Problem with banding in dark colour areas on a HP Z3100

[kers]

I am having some problem with my 13 year old (!) HPZ3100 printer.
So maybe it is an old age related problem, but maybe not and maybe someone knows a solution.

When printing on glossy media, choosing best quality, i can see banding in dark colours.
The striping/ banding only shows in the dark areas of the print. I discovered it doing very black  B&W images.
If i look at how the printing process works, the banding is a reflection of how the image is build up in bands.

Because of a different way of building up the image in Standard Quality mode there is no problem there, so only in all the 'Best' modes like more passes, max detail etc.

- i have tried to find out what can be the problem:
it is not a print head problem-
without GE nothing changes, with another PK-lightGray printhead the problem remains also.

It is not a paper advance problem- have tried several settings

It is not a paper related problem- i have the problem on several glossy media. I have tried HP-premIDSatin and HM-PhotoRagBaryta. 
On matt media i have no problem.

So if someone has some advice i am all ears.

thanks in advance!

Pieter Kers

[deanwork]

Pieter,

I have the same printer of the same vintage and it has been restored and still great. They were made with better components in Singapore back then and really last.

You’ve checked some of the most important things. I have seen this before many years ago and it doesn’t look like average banding to me, I could be wrong but it looks like scrape marks. For me banding looks more subtle. If you have done the alignment and paper advance this is what I would look at.

1. You can manually lift the star wheel assembly in the color center software and create a new custom paper setting for that.

2. make sure the paper is not excessively curled and the first comment may solve it.

3. In my case I had this same exact problem in the middle of an important job and it was driving me nuts.
What ended up being my problem was a print head that was bent on the bottom nozzle area. I guess it had gotten damaged in a head strike or something. What you do is to go to the replace head menu and remove all the print heads and inspect them. If you see anything strange with the edges around the nozzles replace the head.

I had an Epson tech tell me that the number one reason he has had to replace Epson heads is damage from head strikes.

If you don’t see anything I would be surprised. Contact Ernst from this site. He is the resident expert on the mechanics of this printer. He’s seen it all.

I hope you don’t have a bent carriage assembly. That’s rare.

Your print is very nice.

Good luck,

John

I am having some problem with my 13 year old (!) HPZ3100 printer.
So maybe it is an old age related problem, but maybe not and maybe someone knows a solution.

When printing on glossy media, choosing best quality, i can see banding in dark colours.
The striping/ banding only shows in the dark areas of the print. I discovered it doing very black  B&W images.
If i look at how the printing process works, the banding is a reflection of how the image is build up in bands.

Because of a different way of building up the image in Standard Quality mode there is no problem there, so only in all the 'Best' modes like more passes, max detail etc.

- i have tried to find out what can be the problem:
it is not a print head problem-
without GE nothing changes, with another PK-lightGray printhead the problem remains also.

It is not a paper advance problem- have tried several settings

It is not a paper related problem- i have the problem on several glossy media. I have tried HP-premIDSatin and HM-PhotoRagBaryta. 
On matt media i have no problem.

So if someone has some advice i am all ears.

thanks in advance!

Pieter Kers

[kers]

Thank you John for your detailed response;
I will look into it.

Ernst is more a specialist in matte paper i think.

I already had lifted manualy the starwheel assembly ( i understand on the z3200 you can do it remotely  and i worked with flat paper.

Just learned more about the printer because of this problem - for instance that the image is built up differently with every setting; ( by canceling the print you get a nice half baked image)
Ge also changes the way the image is built up  I will post some images

[kers]

I think i have to become practical and just use the standard quality modus because that performs well.

I did a more than perfect  high quality print calibration test with 100% and 50 % ink areas that look perfect.
paper advance is perfect; nozzles are perfect. so must say the printer seems to do an excellent job.

I even tried an old operating system to see if anything has changed from OSX 9 to OSX 13. No exactly the same problem.
-
So lets get on with my life. ( in Corana isolation)

[deanwork]

There is a setting on the driver ( I’m too lazy to go down there and bring it up on the computer ) that Hp recommends for printing high res graphics like small text Only , not for photographs . I remember I had issues when leaving that checked. The other one that I do leave checked was for unidirectional printing which I have always used.

I think i have to become practical and just use the standard quality modus because that performs well.

I did a more than perfect  high quality print calibration test with 100% and 50 % ink areas that look perfect.
paper advance is perfect; nozzles are perfect. so must say the printer seems to do an excellent job.

I even tried an old operating system to see if anything has changed from OSX 9 to OSX 13. No exactly the same problem.
-
So lets get on with my life. ( in Corana isolation)

[kers]

Update:

Maybe I have  found a solution and also the reason for the striping.

I think it is the way the printer builts the image in best mode in broad bands that it then fills up with ink and the subsequent different drying time of the ink that produces a kind of metamerism banding.
In normal mode the printer uses very fine subsequent bands to produce the image, hence less different drying time. Could be the air humidity has something to do with it too.

If i print a second layer of GE over the surface the striping disappears. The black also becomes darker, a benefit. However the chance of damaging the print increases.
Now i have become aware how easy it is to scratch, dust etc completely black surfaces and it also asks for a perfect sheet of paper.
I am even thinking of retouching some prints - have not done that since analogue days, but still have the paint.