HP 690C can't print straight lines

[JayE]

Hello,

My company have a number of the above printers.

Sometimes, it refuses to print straight lines. On one occasion, our IT company took it away to repair but said repair was uneconomical so they binned in. Now another printer is doing the same thing, but the engineer who came in demonstrated that it only does this when using the Windows printer driver, switching to the HP one "cured" the problem - BUT the user who had the problem has always used the Windows driver, and when I gave her a different printer the lines printed perfectly straight (without changing driver).

Do you have any comments on what's occuring?

Kind Regards,
Jay

 

[KeyTech]

have you tried updating the Firmware for the printer??
Its available at

http://www.hp.com/country/us/eng/support.htm

Jay~

"I have to think of a funny footer to
put in here!!!???"

~KeyTech

 

[cnthomp]

Is this problem with vertical or horizontal lines, or both?

 

[JayE]

Dear Keytech,

Thanks for your reply. I will visit the link you supply, but can you tell me what is "firmware"? (I've heard of the term, that's all).

Dear cnthomp,

Thanks for your reply.

Both lines are affected, but on many occasions lines are particularly problematic when printing the page in landscape mode (which I know is harder "work" for the printer).

Thanks and Kind Regards to you both,
Jay

 

[cnthomp]

Have you tried aligning the cartridges? This is usually available from the HP toolbox (HP Drivers) or the Printer Services tab in the print driver (Win98/2000). If you are observing this problem immediately after replacing a spent cartridge, this could be it. The HP driver will nag you to do this, but the Windows driver will not. If you are hearing funny noises from the printer, however, the crooked lines could indicate problems within the print mechanism and this is usually not user-serviceable.

 

[JayE]

Hi cnthomp,

Thanks for your reply.

Aligning the cartridges is the first thing I try. Doesn't really help.

I will try getting the "firmware" upgrade suggested by Keytech and see if this helps.

Kind Regards,
Jay

 

[cnthomp]

A possibility is a dirty encoder strip. That is the thin piece of plastic behind the ink cartridges with many vertical lines on it. The printer uses that to tell it where the carriage is at any given time, and if it is dirty, it can lose count. You can try cleaning it with some distilled or filtered water (I usually use what I get out of the water cooler) on a paper towel. Just be careful to grip the encoder strip so that it does not pop off of its tiny, hard-to-reach hooks that secure it on either side of the printer. However, you did not mention if the printer is making any noises (such as popping noises) that are out of the ordinary.

Hope this helps.