Hassles with Printer

[Clodbuster]

Probably the wrong place but I'm hoping someone will help.

I have a new, 4-5 months, HP Deskjet 2700e which I am fighting with. Every time I switch it on it prints out a page saying "Alignment required for best Printing" and a few instructions which I follow. It immediately tells me the Printer is off line and switch it off and on to reconnect - resulting in the previous notification being printed out so I'm simply going around in circles and not printing anything. Any solutions, I have been on the HP website and downloaded everything I can see and chatted to their Virtual Assistant (not) for ages getting frustrated. This began immediately after I changed the ink cartridges.

Do ALL printers simply hassle in principle?

 

[MRQ]

Probably the wrong place but I'm hoping someone will help.

I have a new, 4-5 months, HP Deskjet 2700e which I am fighting with. Every time I switch it on it prints out a page saying "Alignment required for best Printing" and a few instructions which I follow. It immediately tells me the Printer is off line and switch it off and on to reconnect - resulting in the previous notification being printed out so I'm simply going around in circles and not printing anything. Any solutions, I have been on the HP website and downloaded everything I can see and chatted to their Virtual Assistant (not) for ages getting frustrated. This began immediately after I changed the ink cartridges.

Do ALL printers simply hassle in principle?

Are the ink cartridges HP originals? The machine might not be recognising them properly if they're not.

...The other thing to do would be to try re-installing them; check that any contacts on both cartridge and machine are clean; be careful though as these are delicate. Failing that, remove the HP app from your system and try going through the basic install process again.

It would probably be useful if you could if tell us what you're trying to print from... i.e. device operating system etc.

 

[Clodbuster]

Maybe not - from Internet Ink where they advertise them as ;-
Compatible HP 305 Super XL
Black + Colour Ink Cartridge
Multipack

Just from my Laptop using a wireless connection.

 

[MRQ]

...They're maybe less compatible than one might hope. Try re-installing them. If you do need to clean the connections use some iso-propyl gently on a cotton bud (not too wet); be particularly careful not to distort the connection 'fingers' in the machine; gentle strokes in one direction is the way to do it. - A pharmacy will have 'rubbing alcohol' which is just 70% IPA, and is a useful thing to have around anyway.

One tip is to get the machine carriage to move to the 'change' position then pull the mains lead out the back; this gives you time to work/examine things. However; don't leave the machine with no cartridges installed for any significant length of time.

And this is where it gets to be a real PITA. - Real cartridges will be expensive; and a set of them may well clear the fault. - if they don't it's a warranty claim; and you must not admit to having used 'compatible' cartridges as this will invalidate the HP warranty. - Might be worth speaking to internet ink; but do try re-installing first, that might just work.

Wireless connection can be another world of pain... I don't think that machine has a USB option?

 

[Clodbuster]

Thank you - I'll give it a go tomorrow.

 

[Clodbuster]

I got a phone call from HP yesterday so kudo's to them and he spent about 2 hours sorting it out BUT it did cost me 129 for the pleasure. Warranty doesn't cover software issues (I had not set it up correctly originally so they say ????) only hardware.
No idea what was wrong but hopefully fixed now.
The cartridges were not the issue.

 

[Fagin2021]

The first HP printer I bought would break your leg if you dropped it.
The second HP printer I bought would break your foot if you dropped it.
The third HP printer I bought would float away on the wind if you dropped it.
The fourth (and last) HP printer I bought had an installation disk that filled my screen with pretty icons encouraging me to buy supplies/accessories and all sorts of goodies from HP.

Then I bought a Xerox colour laser printer. A week after the warranty expired the little menu screen filled with messages. The messages were difficult to understand but can be summarised as 'Can't' 'Shan't' and 'Won't'.

So I went up to the attic, dug out my old Canon printer and have been using it ever since.

 

[MRQ]

I'm not sure I'd be entirely pleased with HP calling me up to charge £129. - Removing the HP apps from the computer and re-installing (as I suggested in my first response) would have been cheaper. But..hey-ho.

Our cheap HP Laserjet in the office has been fine for the great many years we've had it. ...Over the years I've had a lot of involvement with the care and feeding of various more exotic and 'interfered with' machines for things like the production of exhibition photographs and even dabbled with dye-sub work. - Bit of a sideline.

Machines are sold cheap so they can rip you off with ink prices; now that they've got them 'klyping' to the manufacturers, it's even worse!

Curiously enough Fagin, my old Cannon is dead as dead can be - terminally clogged heads which, despite being easily replaceable are (seemingly) made of unobtainium; with the very few that can be found priced more expensively than a whole new printer.

Do ALL printers simply hassle in principle?

I'm inclined to think yes... that's the main thing they're designed to do.

 

[thetiger2015]

My printer has decided it doesn't want to print some pages in alignment any more. First and second sheets go through fine but the third sheet either gets jammed or prints off the page. I have no idea why. I have to switch it off, unplug it, wait a minute or two and then plug it all back in. Then it prints another two sheets perfectly, then the third sheet prints off the page again.

Maybe it's just a really clever printer, with a personality, maybe this is AI? It doesn't want to be a printer any more, so it's being deliberately idiotic and wasting my time. I should leave it out in the rain, as punishment.

 

[MRQ]

My printer has decided it doesn't want to print some pages in alignment any more. First and second sheets go through fine but the third sheet either gets jammed or prints off the page. I have no idea why. I have to switch it off, unplug it, wait a minute or two and then plug it all back in. Then it prints another two sheets perfectly, then the third sheet prints off the page again.

Maybe it's just a really clever printer, with a personality, maybe this is AI? It doesn't want to be a printer any more, so it's being deliberately idiotic and wasting my time. I should leave it out in the rain, as punishment.

As a general generic response; try looking around the paper path for paper dust and particles. - If it's ever had to have a sheet pulled out of it, it's very possible to have left bits behind. - A clean, dry paintbrush and maybe a can of compressed air might be your friends.

 

[Clodbuster]

MRQ - probably right but the call came through B4 I had time to start so stayed with it.
Previous to this one I had an Epsom for over 10 years but it was now smudging and smearing ink so replaced it. Why didn't I stay with Epsom I cannot remember.

 

[MRQ]

Why didn't I stay with Epsom I cannot remember.

It's possibly fair to say they're all much of a muchness. - Certain (and only certain) Epson and Canon printers tend to be favoured by photographers and artists doing short-run prints. Other makes less so. - Others find favour because they can be modified to take dye-sub or edible inks or continuous ink systems; all of this gets messy! More messy than any normal user needs to get.

- For general use? I'm not sure brand loyalty gets you any great advantage these days. HP have - had - a reputation for rock-solid business machines. Likewise Fagin's story says much; how much 'hard core business class' than Xerox? ...And yet!

I couldn't say whether an Epson all-in-one is any better/different to what you have; and Epson like all the others have a pretty rum approach to selling ink.

Personally; they'd get dog's off of me if they called up out the blue to sell me tech support! It smacks of sharp practice; there's a guy called Jim Browning on YouTube - watch a few of his videos to get a flavour of why I'm less than comfortable with that sort of thing... HP doing this rather lowers my opinion of them TBH.

Still - sorted now; and hopefully you can get on without further problems.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Printers are a load of rubbish
Nothing but hassle

 

[japancool]

My Canon Pixma MG5250 gave up the ghost recently - are rather, the print head did. It kept moaning at me about having the wrong print head installed, so I bought two new ones, tried installing them, no dice.

Bought a new Canon TS8350a. Happy with it so far.

The annoying thing was, I didn't actually need to print anything, I just needed to use the scanner, but you couldn't operate the scanner while the printer was erroring.

 

[MRQ]

My Canon Pixma MG5250 gave up the ghost recently - are rather, the print head did. It kept moaning at me about having the wrong print head installed, so I bought two new ones, tried installing them, no dice.

Yeah; the 'dead' one I have is from that same series; iP7250 - The only reasonably priced heads I see for it are 'pattern' parts; some not even fully functional (black only). - I'm loathe to bin it; but equally well it's not worth the £80 for a genuine Canon Head - it's good; but not what you'd call a 'high end' machine.

 

[Clodbuster]

Printers are a load of rubbish
Nothing but hassle

True - if someone came out with a basic printer that did the job without ages of waffling and churning before starting I'd jump at it.

 

[IanSuth]

best printer i EVER had was an HP Laserjet III, it was built like a tank (and weighed the same), we only stopped using it when we couldnt get drivers any more and in fact had kept an old machine specifically for printing for about 2 years after everything else was upgraded - it would do a massive print run without a grumble, it could print onto dodgy cheap copy avery labels perfectly aligned every time without issue when we did a mailshot.

But it didnt make HP money after the initial sale which is why i guess they started making poorer quality ones - i mean 20 years life span for a printer isn't going to keep shareholders happy

 

[japancool]

Someone I worked for was still using an Epson FX-1000 in the late 90s. That thing really was built like a battleship.

 

[MRQ]

The HP P1005 - compact laser printer - I use for everyday printing in my own office at home has been working away happily for what must be at least a decade or more. I think I'm right in saying it was the smallest/cheapest they had at the time. ...Were I to want/need to replace it the current HP M110e on offer from AO:

* Only works with original HP toner

* Requires an 'HP Account'

*Requires an 'Uninterrupted Internet connection'

...So it's very obviously all about shifting toner cartridges. I specifically don't want a wireless printer. I don't want to pay rip-off prices for toner. Don't need or want colour... don't particularly want an all-in-one. I just need a compact laser to print out the odd document.

I object to my print use being 'monitored' by HP or anyone else; it's more than probable that all it's doing is sending back information about how full it is; but who really knows and what if I need to use a machine when the internet connection's down or otherwise unavailable? - And I'm a bit 'creeped out' by the O/P's experience where the printer apparently 'phoned home' and had some cash-extractor call them.

I see other HP printers (the M209dwe) are also pulling this stunt... and now I'm looking at the more expensive machines (which I might otherwise be happy to pay for) with deep suspicion. ...That's some great marketing you have there HP. How to hack off customers you'd previously impressed!

 

[MRQ]

Someone I worked for was still using an Epson FX-1000 in the late 90s. That thing really was built like a battleship.

Yup! Occasionally we get programme tech reports which have obviously been done on DMPs.

 

[IanSuth]

i used to have lexmark as a client when they were in marlow and had a tech spt department - they took a conscious decision to make worse printers and discontinue decent support - same time they started selling the printers very cheap and shipping with small cartridges in them - the whole business model became centred around consumables - the actual printer was like buying a razor handle - the entry drug to their addiction

They were actually selling the printers at a loss, if you were sensible it was cheaper to buy a new printer when the cartridge ran out than buy an ink cartridge (they used to have those ones with all the colours in 1 cartridge)