Living with my Z3100 seems to be a constant challenge. The most recent came after printing 4 pairs of 11x17's on a 24" roll of HP Premium ID Satin paper. There had been a few vaguely discernible marks on the calibration and profile targets, but the prints came out fine. However, the last pair of 11x17's had a sprinkling of what appeared to be cyan dots in random places on the prints.
I removed and cleaned the two heads for cyan and blue ink, and the printer automatically realigned the heads. The target seemed perfect. I reprinted the last pair of 11x17's and there were no more spots. Whew!
Then I noticed a three inch scratch about 7 inches up from the leading edge of the paper and 2 5/8 inches from the right edge as the paper comes out of the printer. Thinking that perhaps I had left some dried ink or other debris on one of the heads I removed and re-cleaned the two heads and re-ran the print job. The scratch came out in exactly the same place. Examining the scratch with a magnifier I found that while appearing relatively straight (perpendicular to the leading edge of the roll) it was actually made up of 1/16" segments, varying by a degree or so from perpendicular, and not all parallel to each other. There are no other marks on either of the 24"x17" pieces of the paper.
Could I have, in my cleaning of the area in which the heads fit, have damaged something? Should I recalibrate the paper and try another print? Could it just be a coincidence and not related to my cleaning?
Or, could it be the result of a paper flaw, or an out-of-round cardboard tube, or unevenly wound paper?
All I want to do is go back to my printing...
