HP Z3100 Print head black and red marks on print

[cojocaru27]

We have a Z3100 that is about 2 years old and we use it for fine art printing, canvas and fine art rag papers. Recently it started printing black and red marks randomly on the papers. I did a changed the black/red printhead, i cleaned very serios the printer, including all printheads the carrier system the service station and all the mecanical parts of the printer. I even washed up all the sponges i could found in it. I did all i was imaging it could solve the problem but the problem persist so i am asking for help.

Has anyone experienced this problem or have any ideas of what it could be?

Thanks in advance for any help

p.s. i attached a jpg with the marks that the printer does, sometimes they are thinner and sometimes they are real big and have. not regular marks.

[Ernst Dinkla]

Ink offset to the paper transport pinch wheels is my guess. They have to be cleaned too and if it returns you have to find the source where the ink transfers from. Possibly the upper side of the head carriage then but a leaking head or tube connection is possible too, non OEM cartridges overfilled? Check when you load paper whether there is already ink spilled on the paper and with the paper going front to back the ink is brought to the pinch wheels.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst

330+ paper white spectral plots including the Canon US catalog:

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm

[cojocaru27]

hey,
thanks for the quick answer.
i believe that the pinch wheels have nothing to do with these marks, as the stain is very well defined. It's like something (maybe a faulty sensor) tells the printer to release ink random on prints. The ink spillage has perfect edges and they do not fade away as if transferred from the pinch wheels.
i will try to give a factory restore and install the firmware again, this is my last guess.

Thank you again.
Best
I.

[Ernst Dinkla]

Is the Jpeg representing the direction (but top-bottom turned) the print appears from the printer or at 90 degrees?


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst

330+ paper white spectral plots including the Canon US catalog:

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm

[cojocaru27]

is how it appears from the printer. The marks are at the right part of the print as you see it (facing printer on the right, in the part with the service station).
I will try to update the firmware, but i have the last version anyway , maybe the soft is broken.
So it is not a wheel, what else could be?

thx a lot

[cojocaru27]

do you know how to hard reset the printer ,it is the restore to factory setting from the printer menu?
I am thinking of hard reset it and reinstall the firmware, but the restore to factory setting is not erasing the current firmware.

[Ernst Dinkla]

So it is not a wheel, what else could be?

thx a lot

If it is not the hardware (wheels, head carriage) offsetting ink that was spilled somewhere else then I would think electronic glitches at the head connection, flatcable to the head carriage shortcuts, the formatter going belly up (hardisc then), network connection issues (cable etc), system issues, power station, lightning, sun spots. In that order. And no, I do not know how to revert to old firmware versions, I have the latest installed not so long ago and there are no black and red markings here.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst

330+ paper white spectral plots including the Canon US catalog:

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm

[cojocaru27]

hey,

first of all thank you very much again. I solved the problem by veryfing the flat cable behind the carrier and reinstall the firmware.

[Edhopkins]

I have been following this thread with interest--being a z3100 owner.

I understand about reinstalling the firmware. But what did you do to the flat cable behind the carrier and why do you think that had anything to do with solving the problem? I assume "veryfing" means "verifying" but have no idea what either means when it comes to a cable. Did you just re-seat the cable? Detach it and plug it back in? or what?

thanks--and I am glad you got through this.

ed

[cojocaru27]

my english is not so good and i must apologise for this.
i hope my post will help other that may have the same problem.
I just detached the cables and rearrange them (they are actually 2 flat cable there). And i talked to a hp service man and told me that it could be a data interapted trasfer on that cable and the black/red head was told to put ink. Probably during the movement of the carrier. I will look for an option to buy and change that flat cables, just for my peace.

Now i am having an other problem with the profiles in the print dialog box.
I am printing using raster driver from a macbook pro laptop.
In the print settings/ paper and quality i choose the same profile for the paper type as for loaded paper (for ex hahnemuler watercolor paper ) - and in the print dialog box when i choos printer manages colors the printer profile is set for an other profile ( premium instant dry paper ) and it is unchangeble. So the colors are not good at all. I can only give photoshop manages color and choose myself the printer profile (that becomes active and changeble) - but the colors are not good too.

What am i doing wrong.
thx

[Rocco Penny]

I can't tell you much about the set-up,
have you applied all the computer and printer updates?
Have you synchronized settings, paper lists, ICCs, etc?
Have you double checked the driver?
If you don't let PS manage the color in application managed color,
what do you use?
Have you triple checked all the settings?
Printer management on my windows is different than for mac so can't help ya there

[cojocaru27]

I did triple checked everything, i did reinstall the driver, and it's just wired.
I would do some more check out to find out what's the problem.

Till now i used to let the printer manages color and made sure to select the proper icc profile for the media i used - and everything was just fine.
Now it seems that the printer doesn't use the right icc profile for the media i use and i don't know why.

but for the moment i am so happy that i get rid of that black and red marks on print.

[Rocco Penny]

uh wait,
are you using hp printer utility to calibrate and so on?
If not, what?

[cojocaru27]

i am using hp utility to import paper profiles and stuf like this.
I imported a profile called hahnemuhle watercolor profile  and i can not use it when i set the printer manages color, and i don't know why.
i am not doing something wrong.