Did you clean the copper contacts before insertion? On the 130 designjet. it requires a cotton swab and distilled water be used on contacts. I had the same issue until cleaning. Check instructions.

Bob
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=92029\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I tried that, but to no avail. I could give it a go again, just to be sure. I might even try with some Eclipse, but I'm not really sure whether the materials withstand alcohol, or if I dissolve something by mistake...
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Henrik Paul

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Problem with HP B9180 installation
« Reply #8 on: December 27, 2006, 01:50:21 pm »

Follow-up

Today I got a reply from HP Finland to my support request (which is actually on the first working day after I sent the request, so it was quick). I was asked of the best-before date on the ink cassette and a postal address, so they could send me a new cartridge.

I'm quite pleased of this support I've experienced, although I'm puzzled a bit over the lack of phone support for the B9180. The only phone numbers I found mentioned a number for support on Photosmart printers, excepting a few, including the 9000 -series. Perhaps this printer truly is a marginal product on the Finnish market.

The mail also mentioned something about a week's expected delivery. Naturally, this is something that can't really be helped due to the many factors included in the shipping, but it's a sad fact that until I receive the new cartridge, I haven't had a chance to print in two weeks, after the first few sheets I had the chance to print before the "terminal malfunction". It could also be more, if the fault isn't in the cartridge at all.

Call me impatient and unfair, but I'd really like some bang for the 600 bucks (euros, actually) I paid for this printer, statistical anomaly or not.

Another thing that I previously hadn't mentoined was on the last print before the cartridge went kaput. The last inch it printed, the print had shifted about centimeter to one side. It's hard to explain, but perhaps the attached image shows what I mean (sorry for the noisy image). Maybe the paper shifted, but I hadn't touched it, so I wonder if this is a possible problem in the future too. It'd be unfortunate if an A3 print gets shifted in mid-print...

[attachment=1437:attachment]

Also, to my horror, in the same print, I noticed some pizzacutter marks. This seems to be a problem not uncommon to this printer. I really hope it's a one-off problem.

Unfortunately, I forgot to mention these things on the support request about the magenta cartridge. Well, I'll do another request if they repeat - once I get the new cartridge, that is.
« Last Edit: December 27, 2006, 01:50:36 pm by Henrik Paul »
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pompeli

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« Reply #9 on: December 28, 2006, 02:49:09 am »

Hello Henrik -

Regarding pizzawheel marks, I don't own a B9180 (yet) but I found this tip from a dpreview.net forum, might help...

****

On a tip from Vic Lopides (another Forumite), I used the B9180's front panel to perform a "Closed Loop Calibration" and the pizza wheel marks are gone.

Thought this deserved it's own thread since the tip was buried a few pages down in another.
Here's how . . . (Vic is talking to Shereen at HP Support)

Shereen: --Color calibrate the printer using closed loop calibration.
>>Load HP Advanced Glossy Photo Paper in the main tray

Shereen: Note:Only HP Advanced Glossy Photo Paper should be used for this process. If plain paper is detected by the printer, the calibration procedure will fail
Shereen: >>Press Menu on the printer control panel.
>>Select Calibrate Printer, and then press OK.
>>Select Closed Loop Calibration, and then press OK.
Vic Lopides: Done.

Thanks Vic! This worked for me.
--
Cheers,
Joe

****
original message at http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp...essage=20443736
****

-vesa-
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Henrik Paul

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Problem with HP B9180 installation
« Reply #10 on: January 03, 2007, 05:16:19 am »

After a week's wait, I got my replacement Magenta cartridge. Still, after installing it according to instructions, the machine taunts me with its false accusations, "Magenta depleted". I'm mailing back the support.

*sigh* It's now been nearly over two weeks since I could print my four sheets of paper.
« Last Edit: January 03, 2007, 05:16:59 am by Henrik Paul »
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Ronny Nilsen

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Problem with HP B9180 installation
« Reply #11 on: January 03, 2007, 06:05:46 am »

And now my printer have developed a problem as well well. It will feed the paper but just spit it out witout printing anything, and just ask for more paper. This happens with paper from both the main tray and the manual feed. Anybody seen this before?
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Henrik Paul

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Problem with HP B9180 installation
« Reply #12 on: January 04, 2007, 07:30:18 am »

As a possible conclusion (no more spamming, rejoice), I took the affair back to my support guy at HP Finland.

He first asked a thing that convinced me that the B9180 really is a marginal product (probably falling in a void between the 17"-and-up and consumer niches): He asked me to print a test sheet and then scan/photo it and email it back to him. He apparently didn't know (or his cheat-sheet didn't mention it) that the printer refuses to interact in any way if the printer is convinced that a cartridge is depleted.

Never mind that, though. Without hesitation, he promised to ship me a new B9180 (some removeable parts missing, so I would move them from the old to the new) and I ship the old one back. I reminded the guy also that the new unit needs to be calibrated, and I was also out of the glossy papers required for the calibration, so he added 50 sheets of paper and a new set of inks to the shipment.

Now, I want to say that this is the best customer service I have ever got. The weeks of waiting (a total of 2.5 weeks just waiting for the parts) is a drag, but that's hardly the support person's fault. The items are probably shipped from a central repository somewhere in Europe, so they are bound to take some time. So, I'm with mixed feelings. I'm happy that everything (probably) went alright, I got what I wanted without any hassle, but the waiting because of christmas, the new year and shipping, I've soon been a month without a printer.

Oh well. Over and out - hopefully permanently.
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DarkPenguin

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Problem with HP B9180 installation
« Reply #13 on: January 04, 2007, 10:51:01 am »

I had an odd issue.  After taking 3 or 4 really odd pot shots at fixing it HP is sending me a new one.  I wonder if they'll send replacement ink.  Cause it costs something like $80 to "prime" the system.  Curious what the "some removable parts missing" means.
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Henrik Paul

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Problem with HP B9180 installation
« Reply #14 on: January 04, 2007, 12:49:00 pm »

Quote
Curious what the "some removable parts missing" means.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=93642\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

The guy mentioned "ink, power cords, perhaps the paper tray, the front panel, etc". I just wonder what the front panel would be.
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Kenneth Sky

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« Reply #15 on: January 04, 2007, 12:59:55 pm »

Henrik
Your sad journey and others on this website have put me off buying this obviously great product with serious QA issues. I guess I'll have to wait for the Canon Pro 9500 and see if it's any better.
Ken
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DarkPenguin

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Problem with HP B9180 installation
« Reply #16 on: January 04, 2007, 01:27:50 pm »

Quote
The guy mentioned "ink, power cords, perhaps the paper tray, the front panel, etc". I just wonder what the front panel would be.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=93670\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

My ink cartridges were down almost 30% after initial setup.  If I get a printer without ink I'll have to buy a new set of ink cartridges just to do the setup.  There is no way I'm eating that expense just to find out if the new one has a problem.  I'd ebay the carcass first and get a 9500 or 3800.

(For the record I love the output of this printer and its ease of use.  I'll be greatly upset if I have additional issues.)
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Henrik Paul

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Problem with HP B9180 installation
« Reply #17 on: January 04, 2007, 02:17:30 pm »

Quote
My ink cartridges were down almost 30% after initial setup.  If I get a printer without ink I'll have to buy a new set of ink cartridges just to do the setup.  There is no way I'm eating that expense just to find out if the new one has a problem.  I'd ebay the carcass first and get a 9500 or 3800.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=93677\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Hence the request for a new set of inks, and the approval of them. Alas, I did check out the possibilities on Canon, but the Pro 9000 is ink, not pigment so that's a no-go and the 9500 isn't even out, yet alone reviewed, so I'm sticking to my B9180.

I still think the printer is great. Everything gets a Dead On Arrival occasionally. You can get only so much more reliable with QA without rocketing the price. If the replacement, however, is also a dud, then that's another situation.
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llama

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« Reply #18 on: January 05, 2007, 02:56:47 am »

Henrik,

Be sure to let us know the state of your replacement!

Thanks!
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Ronny Nilsen

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« Reply #19 on: January 05, 2007, 03:59:34 pm »

Quote
And now my printer have developed a problem as well well. It will feed the paper but just spit it out witout printing anything, and just ask for more paper. This happens with paper from both the main tray and the manual feed. Anybody seen this before?
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=93431\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I have now been in contact with HP support, and they are going to send me a new printer.

Just like Henrik Paul this is probably one of  the best customer services I have had, and I'm in Norway. So it really looks like HP stand by their product and is willing to fix any problems.

The problem with my printer seems to be that a sensor do not detect that paper is actually comming correctly into the printer.
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