HP B9180

[WilliamSC]

I am onto my fourth B9180 (it arrvies next week 2/21) because what starts to be a beautiful print is ruined when, with about 2" left to print, I hear the printhead striking (scratching) the surface of the paper. I can actually hear the scraping sound! It started with the Harmon Gloss FB AI, which produces wonderful results that become ruined and now the old standby of the HP Advanced Photo Paper-Glossy is doing it as well. HP sent new print heads yesterday which did not do the trick. (All paper stock is stored correctly.) The paper is fed through the specialty media tray.

The serious scratches occur about 1/4" apart and run 4-5" of the width of the paper (8.5 x 11) and oddly enough run lengthwise on A3+. I'm very frustrated by the whole affair. Matte papers are fine but life is not just matte paper. Is the baryta paper swelling? And I'll never get to experience any of them? But now the HP paper is showing printhead scuffing as well, even during the closed loop calibration.

HP's support really sucked with the first two printers but has stepped up to the plate somewhat. (They had my less than glowing review removed from Amazon for the first printer being DOA and the horrific tech support that went with it). My only gripe now, besides the desire to have a printer that doesn't have its printheads strike the paper surface and ruin every print, is they fail to provide the promised follow-up phone call to ensure the problem has been satisfactorily resolved.

On the advice of many in the LL forums, I spent the additional $$ for the extended warranty and am happy I did but jeez, my HP printer purchase experience only started at the end of June 07 and is less than a year old.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[horqua]

I am having very similar scratching issues. So far, they have been occurring on the first and last two inches of a piece of 11x17" paper. Deep gouges that penetrate the emulsion and leave yellow and white scars on the page. After working for a couple hours last night and ruing three sheets of paper, I stopped everything so I could do some research on the causes of the problem. Does anyone know the cause and have they found any solutions?
Thanks

[WilliamSC]

I am having very similar scratching issues. So far, they have been occurring on the first and last two inches of a piece of 11x17" paper. Deep gouges that penetrate the emulsion and leave yellow and white scars on the page. After working for a couple hours last night and ruing three sheets of paper, I stopped everything so I could do some research on the causes of the problem. Does anyone know the cause and have they found any solutions?
Thanks
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If the printer is under warranty, request a new one. If it is within the 1 year purchase date, buy the extended 3 year warranty. (The three years will start tolling from the actual purchase date of the printer-not the date of the extended warranty purchase.) Somehow, the printer is failing to read the thickness of the paper (I think?). My fourth printer is working fine (for now) with the Harmon gloss but I suspect in a few months the printer will go back to tearing not only the Harmon gloss but the HP gloss as it did on printer number one, two and three.

Without sounding overly critical of HP, their QC and rushing printers to market without appropriate field testing is shameful. On numerous forums, owners of this product are onto their third and fourth printer like myself. There is an inherent defect with the printer reading the thickness of the paper. HP must be under the impression that the printer is disposable when a user becomes frustrated. Perhaps their engineers will give the defect closer attention. (Maybe.)

[rg23]

I am having very similar scratching issues. So far, they have been occurring on the first and last two inches of a piece of 11x17" paper. Deep gouges that penetrate the emulsion and leave yellow and white scars on the page. After working for a couple hours last night and ruing three sheets of paper, I stopped everything so I could do some research on the causes of the problem. Does anyone know the cause and have they found any solutions?
Thanks
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=179315\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

horqua:

    The design of the printer internals is such that the gap between the input and output roller centers (i.e. the trough through which the printhead travels) is 2 inches, so the first 2 inches and last 2 inches of the paper passing under the printhead aren't actually held flat by the feed mechanism.  If the first or last 2 inches of paper wants to curl as it passes under the printhead, there's nothing to prevent it from doing so besides contact with the printhead itself. Head strikes and scratching show up most often on my B9180 in the first and last 2 inches.


Some things to try:

When printing on non-RC stock, make certain that the first and last 2 inches of each sheet are as flat as possible.  May require a bit of bending against a handy table top.

Feed sheets through the specialty media tray so they remain flat at all times.

Don't let the paper "hang" from the rear slot of the printer as it feeds -- try and keep it flat so it enters the back of the printer without any bend.  The cardboard box the paper came in makes a handy support.

Try a different paper setting in the driver.  The "HP Photo, Matte" setting seems to be a safe starting point for matte papers.

Avoid printing on the first and last two inches of paper.  Wasteful, but something to try.

If none of the above suffices, follow WilliamSC's advice and request a new printer if warranty permits.


Some observations:

    Head strikes and scratching don't seem to be a problem with RC papers on my B9180, but a number of matte-textured non-RC papers are problematic.

    Some non-RC papers react fairly violently to the ink hitting them, and warp into all sorts of complex other-than-flat cross-sections as they pass through the printer.  They flatten out again within several minutes of printing, but some of them suffer scrapes despite all the aforementioned tricks.

    B9180's seem to have a certain amount of unit-to-unit variance with respect to their tolerance for different papers types, so your mileage will vary.


    -- Rob

[Will Balwanz]

This thread has been most helpful.  In particular that 2" are unsupported at the end of a print.  Using HP's premium glossy with my B9180, I was unable to achieve closed-loop color calibration due to scratches.  After reading this thread, I discovered the problem to be the photo paper's stiffness and weight.  As the paper leaves the back support, the cantilevering lifts the paper into the printhead.  Supporting the outfeed solves this problem.
A homemade support works well since this slow-drying paper must be removed for drying after printing each image.

[neil snape]

This thread has been most helpful.  In particular that 2" are unsupported at the end of a print.  Using HP's premium glossy with my B9180, I was unable to achieve closed-loop color calibration due to scratches.  After reading this thread, I discovered the problem to be the photo paper's stiffness and weight.  As the paper leaves the back support, the cantilevering lifts the paper into the printhead.  Supporting the outfeed solves this problem.
A homemade support works well since this slow-drying paper must be removed for drying after printing each image.

Hang on here. PRemium Glossy? If it is any of the HP Premium series, they cannot and should not be used with pigment inks. Ilford Classic neither.

All HP have to have a supported paper tray, it should be level and fully seated into the slot. This was more of a problem with the DJ 30-130 but still exists with the 9180.

[Steven Draper]

I have had a similar issue with the HP matt fine art paper 'sticking' in the last inch or two. On a number of prints they were unusable, some just required a gentle pull to release. However I noticed that I was sometimes unable to feed paper into the media tray.

My printer now sits on the floor and so far I have not had a stick or print head strike.

Generally the B9180 produces excellent results and I suppose the trade off for the price point is technical issues / support rather than image quality.

[Will Balwanz]

Having experienced feed problems in other printers when using glossy photo paper, I reflexively use a slick surface on my raised outfeed.  I chose Lexan for a permenant surface, though Teflon is preferred.  I just don't know where to get Teflon.