HPZ3100ps smeary gloppy ink blobs

[dandeliondigital]

Hi all,
Anyone have their HPZ3100 series start a print by smearing gloppy, seems to very very dark ink, could be black or is it?

This is the first time this happened in almost 2 years of operation.

Seem to recall there are pads or some such ink collecting thingeys that can cause a problem, but I can't find those threads.

Love to hear if you've had this and how you cleared it up.

Thanks in advance, and so long for now, TOM

[walter.sk]

Get some paper coffee filters, distilled water and some plastic or rubber gloves to protect you from stains.  Pull each print head and you will see ink on the underside and sides.  This can be very easily blotted off with damp coffee filters.  Be careful with the electrical contact area...blot, don't rub.  Then look in the well into which the head goes, and gently blot it with the filter.

Be especially careful not to break off the "handles" on each print head.  They are much too fragile.

If this doesn't work for you, you may have to have the ink collecting tank changed.

[dandeliondigital]

Hi walter.sk,
Your recommendation is very similar to what I remember reading on this forum what seems like long ago. Thanks for your kind posting of the details.

I will try this as soon as I can (probably Saturday). Thanks for the warnings. I tend to get too enthusiastic, and need to know I can damage these things.

When it comes to "have the ink collecting tank changed," can you tell me if that is user serviceable or do I have to call HP. Luckily I have an HP Care Pack for the machine.

Thanks, and so long for now, TOM

Get some paper coffee filters, distilled water and some plastic or rubber gloves to protect you from stains.  Pull each print head and you will see ink on the underside and sides.  This can be very easily blotted off with damp coffee filters.  Be careful with the electrical contact area...blot, don't rub.  Then look in the well into which the head goes, and gently blot it with the filter.

Be especially careful not to break off the "handles" on each print head.  They are much too fragile.

If this doesn't work for you, you may have to have the ink collecting tank changed.

[tived]

Hi,

I had a similar problem just recently, a sheet of paper had a bend corner which touched the ink carrier and smeared ink onto the paper. I have also cleaned the heads and replaced heads that were due. but it still happened, so I printed a 50% gradient over almost half a meter of paper on the cheapest roll I have (poster paper) and it eventually disappeared. Its a pain in the butt, but you just got to do it.

Good luck

Henrik

PS: I wish that there was a way to clean under the ink carrier?

[Ernst Dinkla]

Get some paper coffee filters, distilled water and some plastic or rubber gloves to protect you from stains.  Pull each print head and you will see ink on the underside and sides.  This can be very easily blotted off with damp coffee filters.  Be careful with the electrical contact area...blot, don't rub.  Then look in the well into which the head goes, and gently blot it with the filter.

Be especially careful not to break off the "handles" on each print head.  They are much too fragile.

If this doesn't work for you, you may have to have the ink collecting tank changed.

Clean the head parking station parts too, the tray the heads are above when parked for example. It isn't an easy job but otherwise the same stuff transfers itself again on a clean head carriage.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

Try: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/

[dandeliondigital]

Thanks Henrik and Ernst for all the tips!

Pardon the thread drift, but Ernst,

I got your post from yahoo forum with your Matte RC Papers question. I thought I'd answer it here because I am having a lot of difficulty accessing the yahoo forums. My picture and password have gone nuts.  

I just printed out a bunch of tests onto samples I got from SiHL - not 100% sure they are RC, but they have an extensive array of matte, semi-gloss and glossy RC-like papers, and they all acted quite well. I was looking for a very thin high gloss paper that would be something that would bend without the ink flakking off and I found a 7 mil variety in their samples that was to my liking. ^ mil would have been better but I cannot find any high gloss that thin.

Again, thanks, and so long for now, TOM

[Ernst Dinkla]

I just printed out a bunch of tests onto samples I got from SiHL - not 100% sure they are RC, but they have an extensive array of matte, semi-gloss and glossy RC-like papers, and they all acted quite well. I was looking for a very thin high gloss paper that would be something that would bend without the ink flakking off and I found a 7 mil variety in their samples that was to my liking. ^ mil would have been better but I cannot find any high gloss that thin.

Again, thanks, and so long for now, TOM

HP has an RC matte of 200 grams. I have ordered a roll to see what it does. Originally for the 5000 models (pigment version too) so two sizes 36"and 50 or so.



Met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

New: Dinkla Canvas Wrap Actions for Photoshop
http://www.pigment-print.com/dinklacanvaswraps/index.html

[Geoff Wittig]

Hi all,
Anyone have their HPZ3100 series start a print by smearing gloppy, seems to very very dark ink, could be black or is it?

This is the first time this happened in almost 2 years of operation.

Seem to recall there are pads or some such ink collecting thingeys that can cause a problem, but I can't find those threads.

Love to hear if you've had this and how you cleared it up.

Thanks in advance, and so long for now, TOM

I suggest using cotton swabs (Q-tips) and distilled water. Pull all the print heads out; use the Q-tips dipped in distilled water to clean accumulated ink off the edges and 'business end' of the printheads. You may want to clean off the contacts if they have ink on them. Before you reinstall the heads, also reach in and clean off the bottom edges of the printhead carrier assembly. Most of the ink accumulation is matte black ink, and it collects particularly toward the right hand side. I also mop up some of the obvious accumulated excess ink on the fabric "diaper" to the left hand side; if enough collects on it, this starts to transfer back onto the printheads when they reach the left side of their run.

I print a fair amount, though nowhere near as much as someone doing it commercially; I find I need to do this 'housecleaning' about every six months.

[Charles Gast]

I had just done a routine cleaning of the heads and then two prints later the HP z3100 destroyed a 63 inch long canvas print with splotches of ink crud.
The ink I missed was in the right cleaning station *underneath* the flat plastic cover you see.  To find and remove the junk ink I turned on the printer and using a flashlight to see throught the cover I watched what happens on the right hand station.  At a point in the exercising of the printer the print head is off to the left and the cleaning station cover moves back and a set of 6 wells moves into view. As soon as I see this happen I pull the power cord, open the window and go to work. The far right edge of the wells and the far right edge of the cover had junk ink built up to the point that the stuff could get on the head when it was over there and then of course the stuff can then get flicked off to destroy the print while the head is over it.
Most of the errant ink that gets on the print does not come from the heads. It comes from the underside of the head carriage. The stuff builds up mostly to the right side of the carriage.  I use cotton swabs (q-tips) and a 70% isopropyl alcohol solution.  I break the end off of the swab and hold it at a right angle in the tip of a hemostat. That way once the head is out of the carriage I can wipe the underside of the carriage on both sides - right and left. I also clean the contacts on the head side and carriage side. I change cotton swabs with almost every swipe so I use a big handful every time I do this.  I never make any contact with the print head printing surface. Coffee filters used to dab the printing surface for helping with badly clogged heads has been suggested here in the forums. One thing that is indeed good about this is that the print heads are so cheap to replace entirely. The cotton swabs with a small amount of isopropyl/water on them make very quick work of the ink on the edges of the print cartridge assembly. To get to the heads I use the printers head replacement utility. Of course the printer is impatient  and after about 5 minutes of cleanup time the carriage with the top up and cartridge(s) un plugged will start trying to move and crash into things (cudos to HP for another idiotic and uncorrected error in design).  I therefore put it into print cartridge replacement mode and yank the power. Once finished cleaning and putting all carts back in I power it up and it goes to the head alignment procedure.
I inspect the innards closely on a regular basis. The ink crud under the right side station cover was a new discovery for me - at the cost of a 63 inch long canvas print..

[Randy Carone]

Rather than using cotton swabs, which can leave fibers behind and be a bit harsh on the nozzles, try small cosmetic swabs that are foam tipped. This has always been the recommendation of Roland for their printers that use Epson heads. The ones offered by Roland are quite expensive so most of my customers bought cosmetic swabs, which are identical and much cheaper.

[dandeliondigital]

Charles,
Sorry for all the wasted materials with your ruined canvas print.  Sounds like there is more to this than a simple swab job. I need to study this entire thread a fair amount before I go to work. Thank God for Luminous Landscape Forum.

HP: thanks for the smoked plexi cover hood on the Z printer. I use that flashlight trick all the time! The old 2500CP was veiled in mystery, and lifting that black opaque hood was a troublemaker. No peeking! You might learn something!

I saw your other post on the most recent roller marks thread lamenting the Z3200, and was going to respond but didn't, but now I'm talking so here goes. I was told that I should think of the Z3200 like a camera *?* upgrade, and new features like the Chromatic Reds, require "upgrading." Sigh. Yeah and I guess I should upgrade my refrigerator a year after I bought it. I think the two appliances weigh in at about the same bulk factor.

I really think Z3100 44" owners, and me especially with the 44" Postscript GP Model should have gotten some kind of "grandfathered in" consideration for their next HP Z printer "upgrade" purchase. I've taken a lot of arrows over the years from way too many software and hardware makers, but HP makes me want to change my name to Sebastian. If HP wants loyal customers they should start "Thinking different." Oh that's right Apple already does that! Damn. Last week I spoke to HP and they actually tried to convince me to try Linux instead of sticking with that "expensive" Mac. Man, all I can say is they must be hard up for PC sales, but I digress too much.

Thanks, and so long for now, TOM

I had just done a routine cleaning of the heads and then two prints later the HP z3100 destroyed a 63 inch long canvas print with splotches of ink crud.

[walter.sk]

The ink I missed was in the right cleaning station *underneath* the flat plastic cover you see.  To find and remove the junk ink I turned on the printer and using a flashlight to see throught the cover I watched what happens on the right hand station.  At a point in the exercising of the printer the print head is off to the left and the cleaning station cover moves back and a set of 6 wells moves into view. As soon as I see this happen I pull the power cord, open the window and go to work. The far right edge of the wells and the far right edge of the cover had junk ink built up to the point that the stuff could get on the head when it was over there and then of course the stuff can then get flicked off to destroy the print while the head is over it.
Most of the errant ink that gets on the print does not come from the heads. It comes from the underside of the head carriage. The stuff builds up mostly to the right side of the carriage.  I use cotton swabs (q-tips) and a 70% isopropyl alcohol solution.  I break the end off of the swab and hold it at a right angle in the tip of a hemostat. That way once the head is out of the carriage I can wipe the underside of the carriage on both sides - right and left. I also clean the contacts on the head side and carriage side. I change cotton swabs with almost every swipe so I use a big handful every time I do this.  I never make any contact with the print head printing surface. Coffee filters used to dab the printing surface for helping with badly clogged heads has been suggested here in the forums. One thing that is indeed good about this is that the print heads are so cheap to replace entirely. The cotton swabs with a small amount of isopropyl/water on them make very quick work of the ink on the edges of the print cartridge assembly. To get to the heads I use the printers head replacement utility. Of course the printer is impatient  and after about 5 minutes of cleanup time the carriage with the top up and cartridge(s) un plugged will start trying to move and crash into things (cudos to HP for another idiotic and uncorrected error in design).  I therefore put it into print cartridge replacement mode and yank the power. Once finished cleaning and putting all carts back in I power it up and it goes to the head alignment procedure.
I inspect the innards closely on a regular basis. The ink crud under the right side station cover was a new discovery for me - at the cost of a 63 inch long canvas print..

Sometime after responding here about using coffee filters and distilled water, I had a new problem (for me).  All of the medium and dark blue areas on a print came out purple/magenta, and the left end of a 24" roll (on my 24" Z3100) had streaks and blobs of either red or magenta ink.  I checked the print heads, which were not particularly bad but I cleaned them anyway, as well as the wells they came out of.  I had the printer do a color calibration  to see if the cleaning helped.

What I noticed was that the same red/magenta streaks occurred, and now were seen in several other places on the paper.  Also, in some of the hexagonal color "cells" on the calibration sheet I noticed what seem to be white lines alternating with color lines (as if some nozzles are clogged).  There was also ink residue in several places on the metal strips where the paper emerges.

I have 2 left feet and am all thumbs as well, but I am willing to try as thorough a cleaning of this beast as possible.  Could somebody describe all of the areas safe for me to clean, and how to find them?  I will try pulling the plug when the cleaning station on the right opens up.  I also found some ink buildup in what appears to be spongy material on the left side of the printer, as well.  Is that safe to try to clean?

Are there any other places to clean?  

I have 2 weeks to finish a big print job for my own one-man exhibit.  Of course, that is the best reason for the printer to act up, and I need to get it going pronto.  

I have used the printer regularly but lightly since November '07, and would judge that I have used a little more than  3 100-foot rolls of 24" paper.  I am about half way through about 9 of my first full size cartridges and am very near the end of the remaining 3 original 69ml carts.

I would appreciate any details on how to proceed beyond the cleanings I have done previously.

[Ernst Dinkla]

Sometime after responding here about using coffee filters and distilled water, I had a new problem (for me).  All of the medium and dark blue areas on a print came out purple/magenta, and the left end of a 24" roll (on my 24" Z3100) had streaks and blobs of either red or magenta ink.  I checked the print heads, which were not particularly bad but I cleaned them anyway, as well as the wells they came out of.  I had the printer do a color calibration  to see if the cleaning helped.

What I noticed was that the same red/magenta streaks occurred, and now were seen in several other places on the paper.  Also, in some of the hexagonal color "cells" on the calibration sheet I noticed what seem to be white lines alternating with color lines (as if some nozzles are clogged).  There was also ink residue in several places on the metal strips where the paper emerges.

I would appreciate any details on how to proceed beyond the cleanings I have done previously.

Have you ever replaced a head since you got the printer?
It could be a good thing to order spare heads in case the problem doesn't disappear after more cleaning sessions.
Some time ago someone had a bad head right after his Z purchase, the two ink channels in the head had an internal leak and mixed within the head.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

New: Dinkla Canvas Wrap Actions for Photoshop
http://www.pigment-print.com/dinklacanvaswraps/index.html

[Colorwave]

Walter-
If you touched the inkhead contacts, or got any of the alcohol that you were using to clean other parts of the printer on the gold contacts, you may have done something that interfered with the circuitry leading to the heads themselves.  Those are very fragile surfaces that HP recommends only allowing distilled water to clean.  If so, you may be needing new printheads, as Ernst mentioned.

[walter.sk]

Walter-
If you touched the inkhead contacts, or got any of the alcohol that you were using to clean other parts of the printer on the gold contacts, you may have done something that interfered with the circuitry leading to the heads themselves.  Those are very fragile surfaces that HP recommends only allowing distilled water to clean.  If so, you may be needing new printheads, as Ernst mentioned.

Thanks, Ernst and Ron:

I have used only distilled water on the print heads and printer, and I have had to clean the contact strips on the head several times to remove built-up ink deposits.  However, this was done very carefully and never produced any problems with the heads.

[lticheli]

I'm getting the ink blotches on the border of my prints using 13x19 Hahnemuhle Fine Art Smooth, but never when printing from the 24" roll of the same paper.

Any help will be greatly appreciated; I'm tired of ruining paper and the manual's advice saying that it can result from, "any number of reasons," is insultingly inadequate.

Best regards to all,

Leo

[walter.sk]

I use cotton swabs (q-tips) and a 70% isopropyl alcohol solution.  I break the end off of the swab and hold it at a right angle in the tip of a hemostat.

Charles:

What size hemostat have you found useful, and is it curved or straight?  I'm about to use your technique on my Z3100 that smears red ink on the left side of the page, and leaves globs on the paper.  I cleaned the heads but the smearing continues.

I just got some eye-makeup appliers, which are like q-tips but they are made of some sort of foam, and are fiber- and lint-free.
I intend to start with distilled water rather than alcohol.

What are some of the things to be careful of in this operation?

[walter.sk]

The ink I missed was in the right cleaning station *underneath* the flat plastic cover you see.  To find and remove the junk ink I turned on the printer and using a flashlight to see throught the cover I watched what happens on the right hand station.  At a point in the exercising of the printer the print head is off to the left and the cleaning station cover moves back and a set of 6 wells moves into view. As soon as I see this happen I pull the power cord, open the window and go to work. The far right edge of the wells and the far right edge of the cover had junk ink built up to the point that the stuff could get on the head when it was over there and then of course the stuff can then get flicked off to destroy the print while the head is over it.

Charles:  I tried your method, but I am now confused.  I shut the printer off and turned it on again to get it to move the print head carriage to the left.  I observed what I thought was the cover of the right hand station slide backwards toward the back of the printer.  This revealed a terribly ink-stained transparent cover which I suppose is over the 6 individual wells.  How do I get that cover to open?  Should I try to print something at the left end of a 24" roll?    

You wrote "At a point in the exercising of the printer..."  How did you exercise it, and at what point did the cover move off the wells?