Mystery Z3200 Ailment

[jasdown]

In the last week my HPZ3200 has suddenly stopped printing black (MK, on matte substrate) on prints that extend past 24" length. By that, I mean that MK black is laid down at the beginning of the print, but trails off at about the 20-24" point of length. This has occurred consistently across the last 5 prints (ea 24x36"). In attempts to alleviate the problem, I have 1.) rebooted printer and computer; 2.) uninstalled/reinstalled HP raster driver; 3.) reseated and aligned MK printhead and ink cart; 4.) tried different print files (each, however, was at least 34" in length, with the black trailing off each time). Can any HPZ users on LuLa provide me with other troubleshooting tips? Thanks!

[Pete Berry]

In the last week my HPZ3200 has suddenly stopped printing black (MK, on matte substrate) on prints that extend past 24" length. By that, I mean that MK black is laid down at the beginning of the print, but trails off at about the 20-24" point of length. This has occurred consistently across the last 5 prints (ea 24x36"). In attempts to alleviate the problem, I have 1.) rebooted printer and computer; 2.) uninstalled/reinstalled HP raster driver; 3.) reseated and aligned MK printhead and ink cart; 4.) tried different print files (each, however, was at least 34" in length, with the black trailing off each time). Can any HPZ users on LuLa provide me with other troubleshooting tips? Thanks!

Not an HP user, but with the gradual trailing off, a defective cart or pressurization system seems the likely cause.

Try printing a large 0,0,0 file ending well short of the current 20" starting point - eg 20x10" - to see if an ink supply issue may be the problem.

Pete

[jasdown]

Thanks, Pete. Your suggestion makes sense and I will give it a try tomorrow!

[Ernst Dinkla]

Replace the cartridge first. The pump on the cart is the way HP pressurizes the ink system. The other cause could be the sieve in the MK head that may be blocked too much for ink feeding on larger areas.

Ernst, op de lei getypt.

[jasdown]

Thanks, Ernst. I will try to order a replacement MK cart ASAP (current one just slipped out of warranty).

[namartinnz]

I had this happen to me a few weeks ago, head replacement fixed the problem. It was still the original print-head for light cyan. All going well again.

Neal