HPZ3100 printing pink

[shaun]

hi

I got a message saying to replace printhead red/matt black on hpz3100. Did that and all was well. Spent day printing 20 A3's and all was well then on last one the colours went off. So sand was now pinky instead of golden. Took out red printhead and cleaned around it and it improved a good bit. Did calibrations etc. and now the problem has come back the same. Any ideas?

Shaun

[Mark Lindquist]

If you will do a diagnostic print Shaun - print it on glossy paper.  The study it very carefully.  Sometimes a new printhead can be bad.

Se what the diagnostic print tells you first.  If it looks good - no problems whatsoever, try putting the old head back in and see what happens.  See if it will let you do that. 

Let's try this first and see how it goes.

-Mark

[shaun]

Thanks Mark

Printout looked ok just 2-3 small grey & magenta gaps.To sort that
I did 2 complete print head cleans and now LG/Pk is showing it needs replacing. It will be minimum 2 days before it arrives with me now. So will order another MK/red too.

Enclosed here is a snap of the issue before and after.

Shaun

[Mark Lindquist]

Something funkt is going on for sure.  I'm going to suggest you pull the formatter board out, find the battery, go to your local drugstore and replace it.  Check to see that the board and contacts are clean, then reseat it.  (Formatter board is where you plug in LAN/USB cables).  It has two screws holdit in and easily pulls up and out.  Changing that battery can sometimes clear weird behaviot like this.  I suggest you try it, then when it's back up and running, do a new calibration, then a paper advance calibration. See if these things help.  Replacing the battery is a good thing to do no matter what.

Mark

[shaun]

Hi Mark

Thanks for all your help. Restarted Machine this morning initially saying replace LG printhead. Gave head a clean nothing major. It went to print alignment. Did a print and hey presto. I do have the old R/MK head in it says 654ML used, not sure what the capacity is.

Could that colour cast be a result of a printhead issue?

No doubt this will all happen again when I least want it so will replace battery.


UPDATE: starting to go pink again after 10  8x6's.

Thanks a million
Shaun

[Ernst Dinkla]

Thanks Mark

Printout looked ok just 2-3 small grey & magenta gaps.To sort that
I did 2 complete print head cleans and now LG/Pk is showing it needs replacing. It will be minimum 2 days before it arrives with me now. So will order another MK/red too.

Enclosed here is a snap of the issue before and after.

Shaun

If hardware related usually a color shift in the print means the complementary ink head(s) has an issue. Head flaws usually reduce ink squirting not the other way around. LC head squirting enough?

Another hardware problem where ink in one channel leaks into the other compartiment of the head does not apply to the new Red/Black head when sand in the image is turning to magenta/red. Edit: Black is unlikely found as a major component of sand color and RED ink has to be added  a lot to black ink to make a difference. The red ink itself is only used in highly saturated reds of an image, the rest is done by mixing yellow and magenta. LG/PK head neither, they can not shift hue in one another.

Any calibration print archived when things went well and compared to a new one? Check the light cyan color strength. Check the patches of both magentas. Check the yellow patches, if the new yellow color patches are warmer then the head can have a leak between the chambers, magenta getting into yellow. Today my bet after the edit.


Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
March 2017 update, 750+ inkjet media white spectral plots

[shaun]

Hi Ernst

So printed another patch and now there is no yellow at all hardly in the patch. I guess I replace the M/Y printhead 503ml used?

Thanks
Shaun

[kers]

yes!

This is the basic test...

you can try to clean yellow, mechanically or by hand, but little chances of completely recovering it.

If you buy a new M/Y head and do the same test it may be so that the intensity of both colours will be larger than before.
I found out that even if the head is not clogged this difference old vs new may occur.
as i understand 2000ml /head use is about its lifetime... please correct if i am wrong ...
With some colours you will never reach that ( LC for instance) so then it will end like faulty as the yellow did now.

i always save an old perfect state of this print as a reference.

succes!

PK



Also

[shaun]

Thanks everyone

I Saved a copy but it was the calibration one. Did that once more and it looks like yellow is issue but also there is no ink on far right of patch. Is that a secondary printhead issue?  Had to replace photoblack in also.

Shaun

[kers]

the calibration target shows a lot too.
I do not understand the 100% difference between the calibration target without PK and the Diagnostic print with PK

[Ernst Dinkla]

Thanks everyone

I Saved a copy but it was the calibration one. Did that once more and it looks like yellow is issue but also there is no ink on far right of patch. Is that a secondary printhead issue?  Had to replace photoblack in also.

Shaun

Both glossy or matte calibration prints? 

Take a tod, shake the yellow head thoroughly wrapped in that tod. See whether ink appears again.


Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
March 2017 update, 750+ inkjet media white spectral plots

[shaun]

so much to learn one was matt which is my normal but running off some quick prints on a glossy now so new one was glossy calibration which I guess is why there is no black ink on right hand side.Presumed all colours would fire on calibration.

Shaun

[shaun]

ok so now we're back to normal. Gave yellow a good shake. Test chart ok and prints are perfect.

This all started at the same time the machine asked for a R/MK printhead. Coincidence I guess that yellow failed at same time.  I am using the old R/MK printhead again as the new one is not working. Don't want to mess around when all is going well again.


One final question hopefully. 
Do I back up the RMK in a ziplock and then give it a shake if the older version gives up or is it more likely that it is faulty.

Thanks for all your help everyone
Shaun

[Ernst Dinkla]

ok so now we're back to normal. Gave yellow a good shake. Test chart ok and prints are perfect.

This all started at the same time the machine asked for a R/MK printhead. Coincidence I guess that yellow failed at same time.  I am using the old R/MK printhead again as the new one is not working. Don't want to mess around when all is going well again.


One final question hopefully. 
Do I back up the RMK in a ziplock and then give it a shake if the older version gives up or is it more likely that it is faulty.

Thanks for all your help everyone
Shaun

Unlikely but hard to say from here, you could try it. Contacts cleaned of the new one and the Red/MK head slot? Give the old RED/MK head a similar shaking ritual to prolong its life till the replacement arrives.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
March 2017 update, 750+ inkjet media white spectral plots

[shaun]

Thanks everyone for your help

Shaun