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Graphics not printing

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by blackcurrant 1 view

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Hi Folks

Can anyone help me with a printer problem please?

We use a networked HP 4650dn colour laserjet printer. It worked fine until yesterday.

Today, whenever anyone tries to print an image/graphic, the page comes out blank. Text prints fine.

If I print a document containing three pages: text on the first page and images and text on the remaining two, the first page will print OK, the remaining two come out blank.

This occurs in all applications (Word, Pagemaker, CAD), from all the PC's (Win98SE, Win2k Pro, WinXP Pro).

If I try to print a status supplies page using the printer's Control Panel, it comes out blank. Printing a Test Page from the driver also comes out blank.

If anyone has a solution to this problem I will be extremely grateful.

Thanks

16 replies

by saihib

This sounds like a driver issue. Have you tried deleting the printer and re-installing it?

by blackcurrant

Hi Saihib, thanks for answering. Unfortunately this is not a driver issue, and this has been checked. Thanks anyway.

by xt john

Are you able to print a test page from the printer itself? If there is a communication problem over the network to the printer, this test would eliminate that. Is the printer connected with a Jet Direct (NIC) card? Try printing to it directly with a Parallel/USB cable as a test. Try submitting a print job with a color graphic/image as a greyscale job, to see that the image is being successfully sent to the printer. Is there any indication that the black is attempting to print the graphic, and just the color is missing? The fact that the black cartridge is capable of printing text but not graphics is bizzare.

by blackcurrant

Hi XT John - all pages available from the printer's consol are blank. Earlier I tried clearing the buffer by compltetely disconnecting power and network cable (RJ45 into JetDirect card) for about an hour, just in case the buffer was corrupted (thanks Charles!). I have also checked the shutters on the cartridges, took them out and replaced them. I have also put in a new transfer belt.

I followed the HP troubleshooting document too - and drew a blank there as well.

Black and white images do not print either. It really is, as you say, bizarre.

Thanks for answering.

by dr dij

I presume the HP instructions included doing a hard-reset (this isn't done by leaving power off). you'll need to resetup net addresses and things like that after so write them down 1st. (print a config page)

at that point if you tried the other things above, I think you said you connected direct, no change, sounds like a memory or processor problem in the printer. stupid as it sounds, I'd dust it out 1st (remove mem slot covers, cartridge, open any other covers) and try again before you send in for service.

by hal 9000

These things collect quite a lot of Paper Dust and occasionally need a good clean out to allow them to work properly. The fact that you are only getting text out of this unit I suppose in Black is strange have you tried changing the colour of some text and see if it comes out properly?

If you do this try a few different colours on some lines on a page full of text and see what happens. If the coloured words remain blank it has to be a Memory Problem in the unit but I would first do a through clean out of all the paper dust that has built up in it and then tray again before doing anything more invasive to the printer.

[b]Lets know how you get on.[/b]

Col

by blackcurrant

I have tried the suggestion to print text in colour. I tried to print a page which had a combination of black, yellow, blue and red text and the page came out blank.

So, it looks like something deep seated.

I have spoken to HP 3 times about this now, and they have suggested various procedures which have not worked. They are sending an engineer to us tomorrow...

by pierrejamme

BlackCurrant:
I concur, prbably something wrong with the color cartridge section.
but a couple of options while waiting:
Can you get into the Webpage for your 4650?

Look for anything out of the ordinary.

We have a 4600, so is probably similar and at the bottom of the Settings Tab, there is an option to "Restore Factory Settings"
Peter

by blackcurrant

Update:

HP Printer Tech has just walked away after a second visit. Initial troubleshooting failed to find the cause. The second visit today involved replacement of flash memory, on-board memory and the formatter - still not printing graphics, so all these components are fine.

The Printer Tech is stumped. He will be returning tomorrow or the next day with a DC board and the equivalent of a motherboard. Now, I don't really understand much of this, but his confidence was definitely shaken. Still, so long as it is fixed, I do not really mind.

by blackcurrant

Ok, it took 5 visits to get the problem sorted out.

As you know the memory was fine, as was the formatter, plus a PCB board and several other components which were changed.

The HP tech guys said that it was a very rare problem, and that they are not completely sure what caused it.

There is a motor (I do not know its name), behind the left-side panel, near the base of the unit which has a photo-sensitive sensor. They said that the motor is a key element in the production of graphics. The motor not only works the (rather complex) assemblage of rollers etc, it also passes data on other parts of the printer.

Either the sensor stopped working, or the motor failed. Replacing this, and replacing a plastic guide which runs 3/4 of the way up the unit (behind the same left hand panel), and replacing some plastic guides located behind the cartridge assembly solved the problem.

Thanks to everyone for their help with this.

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