HP Scitex FB950 Printer User Guide
© Copyright 2008–2009 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.
Table of contents 1 Getting started Operating requirements ........................................................................................................................ 2 Electrical .............................................................................................................................. 2 Environmental ...................................................................................................................... 2 Connect the RIP ......................................
Measure media options ..................................................................................................... 28 Stored jobs ......................................................................................................................................... 29 Load ink .............................................................................................................................................. 31 Unload an empty ink box .....................................................
Clean the rail encoder strip (bi-weekly) .............................................................................................. 70 Manually clean the printheads (bi-weekly) ......................................................................................... 71 Clean and grease the service station wiper slide rails (monthly) ....................................................... 73 Clean service station wiper (monthly) ............................................................................
Wide banding ................................................................................................................... 110 Thin banding .................................................................................................................... 111 Grainy .............................................................................................................................. 112 Not enough saturation or contrast .........................................................................
1 Getting started This chapter shows you how to get started using your printer.
Operating requirements Electrical ● Make sure the line voltage meets the requirements. See Specifications on page 92 for details. ● Use the supplied power cord. Plug it directly into a grounded electrical outlet. Do not lengthen the power cord with an extension cord; the resulting drop in voltage could damage the printer.
Connect the RIP The printer receives print jobs from a raster image processor (RIP), from either HP or a supported thirdparty manufacturer. ● To connect the printer to the HP RIP Software, refer to its User Guide for detailed instructions. ● To connect the printer to a third-party RIP, follow this procedure: Install the VideoNet cable 1. Power off the computer you will be using to run the RIP. 2. Connect the printer to the RIP computer's Ethernet port using the included cable.
Install the RIP software ▲ Install and configure the RIP software as outlined in the documentation supplied with it. Install a language file The printer's control panel interface optionally can be switched between English and one other language. To install this option, refer to the instructions provided with the second language software files. These files can be downloaded from the HP Graphic Arts web site at http://www.hp.com/go/graphic-arts.
Important operating notes ● UV CURE INK IS PERISHABLE. Unlike other inks used in wide format printing, UV cure ink has a limited shelf life. Plan to rotate your ink stock and use it promptly by the date printed on the ink box. CAUTION: When the UV lamps are switched off, they undergo a controlled cool-down cycle. Sudden removal of power from hot lamps, such as disconnecting the power cord or from a power outage, can result in overheating and permanent damage.
Safety warnings 6 ● UV light — the ultraviolet (UV) curing lamps emit high power UV light. The printer must be operated with all safety shielding installed to protect the operator from eye and skin damage. When operated according to manufacturer’s instructions, safety glasses or other protective clothing are not necessary. ● Mechanical hazards — Keep fingers away from carriage and media path. Do not exceed the maximum weight load of the input or output tables, as printed on the label.
Workflow overview When the printer is connected to the HP RIP Software, here is how a typical print job progresses from the client workstation to the printer. If you are using a non-HP RIP, refer to the documentation that accompanies it for details. 1. The operator sends a file to be printed from a client workstation. 2. The print job is received by the print server. Once it reaches the print server, the print job may be reprioritized, combined with other jobs, rerouted, or otherwise manipulated.
Quick tour 1. Touch-screen control panel 2. UV-filtered observation windows 3. Emergency stop button (2 places) 4. Exhaust vents 5. Rigid media alignment pins 6. Electronics box (inside enclosure) 7. Data ports 8. VideoNet port 9. Port for optional foot switch 10. Main power switch 11. (Under the media drive belt assembly on the electronics cabinet) Main power, supply/takeup system power inlet ports, serial number and regulatory label 12. Media drive belt 13. Media supply brackets 14.
17. Ink supply rack 18. Ink connections 19. Profiler docking station 20. Vacuum/Pressure system auxiliary power inlet 21. Vacuum adjustment knob 22. Service station (inside enclosure) 23. Printhead maintenance vacuum (inside enclosure) 24.
Special features Printheads ● Printheads — variable drop size, piezoelectric printheads. Ink system ● Off-Head System (OHS) — bulk ink boxes with integrated filters. No-drip quick connectors simplify ink box replacement. ● Onboard vacuum/pressure (VP) system — provides vacuum to maintain negative printhead pressure, and air pressure to purge the printheads or ink tubes without removing them from the printer.
Performance and ease-of-use ENWW ● Media Wizard — stores and recalls a set of operating parameters by media type and print mode, for optimal printing performance. Includes a set of predefined settings for standard media; user may add settings for other media. ● Speed/quality print modes — provided to meet speed and quality requirements. ● Edge-to-edge printing — margins on rigid media can be set to zero for edge-to-edge printing, providing “full bleed” prints without trimming.
12 Chapter 1 Getting started ENWW
2 Printing This chapter shows you how to set print mode and media options, load media, and print: ENWW ● Configure printing ● Configure media ● Load and print on rigid media ● Load and print on roll-fed media ● Stored jobs ● Load ink ● Printing tips 13
Configure printing The printer can print in several different modes for the combination of quality, resolution, and speed that you require. The resolution is determined by the resolution at which the job was rasterized by the external RIP. The Print Mode is selectable at the control panel. The actual print speed is determined by the combination of output quality, print length and width, and printing delay selected at the control panel (described below).
The printer can print in both directions (bidirectional) or in one direction only (unidirectional). Unidirectional printing can occur in either direction. Printing occurs at about half the speed of the corresponding bidirectional print mode. Unidirectional printing eliminates the bidirectional misalignment that occurs when printing on media that is not perfectly flat. 3. Press a direction option to select it.
A menu appears that enables you to change any of these settings: ● Printing Delay ● Lamp Mode ● Shutter Aperture These settings are explained in the following sections. NOTE: You can change the settings for a standard media type temporarily. To save the changes permanently, copy the standard media type into a new media type, and save its settings. 6. To set a printing delay, press the Printing Delay option in the Media Settings menu. The Printing Delay screen appears.
Equivalent print modes From the standpoint of UV curing and temperature, all print modes fall into one of five print speed groups: A, B, C, D, or E. If you change the Printing Delay, Lamp Mode, or Shutter Aperture for any print mode, the changes apply to all print modes within that group. The group for each print mode is shown in the Media Settings screen. The following table shows the print modes by print speed group.
Table 2-2 Print modes by group (continued) 18 Quality Direction Resolution Overspray Group Production Plus BiDi 600 x 600 FineText B Billboard Uni 1200 x 600 Normal B High Quality BiDi 600 x 300 Normal C High Quality BiDi 600 x 300 Sharp Edge C High Quality Plus BiDi 600 x 300 Normal C Production BiDi 600 x 300 FineText C Production BiDi 600 x 600 Normal C Production BiDi 600 x 600 Sharp Edge C Production Uni 600 x 300 FineText C Production Uni 600 x 300
Configure media Before the printer will accept a print job, it must be configured for a specific media type. The currentlyconfigured media type, if any, is displayed in the upper left corner of the control panel. 1. If the control panel displays the media type you intend to print, press the Load key and go to Load and print on rigid media on page 21. Otherwise, continue to the next step. 2. From the Front Page screen, press the Configure key. The Select Media to Load menu appears.
4. ● Vacuum — this option turns on the vacuum fans, and displays ▲ and ▼ arrow keys on the control panel. Press the ▲ and ▼ arrow keys to raise or lower the fan speed for each zone (input zone, between the pinch rollers, and print zone). Observe the media as the fan speed changes. If the media is lifting off the belt, increase the fan speed. If the media advance seems impeded by the vacuum, decrease the fan speed.
Load and print on rigid media NOTE: in). 1. The minimum length of rigid media that can be loaded and printed by the printer is 33 cm (13 At the end of the Configure Media process (see Configure media on page 19), press the Proceed key on the control panel: OR from the Front Page screen, press the Load Media key. Before you can load, you must configure the media as explained in Configure media on page 19. 2.
7. Enter the number of sheets: ● Single sheet ● N-UP — for two or more sheets loaded at once across the width of the printer The control panel displays a summary screen of the settings you specified. 8. Press the Proceed (►) key. The control panel displays a confirmation message. 9. Press the Proceed (►) key. The Front Page screen appears. 10. Press the Go Online key. 11. Send a print job from the RIP.
To print multi-sheet N-UP, load multiple sheets on the printer, then send a print job from the RIP with a quantity greater than or equal to the number of sheets you loaded. The printer will prompt you to load more sheets until the number of copies you specified has been printed. You can also print Stored Jobs as multi-sheet N-UP (see Stored jobs on page 29 for details).
“Incomplete” rows You can print any number of copies in a multi-sheet N-UP job, even if the total number does not divide evenly into the number of sheets per row. Only the last row may have a different number of sheets. For example: in a twenty-sheet job, you might be able to fit three sheets in each row, so you might print six rows of three sheets, plus one row of two sheets (6x3=18, 1x2=2, 18+2=20). If the last row is a partial row, load the sheets from the user end toward the service end.
Load and print on roll-fed media Figure 2-1 Roll-fed media path If the optional roll-fed media supply and takeup system is installed on the printer, you can print on rollfed media. NOTE: The first time that the roll-fed system is used, it must be enabled on the control panel menu. Select Settings > Support Rollfed to enable the roll-fed system. 1. If installed, detach the rigid media input and output tables from the printer, and set them aside. 2.
printer goes to sleep or is rebooted, or if you press the Unload key on the front panel, but not physically remove the media from the printer. Follow the procedure in the next sections that corresponds to the load option you choose. New load 1. On the Select Thickness Units screen, press the option that corresponds to the units you will use. 2. On the Enter Media Thickness screen, enter the media thickness, or press the Esc key to use the default thickness. 3.
17. Tape the end of the media to printer side of takeup roller, starting in the middle and working out to both ends. Be sure to maintain even tension across the width of the media. 18. Release the dancer bar locking lever. 19. Press the Proceed (►) key. 20. Enter the media length or press the Esc key for an undefined length. The printer measures the media width. 21. On the Front Page screen, press the Proceed (►) key. The Front Page screen appears on the control panel. 22. Press the Go Online key.
14. Release the dancer bar locking lever. 15. Press the Proceed key (►). 16. Enter the media length or press the Esc key for an undefined length. The printer measures the media width. 17. Press the Proceed key (►). The Front Page screen appears on the control panel. 18. On the Front Page screen, press the Go Online key. The printer is now ready to receive a print job from the RIP.
Stored jobs When you send a print job to the printer, you can save the job automatically on the printer’s hard disk drive, on a rotating first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis. You can “lock” a job to prevent it from being rotated out, but this reduces the amount of space available for subsequent jobs to be saved. You can also save a stored job without printing it until you print it from the control panel, or only print the job without saving it.
TIP: If you want to print on a media type that is different from the media specified in a Stored Job, or if you will re-linearize the printer, do not reprint the Stored Job. For the best color, re-send the job from the RIP instead. When printing a job, the printer checks that the currently loaded media matches the media type that was loaded when the job was stored. If different, a warning is raised. You can choose to not print the job, or ignore the warning and print anyway.
Load ink The amount of ink in the ink supply box is tracked by the printer software and recorded on its corresponding profiler. The control panel displays a bar graph with the ink levels in each ink box. When the control panel shows that the ink is low, replace the ink box with a full ink box of the same color, and replace the profiler. NOTE: You may want to wear gloves (latex or nitrile) and have a paper towel handy to catch the drops of ink that may fall from the ink tube connection during this procedure.
NOTE: The printer's ink filters will eventually become clogged and need to be replaced. You can view the volume of ink that has passed through each filter by going to Menu > Tools > Maintenance > Ink Filter Counts. The service technician will reset these counts after replacing the ink filters.
Printing tips ● Rigid cut-sheet media — use only flat, unwarped, undamaged sheets, with parallel opposite edges and 90° corners. ● Curing continues for 24-48 hours — the UV ink will continue to cure for a day or two after printing. Maximum durability and adhesion is achieved when the ink is fully cured. ● Pausing printing — to pause printing, press the Pause key. While printing is paused, you can: ● ◦ Change media settings (vacuum, print delay). ◦ Pause-swap inks (see “Pause-swapping Ink,” below).
34 Chapter 2 Printing ENWW
3 Control panel This chapter describes the functions of the control panel.
Overview The touch-screen control panel shows you the printer’s current status, and enables you to interact with the printer when changing media and ink, respond to an error condition, or configure options. The control panel provides various forms of online user assistance: The ? button provides an explanation of the current function, with some guidance for what to do next.
Front Page The Front Page is the primary control panel interface. The most common operations can be initiated from this screen. ENWW 1. Media information — media name, size, print area, printable length (press here for the Media Wizard) 2. System information (press here for the About screen) ● Printer model ● Printer name — the name of the printer as defined on the print server or under the menu at Printer Settings > Printer Name ● Network status ● Current print mode 3.
8. 9. Media Handling ● Input media roller up or down ● Media alignment bar up or down ● Output media roller up or down Stored Jobs — displays status information for the Stored Jobs area in the printer’s memory: number of Stored Jobs, amount of available and free memory. (Press here detailed memory available by resolution.) See Stored jobs on page 29 for details. 10.
25. Language selector — if installed, switches the control panel language between English and the alternate language. 26. Context specific buttons — the control panel buttons displayed change as required by the current state of the printer or process. 27. Attention messages — blinks on the control panel when the printer detects an error condition, potential error condition, or when you make a change that requires recalibration or other action to ensure best print quality.
Menu Tree This menu tree reflects version 4.30 of the embedded printer software. Refer to the Release Notes for more recent versions. Options marked with (*) are dynamically hidden depending on the printer mode.
● Quality Check ● Sleep Wait Time ● Expert/Novice Messages ● Localization ◦ Units of Measure ◦ Time Format ◦ Date Format ◦ Vacuum Pressure Units ◦ *Language (if second language present) ◦ *Delete Language (if second language present) ● Use Thickness Sensor ● Use Ionizer Bar ● Low Ink Warning ● UV Lamps Idle Time ● Support Rollfed ● *Rollfed Media Control (if roll-fed is enabled) ● Use Service Station Float ● Printer Name ● Restore All Defaults Tools ENWW ● System Info
● ◦ Clean Bottom of Carriage ◦ Printheads Procedures — Load Ink In All Heads, Fill Heads with Ink, Empty Heads (Fill with Air) User Diagnostics ◦ Printhead Jet Statistics ◦ VideoNet Status ◦ VideoNet Connection ◦ Carriage Motion ◦ Calibration ◦ Verify H2H Y Alignment ◦ Vacuum Pressure ◦ Open Loop Actuator Test ◦ Open Loop Service Station Test ◦ Hard Drive ◦ Warnings and Actions List ◦ Error History ◦ Log Error History ◦ Log System Info *Warnings & Actions (In Expert Mode onl
Menus The printer’s less-often used functions are accessed via the menus. The printer has these menus and functions: ● Calibrate Printer ● Printer Settings ● Tools ● Warnings & Actions ● Service Printer ● Print Menus Calibrate Printer To display this menu, press the Calibrate button on the Front Page screen. For instructions on using these options, see Chapter 4, Calibration on page 49 . ● ● ENWW Auto Calibrations — see Auto calibrations on page 53 for instructions.
● ◦ Print Jet-Out Lines — prints a version of the prime bars, in which missing jets that are replaced are marked with a black square. ◦ Default Registration Data — resets all registration data. Since there is no registration data after running this option, all printhead calibration values must be reestablished by running the calibrations. AutoTune (roll-fed media only) — schedules jet maintenance to run automatically after a certain number of prints have printed.
● Measure Media (sheet-fed) — for cut-sheet media, you can choose various levels of precision for finding the left (user end), right (service end), and front edges of the media.
● Top Gutters — allows you to turn On or Off the gutter data at the top edge of the print, which shows the job name, ink, media, date and time printed, print mode, lamps setting, printer, embedded software version, plus write-in blanks for other data. ● Quality Check — determines how AutoTune errors are handled (see AutoTune on page 52). ● Sleep Wait Time — sets the period of time to wait for a print job before going into Sleep mode.
Tools To display this menu, press the Tools button on the Front Page screen. ● System Information — displays current status information for the printer. Maintenance menu: ● Access Printheads — moves the printhead carriage to the center of the rail for inspection. ● Perform An Air Purge — purges the printheads with air to clear ink clogs. You can select the printheads to purge, and whether to perform a Standard or Performance purge (the Performance purge is more effective but expels more ink).
● Carriage Motion ● Calibration ● Verify H2H Y Alignment — verifies whether the print heads are aligned with each other (in the horizontal or Y-axis dimension) in-line or staggered, by printing a test pattern. If the lines print on top of each other, the heads are in-line; if they print interleaved with each other, the heads are staggered. The current Y alignment is shown in the About screen (to access it, press the printer name in the top center of the Front Page screen).
4 Calibration This chapter explains how to calibrate the printer for the best possible output: ENWW ● When to calibrate ● AutoJet ● AutoTune ● Auto calibrations ● Manual calibrations ● Linearization 49
When to calibrate 50 When to run Calibration Function When printing a large group of roll-fed print jobs AutoTune Automatic jet maintenance during extended printing of roll-fed print jobs. When loading a new media (but not when loading a new roll of the same media) Linearization (see HP RIP Software documentation) Linearization of colors. Horizontal Banding Media Feed Calibrates the media advance.
AutoJet AutoJet detects individual inkjets that are misfiring or not firing at all. During subsequent printing, the printer compensates for these jets by using other jets in their place, ensuring maximum print quality without reducing print speed. You can also identify and map missing jets manually from the Manual Calibrations menu (see Manual Jet Mapping on page 58). You may want to manually map weak or misdirected jets that AutoJet does not detect and substitute.
AutoTune AutoTune runs AutoJet maintenance automatically at intervals you specify. You can use the Quality Check Mode feature to handle AutoJet errors (with or without user intervention). AutoTune is shown on the menu only when roll-fed media is loaded. 1. On the Front Page screen, Calibrate key, then press AutoTune on the menu. The control panel displays the AutoTune status (off or current interval). 2. Press ▲ or ▼ to set the AutoTune interval. 3. Press the Proceed (►) key.
Auto calibrations The printer’s piezo printheads are aligned by the installer. Head and bidirectional calibrations should be necessary only rarely (for example, when the heads have been moved within the carriage or replaced). The automatic calibrations apply X offsets (in the direction of carriage motion) to individual jets. The manual calibrations apply X offsets to the entire printhead.
Manual calibrations When you run the calibrations from this menu, you evaluate the calibration test patterns visually and enter the calibration values via the control panel. ▲ Press the Calibrate key from the Front Page screen, then press Manual Calibrations in the menu. The Manual Calibration menu consists of these options: ● Media Feed Calibration — calibrates the media advance accuracy for band-free printing. Visual and (for rigid media only) camera-assisted calibrations are available.
510 mm (20 in) calibration — sheet fed only, uses the printer's onboard image sensor for precise adjustments. If the media feed needs larger adjustments, use the ruler-measured calibrations first. Use to conserve media. 900 mm (34 in) calibration — prints a 900 mm (34 in) test pattern so you can verify its length with an accurate metal ruler. Cut the pattern from the media web, then measure and adjust the media advance as needed until the pattern is exactly 900 mm (34 in) long.
NOTE: AutoBiDi Calibration is the automatic version of this calibration. Try AutoBiDi first before running this manual calibration (see Auto calibrations on page 53). 1. Press the Calibrate key from the Front Page screen, then press Manual Calibrations in the menu. 2. Press Manual BiDi Registration on the menu. The control panel displays this prompt: Print a manual bidi registration page? 3. Press the Proceed (►) key. The printer prints the calibration pattern you selected. 4.
The control panel message increments the head number by one. 8. Repeat steps 4 through 6 for each of the heads. When you have entered registration values for all heads, the control panel displays this message: Registration Successful Printhead X Calibration Precise positioning of each drop of ink is essential for optimal print quality. This is possible only if you register all printheads in the printhead assembly to each other in the X direction (along the direction of printhead carriage travel).
4. Examine the X direction pattern (in the left-hand group of patterns) for the current head, and determine which pattern of colored and black lines are the closest to perfectly aligned. Use a printer’s loupe or magnifying glass (10x magnification or higher) if the patterns are difficult to see. Figure 4-3 Printhead X calibration patterns 5. Press the ▲ or ▼ control panel keys repeatedly until the number next to the pattern that is closest to aligned perfectly is displayed.
The control panel displays this message: Print Jet Map? If you have a calibration pattern from a recent print, you can use it to calibrate the heads. Press Cancel and go to the next step. Otherwise, press the Proceed (►) key. The printer prints a jet map test pattern. If a line segment is missing or broken, the jet number shown next to it is out. A code letter if present provides further information: 3.
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 for each head containing bad jets you want to report. 6. When you are finished reporting bad jets, press Cancel. The control panel displays the previous menu. Clear Individual Bad Jets When you select Clear Individual Bad Jets, the control panel displays the following prompt: Head 1: Press Proceed (►) to clear a bad jet. 1. Press ▲ and ▼ to select a head number, then press Proceed (►).
Head 1: Press Proceed to clear all bad jets. 1. Press ▲ and ▼ to select a head number, then press ► (Proceed). The control panel asks you to confirm your selection. 2. Press ►. The control panel asks whether you want to clear the hard bad jets as well as the soft bad jets. A “soft” bad jet is a jet that you believe is temporarily out, based on past performance. A “hard” bad jet is a jet that you believe is permanently out. 3. Press ► to clear the hard and soft jets. Press X to clear the soft jets only.
missing jets have been mapped out and that all mapped-out jets have been successfully replaced. If a mapped-out jet has not been replaced, there will be no colored line through the black square (2). Figure 4-4 Jet-out lines Default Registration Data This option enables you to reset bidi, head–to–head, or jet mapping registration data. Since there is no registration data after running this option, all calibration values must be reestablished by running the calibrations.
Linearization As the density of an image varies from highlights to shadows, or from lighter tints to darker tints, the printer should accurately reproduce these areas in a predictable, or linear, fashion. The process of linearization (or color calibration) involves printing and reading color test patches, and calibrating the printer to ensure that the expected and printed densities will match. This in turn will ensure optimal color matching.
64 Chapter 4 Calibration ENWW
5 User cleaning This chapter explains user scheduled cleaning tasks.
Schedule of tasks The parts and supplies required for these procedures may be purchased separately or in part number CQ168A, HP Scitex FB950 User Cleaning Kit. This will enable the best possible performance and minimize down time due to maintenance-related issues. The kit is designed for quarterly (every three months) use, but maintenance may be required more often with heavy printer usage (refer to the instructions for details). To order, see your HP reseller or representative.
NOTE: The maintenance schedules are approximate. Maintenance may be required sooner if printer use is more frequent than average or the environment is more dusty than average.
Clean and oil rail carriage-wheel strips (bi-weekly) Ink dust and debris can accumulate on the carriage-wheel strips. These particles become obstacles and friction for the carriage wheels, which can appear as repeating output anomalies on the printed media. 1. Clean the three carriage-wheel strips well with Isopropyl alcohol. 2. Lubricate the top carriage-wheel strip from end to end on the rail (moving the carriage to clean the full length of the rail).
4. Lubricate the lower carriage-wheel strip from end to end on the rail (moving the carriage to clean the full length of the rail). NOTE: Even if the oiled cloth appears clean, it should be discarded quarterly so that the oil does not become sticky.
Clean the rail encoder strip (bi-weekly) Ink dust and debris can accumulate on the encoder strip and block accurate reading of the encoder marks by the carriage encoder reader. 1. Using a lint-free cloth moistened with IPA (Isopropyl alcohol), wipe the top and bottom of the encoder strip, cleaning the entire length of strip. Use common rubbing alcohol, which is 70% isopropyl alcohol and 30% water. 2.
Manually clean the printheads (bi-weekly) 1. Move the output-side table away from the printer. 2. From the control panel, select the following: Tools > Maintenance > Manually Clean Printheads This will cause the rail and output roller to raise to their highest positions and move the carriage out over the belt. 3. Open the output-side door to access the carriage. CAUTION: Wear protective gloves, such as latex, to protect your hands from being stained with ink.
6. For each printhead, use a single finger on a clean area of the saturated lint-free cloth to wipe the printhead orifice from the input-side to the output-side of the carriage. To avoid pushing debris into the printhead orifice, make sure each wipe is done with a clean area of the cloth. The cloth should be fully saturated with head flush. 72 7. From the control panel, select PURGE. 8. When the purge completes, selecting PRIME BARS from the control panel. 9. Examine the prime bars for missing jets.
Clean and grease the service station wiper slide rails (monthly) Cleaning and lubricating the wiper rails keeps the wiper motion moving smoothly for best cleaning performance. 1. To access the service station, move the table away from the input side of the printer and access the wiper and wiper rails from the user-end as shown in the photo below. 2. Using a lint-free cloth, clean both of the wiper rails (A and B in the photo below) on both sides of the wiper carriage (C).
74 4. Apply the grease to both rails (A and B in photo below), making sure to grease the entire surface of the rail (top, bottom and sides). 5. Move the wiper carriage (C in photo below) out to lubricate the rail surfaces on the other side of the wiper carriage (A and B). 6. Move the wiper carriage back and forth on the rails to spread the lubricant evenly.
Clean service station wiper (monthly) Clumps of ink can accumulate around the wiper blades. If not cleaned off, the wipers can press the clumps of ink into the printhead orifices, which can clog the printhead jets. 1. Wear cloves, such as latex, to protect your hands from ink. 2. Using a lint-free cloth saturated with head flush (do not use IPA) wipe both sides of the rubber wiper. NOTE: For clarity, this procedure is shown with the end enclosure removed.
Clean carriage wheels (monthly) Ink dust and debris can accumulate on the carriage wheels. These particles become obstacles and friction for the carriage wheels, which can appear as repeating output anomalies on the printed media. There are four carriage wheels to clean (A, B, C, D in the figure below). The lower pair of wheels (E, F) are not accessible. 76 1. Raise the rail by selecting the following from the printer’s menu: Tools > Service Printer > Reset Home Positions > Reset Rail Home Position. 2.
4. ENWW Clean the top slanted wheels (B & C in the figure below) by inserting an IPA moistened cotton swab into the opening above the wheels (A) and moving the carriage back and forth.
Clean bottom of carriage (monthly) Clumps of ink and debris can accumulate around the printheads. This routine cleans as much of this surface area as possible. This reduces the possibility of ink debris being moved from the edge of the printhead orifice area onto the printhead, which can clog jets. 78 1. From the printer’s menu, select Tools> Maintenance > Clean Bottom Of Carriage. 2.
Clean the home sensor (monthly) The home sensor is located on the user-end of the carriage between the lamp assembly and the carriage side plate (on the input-side of the carriage). Ink dust and debris can accumulate in the thin slits of the optical sensor and cause errors. 1. Open the output-side door. Opening the output-side door will disable the carriage servo, allowing the carriage to be moved manually. ENWW 2. Pull the carriage out from the end of the rail to access the home sensor more easily. 3.
5. Using a long cotton swap that is saturated in isopropyl alcohol, clean the top and bottom slit by inserting the swap into the opening from the input-side of the sensor (versus inserting from the user-end of the sensor). CAUTION: Inserting the swap from the user-end toward the service-end may push debris into the slits. Insert the swap moving from the input-side toward the output-side direction. Do not wipe across the slits, as this will force debris down into the openings.
Replace the UV lamp filters (quarterly) Lamp filters keep ink dust and other debris from entering the air-cooled lamp area. If the filters become clogged, the lamps may over heat, reducing the life of the bulbs. Over heating causes printing to stop, which can ruin a print job. ENWW 1. Remove the original air filters for both carriage lamps (B in photo below). 2.
Replace the carriage-cover fan filters (quarterly) Carriage fan filters keep ink dust and other debris from entering the air-cooled area of the carriage. If the filters become clogged, the carriage headboard and printheads may over heat, causing performance errors. 82 1. Locate the fan filter covers (A in drawing below). 2. Using a flat-blade screwdriver, pry off the fan filter cover. 3. Remove the original fan filter (A in the photo below).
ENWW 4. Insert the new filter over the fan. 5. Snap the filter cover back over the fan filter.
Clean the electronics box fan filter (quarterly) Electronics box fan filter keeps dust and other debris from entering the air-cooled area of the electronics box. If the filter becomes clogged, the electronics may over heat, causing performance errors. 1. Vacuum the dust and debris from the front of the fan on the input-side of the electronics box (located behind the user-end enclosure in the area indicated by (C) in the drawing below.
2. ENWW Vacuum the filter (A in photo below.) and remove dust from the surrounding cabinet area.
Replace the service station wipers (quarterly) The wiper blades deteriorate with use. Replacing the wiper blades periodically restores the wiping to optimal performance and wiper height. NOTE: Replace the wipers according to the schedule in Table 5-1 Schedule of cleaning tasks on page 66. The wiper replacement schedule is calculated to be frequent enough to avoid the need for wiper-height calibrations between replacements.
Clean ionizer needles (quarterly) Ink dust and debris can collect on the ionizer needles which degrades its ability to eliminate static. Cleaning the ionizer needles keeps the ionizer bar in optimal performance. ▲ Using the brass brush (A in the photo below) - supplied with the printer), clean the ionizer needles (A in the photo below) located beneath the ionizer bar (B). The needles (A in the photo below) run the length of the ionizer bar.
Drain waste ink from service station (quarterly) Waste ink accumulates in the service station until drained. Dispose of the collected ink according to local regulations. 1. Place the waste ink jug (included with the printer) beneath the waste ink spigot, under the media drive belt at the service end of the printer. 2. Turn the spigot (A in the photo below) to the open position 3.
Clean media thickness sensor roller (quarterly) Debris on the media thickness sensor can result in inaccurate measurements. Clean the roller to keep the sensor operating correctly. ▲ ENWW Using a lint-free cloth that is saturated with IPA (isopropyl alcohol), clean the media thickness sensor roller by manually turning the roller with your finger while applying the cloth to the roller surface.
90 Chapter 5 User cleaning ENWW
A ENWW Specifications 91
Specifications Table A-1 Specifications Dimensions (assembled) Width: 406.4 cm (160 in) Height: 154.9 cm (61 in) Depth without tables: 121.9 cm (48 in) Depth with tables: 325.
Table A-1 Specifications (continued) Optional auxiliary power for vacuum system Energy consumed per hour of operation Supplied 24 volt DC power supply with universal adapters, connected from the auxiliary power jack on the vacuum/pressure assembly to one of the following: ● Wall outlet — 100-240 VAC, 50/60 Hz, provides temporary power to the vacuum system when it is necessary to remove power from the printer for service.
Table A-2 Print speeds by group 94 Speed Group Minimum Speed Maximum Speed A 2 m2/hr (19 ft2/hr) 6 m2/hr (62 ft2/hr B 7 m2/hr (80 ft2/hr) 12 m2/hr (126 ft2/hr) C 14 m2/hr (152 ft2/hr) 23 m2/hr (251 ft2/hr) D 28 m2/hr (304 ft2/hr) 42 m2/hr (456 ft2/hr) E 55 m2/hr (596 ft2/hr) 80 m2/hr (858 ft2/hr) Appendix A Specifications ENWW
B Troubleshooting This appendix explains how to prevent and diagnose printing problems and provides information about getting help from Hewlett-Packard. For other software-specific troubleshooting procedures, refer to your application software documentation or the other documentation listed on page iv of this manual.
Troubleshooting checklist Before you troubleshoot your printer, make sure that it is properly installed as described in Getting started on page 1. Follow the steps in this checklist to isolate and resolve printing problems. 1. Does the printer’s power come ON? YES: Go to question 2.NO: Check the following: 2. ● The power cable may not be plugged into an electrical outlet. ● If the printer is plugged into a surge protector, the surge protector may not be connected to power, or it may be switched off.
YES: Then the problem is not covered in this checklist. Contact Technical Services.NO: Check the following: ● See Image quality tips on page 101 for detailed tips on getting the best output quality. ● Banding or general poor image quality — the printheads may need to be calibrated (see Calibration on page 49). One or more inkjets may be clogged or not firing (see Check jet health on page 104). The media advance may need to be recalibrated (see Media Feed Calibration on page 54).
Warranty claims The printer is covered by a manufacturer’s limited warranty, which includes the printheads. For more information about warranty claims, contact HP (see next page for contact information).
HP Customer Care In case of any question or problem, you should approach your local HP Authorized Representative for consultancy and support. However, if required, you can contact HP directly by using the following methods. NOTE: For up-to-date contact information, please visit http://www.hp.com/go/graphicarts. North America Tel: 800 925 0563 Fax: 952 943 3695 E-mail: cs.custsup@hp.com Europe, Middle East, and Africa Tel: +32 2 7283444 Fax: +31 207157536 E-mail: LF.MV.Support@hp.
Panama: 001 800 711 2884 Peru: 511 411 2443 / 0 800 10111 El Salvador: 800 6160 Venezuela: 58 212 278 8666 / 0 800 474 68368 CC LAR Nextel: (5255) 1088 0884; ID 52*20115*51 CC LAR e-Mail: carecenter.ipglf.lar@hp.
C ENWW Image quality tips 101
Overview This chapter provides general tips and tricks for getting the best printed output from your printer. It consists of the following sections: ● Startup and check jet health — daily startup tips, calibrations, ensuring that inkjets are operating well.
Startup and check jet health This section shows you how to configure your printer for best quality printing. Start with the printer in good working order These techniques will be much less likely to work if you are not using a printer that is in good working order: ● The printer was properly installed by an HP-authorized service technician, in a facility and environment that meets HP specifications as published in the Site Preparation Guide.
● Configure and load media as described in Configure media on page 19. ● Wipe down synthetic media with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) before printing to reduce static charge, and remove fingerprints and dust, which could become visible in the print. Check jet health At the beginning of the day's printing, verify that all of the inkjets are either firing or have been substituted by another working jet. 1. Print the Prime Bars pattern.
Printer settings This section shows you how to adjust the printer's media and print mode settings for the best output. Select print mode Figure C-1 Front Page screen The printer has three print modes that are designed to balance printing speed and output quality, based on the distance from which the print will typically be viewed. Figure C-2 Print Mode screen (quality options) ENWW ● If the print will be viewed at a distance of greater than 5 m (16 ft), the recommended mode is Billboard mode.
Select Plus or normal mode Figure C-3 Print Mode screen (Plus and image detail options) ● If the print will require heavy ink coverage (large blocks of solid color or continuous tone photographic images), use Bidirectional, Plus mode. This mode reduces the “gloss banding” effect in bidirectional printing. ● If the print will require light ink coverage (signage with lettering and large unprinted areas), select Bidirectional printing without Plus mode. This mode provides faster print speeds.
To shutter a lamp: ENWW 1. On the printer's Front Page screen, press the lamp status panel: 2. On the lamps information screen, press the Lamp Print Settings button: 3.
4. On the shutter aperture screen, press the up arrow for the trailing lamp repeatedly to change the angle of the shutter from 0 degrees (fully open) to closed. The greater the angle, the glossier the appearance of the print. Closed will provide the maximum gloss.
RIP settings For detailed operating instructions, refer to the RIP user guide. Choose a resolution The print resolution is determined by the RIP. There is no resolution setting on the printer. ● For most images, use 600x600 dpi. ● If a grainy image is acceptable (when viewed from a longer distance or as a draft, for example) and faster print speeds are desired, use 600x300 dpi. ● For more saturated colors or printing on clear or backlit media, use 1200x600 dpi.
Troubleshoot image quality problems This chapter explains how to address typical image quality problems. Ensuring high-quality documents and images ● Ensure that all text is converted to outlines (not bitmaps) or the fonts are included with the artwork files. ● All line art should be in vector form (not bitmap) for good scalability and reproduction. ● Large blocks of solid colors can show banding more obviously than smaller areas of color or photographic images.
Wide horizontal banding, sometimes referred to as “directional gloss banding” or “lawnmower banding,” which may be caused by light reflecting differently off adjacent printed areas. Ink that is laid down when the printhead carriage is moving in one direction will have a different reflectance characteristic than ink laid down in the opposite direction. This effect varies with the viewing angle, and is more pronounced in darker images with higher ink saturation.
Grainy In a “grainy” appearing image, the individual dots of ink are noticeable, instead of a photographic, continuous tone image. This may occur if the image is being viewed at a closer distance than recommended, given how the image was printed. ● Print at a higher resolution (600x600 or 600x1200 dpi). ● Print with 6 colors instead of 4 colors (if available). ● Print in a higher quality mode (Production or High Quality). ● Perform a bidirectional calibration (see Auto calibrations on page 53).
● Check for missing jets. See Check jet health on page 104 for instructions. ● Do not use an Ink Saver profile. Inaccurate or unexpected colors ENWW ● UV inks have a limited shelf life. Expired inks may under go a color shift. Ensure that the expiration date marked on the ink packaging has not passed. Replace any expired ink.
Examples This section presents some examples of applying the tips and tricks in this guide to typical print jobs. Saturated photograph with dark areas Factor Recommended techniques Viewing distance: less than 1 m (3 ft) Print in High Quality mode Image content: saturated and dark colors RIP at 600x600 or 1200x600 dpi Ink coverage: high To prevent wide banding, print in Plus mode or unidirectionally.
Flexible banner ENWW Factor Recommended techniques Viewing distance: 1–5 m (3–16 ft) Print in Production mode Image content: large blocks of solid colors, some images and text RIP at 600x600 dpi Ink coverage: high To prevent wide banding, print in Plus mode.
Image quality flow chart The image quality flow charts provide a high-level summary of the tips and tricks in this guide. You can print out the chart for reference and follow the recommended steps to optimal print quality, from start to finish.
HP Scitex FB950 Printer Image Quality Flowchart 1. STARTUP AND CHECK JET HEALTH START DAILY STARTUP LOAD MEDIA • Clean media, check for damage. • Configure media (User Guide, Chapter 2). • Load media (User Guide, Chapter 2). CHECK JET HEALTH 1. Print Prime Bars 2. Purge and Wipe the heads 3. Print Prime Bars, compare to previous day’s print. Is today’s Prime Bars print comparable to yesterday’s best Prime Bars print? No © Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
HP Scitex FB950 Printer Image Quality Flowchart 2. PRINTER SETTINGS FROM PAGE 1 Choose mode based on viewing distance: CHOOSE MODE • >5 m (16 ft): use Billboard Mode (fastest) • 1-5 m (3-16 ft): use Production Mode • <1 m (3 ft): use High Quality Mode (with Gloss mode if needed) Does the image require heavy ink coverage? Yes Use Production BiDi with Plus mode as needed or High Quality Mode TO PAGE 3 No IMAGE CONTENT © Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
HP Scitex FB950 Printer Image Quality Flowchart 3. RIP SETTINGS FROM PAGE 2 CHOOSE RESOLUTION CHOOSE PROFILE • Standard images: use 600 x 600 • Draft/grainy OK, need speed: use 600 x 300 • Need saturated colors or clear/backlit: use 1200x600 • Select the profile that matches the media you are using. • Reduce ink usage? Select Ink Saver profile. • If needed, perform a color calibration (see RIP user guide for instructions) 4. CHECK QUALITY Problem What to do Wide (gloss) horizontal banding 1.
Index A Action messages defined 39 ATTN control panel key 39 ATTN messages 39 Auto calibrations 43 AutoJet 51 AutoTune Quality Check 52 B Bidirectional printing 14 Billboard Quality 14 C Calibrate Printer 43 Calibration AutoJet 51 automatic 43 AutoTune 44 Clear All Bad Jets 61 Clear All Bad Jets for a Head 60 Clear Individual Bad Jets 60 manual 43 Manual BiDi 55 Manual Jet Mapping 51 Media Feed 54 Print Jet-Out Lines 38 Printhead X Calibration 57 Report Individual Bad Jets 59 View Current Bad Jets 60 when
Production Quality 14 Q Quick Load 22 Quick tour 8 R Report Individual Bad Jets 59 Resolution 14 Rigid media printing minimum length 21 RIP connecting 3 installation 4 Roll-fed media printing 25 S Safety warnings 6 Scheduled maintenance 65 Serial number location 8 Service Printer 48 Sharp Edge defined 15 Special features 10 Specifications 2 Stored jobs 23 T Tips 33 Tools 47 Troubleshooting 95 U Unidirectional printing 14 V VideoNet interface card 3 protocol 3 View Current Bad Jets 60 W Warning messages de
