z3100 - Slow Printing

[A. Andrew Gonzalez]

Greetings,
Does anyone know what might be causing this?
About halfway through a large (30x40inch) print, the carriage will stop and clean? for a moment then makes one or two passes before stopping again.... then towards the end of the print it speeds up again. Printing takes a very long time. I've had this printer since May of last year.
Printing highest settings on matte canvas. Using a Mac Dual G5 2gb of Ram

Wondering if anyone else is experiencing this issue

Time to pull the heads for cleaning?

Andrew

[walter.sk]

I don't have an answer, but I wonder why you are using the highest settings with  textured matte medium?

Greetings,
Does anyone know what might be causing this?
About halfway through a large (30x40inch) print, the carriage will stop and clean? for a moment then makes one or two passes before stopping again.... then towards the end of the print it speeds up again. Printing takes a very long time. I've had this printer since May of last year.
Printing highest settings on matte canvas. Using a Mac Dual G5 2gb of Ram

Wondering if anyone else is experiencing this issue

Time to pull the heads for cleaning?

Andrew
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[Geoff Wittig]

I also had this experience recently, after six months of relatively trouble-free operation. The print head carriage would stop, then wiggle back & forth a few times, then stop, and finally printing would resume. The whole thing substantially lengthened print times. I finally noticed a few bands across the width of the print where the gloss enhancer was not applied, visible in glancing light. Doing a head-cleaning cycle on the grey/gloss enhancer print head helped slightly. The printer utility indicated all was well. I finally replaced the grey/gloss enhancer print head, and now all is well. The banding is gone, and the speed is back to normal.

I suspect (but certainly can't prove) that HP's mapping/substitution algorithm for failed print head nozzles gradually slows down printing, and eventually impinges on quality as the output of failed nozzles can't be covered by substitutes. It would be nice if the printer reported how many of the 1,056 nozzles per print head have failed, so you could make a rational decision on when to replace the relatively cheap (~$50) head rather than waiting for print times to stretch into hours.

[neil snape]

I also had this experience recently, after six months of relatively trouble-free operation. The print head carriage would stop, then wiggle back & forth a few times, then stop, and finally printing would resume. The whole thing substantially lengthened print times. I finally noticed a few bands across the width of the print where the gloss enhancer was not applied, visible in glancing light. Doing a head-cleaning cycle on the grey/gloss enhancer print head helped slightly. The printer utility indicated all was well. I finally replaced the grey/gloss enhancer print head, and now all is well. The banding is gone, and the speed is back to normal.

I suspect (but certainly can't prove) that HP's mapping/substitution algorithm for failed print head nozzles gradually slows down printing, and eventually impinges on quality as the output of failed nozzles can't be covered by substitutes. It would be nice if the printer reported how many of the 1,056 nozzles per print head have failed, so you could make a rational decision on when to replace the relatively cheap (~$50) head rather than waiting for print times to stretch into hours.
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This is quite correct. It can also be the Optical drop detector becoming dirty. Also watch the GE head for remapped nozzles as it too can slow down the printer as frequent checks can be required.

[Colorwave]

Also watch the GE head for remapped nozzles as it too can slow down the printer as frequent checks can be required.
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Hey Neil-
Can you elaborate a bit on how one might watch for remapped nozzles?  I too had printhead issues and HP wound up sending me a complete replacement set.  How can one evaluate a printhead's health beyond an overall pass/fail or extremely slow printing?
-Ron H.

[A. Andrew Gonzalez]

This is quite correct. It can also be the Optical drop detector becoming dirty. Also watch the GE head for remapped nozzles as it too can slow down the printer as frequent checks can be required.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=166263\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

In my case, I only print on matte media so I don't use GE,... But the GE head was for the first to fail...just replaced it a couple of months ago.
Where and how do you clean the Optical drop detector?
Thanks

[neil snape]

Hey Neil-
Can you elaborate a bit on how one might watch for remapped nozzles?  I too had printhead issues and HP wound up sending me a complete replacement set.  How can one evaluate a printhead's health beyond an overall pass/fail or extremely slow printing?
-Ron H.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=166273\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

There is a way to look into the printer's log to see how many nozzles are remapped. I can't remember how or what command exactly does this. Perhaps it was listed here somewhere, or if you call tech support they will know.

[neil snape]

In my case, I only print on matte media so I don't use GE,... But the GE head was for the first to fail...just replaced it a couple of months ago.
Where and how do you clean the Optical drop detector?
Thanks
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=166274\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

In the instruction or users guide there is a poorly documented procedure for cleaning the optical drop detector pane. You will often find hair and other lint from matte media stuck to the gummy ink residue.
Also , be aware that you need to watch out for ink build up inside the ink cartridge bays, as they can sometimes reduce electrical contact efficiency.

[A. Andrew Gonzalez]

In the instruction or users guide there is a poorly documented procedure for cleaning the optical drop detector pane. You will often find hair and other lint from matte media stuck to the gummy ink residue.
Also , be aware that you need to watch out for ink build up inside the ink cartridge bays, as they can sometimes reduce electrical contact efficiency.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=166276\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thanks, I'll look into the users guide.
Yes, definitely have quite a bit of build up in side the cartridge bay. Major cleaning about a month ago. The matte black area in the cartridge always has the most build up of ink.