#@!%&* Printer!
Although I've made my living as a computer programmer and was first directly responsible for a (mini)computer way back in 1981, sometimes technology still confounds and frustrates me. Recent experience with my photo printer is a case in point.A little background. I attempted to make my own prints with two Epson 2000 printers around 2001, one set up for third-party archival color inks and one that used several shades of black and gray custom inks. They clogged so badly I quickly sold them. I should note that clogging is primarily an issue with the printers I use because they employ pigment-based inks which are archival. Consumer printers rely on less durable dye-based inks.
Later I purchased an Epson Stylus Pro 7600, a honking printer that used 24" wide roll paper and did a nice job. Many of the large prints of my work from 2004-6 were made on this printer.
But the Epson suffered a clogged print head that had to be replaced, fortunately under warranty. This was an issue with those printers if they were not in constant use. Since the cost of a maintenance contract was $700 a year, I decided to sell it.
I replaced the 7600 with another Epson, the 4000. This one was smaller, only taking 17" wide rolls of paper. It had an improved ink system and was more able to unclog itself when necessary. It also had improved handling of sheet paper, which was a convenience. This printer went to Maine and Ohio with me, but I sold it in Ohio because I was printing less.
That's when I purchased my current printer, an HP Photosmart Pro B9180. This only handles paper 13" wide and has no roll paper handling. It works for me because I do most of my printing on 13x19" or 11x17" sheets. I have any larger prints done by one of several outside services. The HP makes very nice prints and is compact compared to the Epson's I've owned. The consumable costs are higher because the ink cartridges are smaller; everything is a trade-off.
The bad news is that the HP has sporadically misbehaved. It's probably my fault when it surprises me by scaling the image to a different size than the original file, but I blame it for truncated images. A few days ago it just stopped working. It would sometimes spit out paper and say the job was done without printing anything. It would say "printing" and do nothing. I thought I was going to have to throw it out.
The solution was one of the following, which I did simultaneously:
- Unplug it and leave it overnight.
- Uninstall all of the supporting software and reinstall everything.
ADDENDUM as of Dec. 7, 2009
The printer started truncating images again. I now suspect the Windows Vista print spooler. I have good luck if I only print when the computer has been recently booted.
Labels: Hewlett-Packard, HP, Photosmart B9180, printing
posted by M. Denis Hill, QPP @ 11/23/2009 08:34:00 AM
