HP DesignJet Trouble Shooting Tips

Top Tips to keep your plotter running smoothly

Lots of people find the performance of their HP plotter can decline over time. Often it's something simple that needs adjusting to restore the plotter to top-notch performance.

That's why we've put together our Top Tips to help keep your plotter running smoothly. Here they are with our compliments. In case the following information doesn't provide the answers you're looking for, please contact us by making an ONLINE ENQUIRY

• Only use HP ink
  I know its tempting to save money and be 'green' but we've seen many problems caused by using inferior-quality refilled cartridges. So, tip number one is don't economise on inks.
• Stepped Lines on your plots?
  Increase the DPI setting by altering the print quality to 'Best'.
• Do you get "Banding" when printing solid images?
  This can be cured by using a decent quality coated paper, by selecting the 'Best' print setting and performing the print head alignment procedure.
• Ink bleeding into the paper? (and spoiling print quality).
  Possibly the grade of paper is too low or the plotter's environment is too humid.
• Problems with your printheads or cartridges?
  Try giving them a clean with the carriage interconnect wiper, then reseat them. If that doesn't work then it's probably time to CONTACT US. (Note. Never clean inside the ink cartridge slots).
• Communication problems between computer and plotter?
  Try the following 3 tips.. Confirm that you have selected the correct interface port in your software. If your plotter is networked, try using it directly connected to your computer instead. Then try using another interface cable.
• Only getting a partial print?
  Maybe your plotter has too little memory. Modern software creates much larger file sizes so we can supply memory upgrades for you. Ring us on 08000 749717 to find out more.
• Save paper
  When printing out a series of "small" images, use the 'nesting' facility.
• If your printer seems too slow
  Check which print quality setting you're using. 'Normal' or 'Fast' setting will print quicker than 'Best' and remember that the settings on your computer will usually override the setting on the plotter.