HP 6500 A Manual

							
5.Twist the orange cap to snap it off.
6.Using the colored shaped icons for help, slide the ink cartridge into the empty slot
until it clicks into place and is seated firmly in the slot.
CAUTION: Do not lift the latch handle on the print carriage to install the ink
cartridges. Doing so can resu lt in incorrectly seated ink cartridges and printing
problems. The latch must remain down in order to correctly install the ink
cartridges.
Make sure that you insert the ink cartridge into the slot that has the same shaped icon
and color as the one you are installing.
7. Repeat steps 3 through 6 for each ink cartridge you are replacing.
8. Close the ink cartridge door.
Related topics
Order printing supplies online
Advanced ink cartridge maintenance
This section contains the following topics:
•
Clean the sensor
•
Clean the sensor windows on the ink cartridges
Work with ink cartridges 147 
						

							
Clean the sensor
NOTE:This procedure is only necessary when you see an error message relating
to the ink cartridges. For more in formation about error messages, see 
Errors.
Clean the sensor.
If the problem is not resolv ed, printing can continue, but  the ink system behavior might
change.
CAUTION: The cleaning procedure should take only a few minutes. Make sure that
the ink cartridges are reinstalled in the product when instructed. Leaving them outside
of the product for an extended period of time can result in damage to the ink cartridges.
To clean the sensor in the product
1. Gather swabs or a lint-free cloth to use for the cleaning procedure.
2. Make sure the product is turned on.
3. Open the ink cartridge access door by lifting from the front right of the product, until
the door locks into place.
The print carriage moves to the center of the product.
NOTE: Wait until the print carriage stops moving before proceeding.
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4.Locate the sensor inside the product.
The sensor is a square, black plastic part slig htly larger than a pencil eraser, just to
the left of the print carriage.
5. Wipe the sensor with a dry swab or lint-free cloth.
6. Close the ink cartridge access door, and check if the error message has been
resolved.
7. If you still receive the error message, turn the product off, and then on again.
Clean the sensor windows on the ink cartridges
Clean the window on all of the ink cartridges.
If the problem is not  resolved, printing can  continue, but the ink system behavior might
change.
CAUTION: The cleaning procedure should take only a few minutes. Make sure that
the ink cartridges are reinstalled in the product when instructed. Leaving them outside
of the product for an extended period of time can result in damage to the ink cartridges.
To clean the sensor window on the ink cartridges
1. Gather swabs or a lint-free cloth to use for the cleaning procedure.
2. Make sure the product is turned on.
3. Open the ink cartridge access door by lifting from the front right of the product, until
the door locks into place.
Work with ink cartridges 149 
						

							
The print carriage moves to the center of the product.
NOTE:Wait until the print carriage stops moving before proceeding.
4.Remove all of the ink cartridges and place them on a piece of paper with the ink
openings pointing up.
To remove the ink cartridges
a. Press the tab on the ink cartridge to release it, and then remove it from the slot.
b . Place the ink cartridge on a sheet of paper with the ink opening pointing up.
c. Repeat steps a and b for each ink cartridge.
5. For each ink cartridge, wipe the sensor window with a dry swab or lint-free cloth.
The sensor window is an area of clear plastic near the copper or gold-colored metal
contacts on the bottom of the ink cartridge. Try not to touch the metal contacts.
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150 Maintain and troubleshoot 
						

							
6.Install each ink cartridge in its slot. Press it down until the tab snaps into place.
Match the color and icon on each ink cartridge label to the color and icon on the slot
for that ink cartridge.
7.Close the ink cartridge access door, and check if the error has been resolved.
8. If you still receive the error message, turn the product off, and then on again.
Advanced printhead maintenance
If you are experiencing problems with printing, you might have a problem with the
printhead. You should perform the procedur es in the following sections only when
directed to do so for reso lving print quality issues.
Performing the aligning and cleaning proc edures unnecessarily can waste ink and
shorten the life of the cartridges.
If you receive an error message about the ink cartridges, see 
Errors  for more information.
This section contains the following topics:
•
Clean the printhead
•
Align the printer
Clean the printhead
If your printed output is streaked or has any incorrect or missing colors, the printhead
might need to be cleaned.
This process uses ink to attempt to unclog and clean the nozzles in the printhead.
This might take a few minutes and will use one or more sheets of paper.
To clean the printhead from the control panel
1. Load letter, A4, or legal unused plain white paper into the main input tray.
2. Press  Setup.
3. Press the down arrow button to highlight  Tools, and then press  OK.
4. Press the down arrow button to highlight  Clean Printhead, and then press OK.
The product cleans the printhead.
5. Press any button to return to the  Tools menu.
To clean the printhead from the Printer Toolbox
1. Load letter, A4, or legal unused plain white paper into the main input tray.
2. In the HP Solution Center, click  Settings.
Work with ink cartridges 151 
						

							
3.In the  Print Settings  area, click Printer Toolbox .
NOTE:You can also open the  Printer Toolbox from the Print Properties  dialog
box. In the  Print Properties  dialog box, click the  Features tab, and then click
Printer Services .
The Printer Toolbox  appears.
4. Click the  Device Services  tab.
5. Click  Clean Printhead .
6. Follow the prompts until you are satisfied with the quality of the output, and then click
Done .
There are two stages of cleaning. Each stage lasts about two minutes, uses one sheet
of paper, and uses an increasing amount of ink. After each stage, review the quality
of the printed page. You should only initiate the next phase of cleaning if the print
quality is poor.
If print quality still seems poor after you complete both stages of cleaning, try aligning
the printer. If print quality problems persist after cleaning and aligning, contact HP
support.
To clean the printhead from the embedded Web server
1. Load letter, A4, or legal unused plain white paper into the main input tray.
2. Click the  Device Settings  tab, click Device Services  in the left pane, select  Clean
Printheads  from the drop-down list in the  Print Quality section, and then click  Run
Diagnostic .
Align the printer
The product automatically aligns the printhead during the initial setup.
You might want to use this feature when the pr inter status report shows streaking or white
lines through any of the blocks of color or if you are having print quality issues with your
printouts.
To align the printhead from the control panel
1. Load letter, A4, or legal unused plain white paper into the main input tray.
2. Press  Setup.
3. Press the down arrow button to highlight  Tools, and then press  OK.
4. Press the down arrow button to highlight  Align Printer, and then press  OK.
The product aligns the printhead.
5. Press any button to return to the  Tools menu.
To align the printer fr om the Printer Toolbox
1. Load letter, A4, or legal unused plain white paper into the main input tray.
2. In the HP Solution Center, click  Settings.
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152 Maintain and troubleshoot 
						

							
3.In the  Print Settings  area, click Printer Toolbox .
NOTE:You can also open the  Printer Toolbox from the Print Properties  dialog
box. In the  Print Properties  dialog box, click the  Features tab, and then click
Printer Services .
The Printer Toolbox  appears.
4. Click the  Device Services  tab.
5. Click  Align the Printer .
The product prints a test page, aligns the printhead, and calibrates the printer.
Recycle or discard the page.
To align the printer from the embedded Web server
1. Load letter, A4, or legal unused plain white paper into the main input tray.
2. Click the  Settings tab, click  Device Services  in the left pane, select  Align
Printhead  from the drop-down list in the  Print Quality section, and then click  Run
Diagnostic .
Usage information collection
The HP cartridges used with this product contain a memory chip that assists in the
operation of the product.
In addition, this memory chip collects a limited set of information about the usage of the
product, which might include the following: the date when the cartridge was first installed,
the date when the cartridge was last used, the number of pages printed using the
cartridge, the page coverage, the printing modes used, any printing errors that might have
occurred, and the product model. This information helps HP design future products to
meet our customers printing needs.
The data collected from the cartridge memory chip does not contain information that can
be used to identify a customer or us er of the cartridge or their product.
HP collects a sampling of the memory chips  from cartridges returned to HPs free return
and recycling program (H P Planet Partners: 
www.hp.com/recycle). The memory chips
from this sampling are read and studied in order to improve future HP products. HP
partners who assist in recycling this cartridge might have access to this data, as well.
Any third party possessing the cartridge might  have access to the anonymous information
on the memory chip. If you prefer to not allow access to this information, you can render
the chip inoperable. However, after you render the memory chip inoperable, the cartridge
cannot be used in an HP product.
If you are concerned about providing this  anonymous information, you can make this
information inaccessible by turning off the memory chips ability to collect the products
usage information:
To turn off usage information collection
1. On the product control panel, press the  Setup button.
2. Select  Preferences , and then select  Cartridge Chip Info .
3. Press  1 to turn off usage information collection.
Work with ink cartridges 153 
						

							
NOTE:If you turn off the memory chips ability to collect the products usage
information, you can still continue to use the cartridge in the HP product.
Print and evaluate a print quality report
Print quality problems can have many causes: software settings, a poor image file, or the
printing system itself. If you are unhappy with  the quality of your prints, a Print Quality
Diagnostic page can help you determine if the printing system is working properly.
This section includes the following topics:
•
To print a print quality report
•
To evaluate the Print Quality Diagnostic Page
To print a print quality report
1. Load regular, white, letter-size or A4 paper.
2. Press  Setup until you see  Print Report
3. Press the right arrow until you see  Print Quality Report. Press OK.
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154 Maintain and troubleshoot 
						

							
To evaluate the Print Quality Diagnostic Page
This section includes the following topics:
•
Ink Levels
•
Good color bars
•
Ragged, irregularly streaked, or faded bars
•
Regular white streaks in the bars
•
Bar colors are not uniform
•
Large Black Font Text
•
Alignment Patters
Ink Levels
▲ Look at the Ink Level number in Line 21. If any of the bar level indicators are low, you
may need to replace that ink cartridge.
NOTE: Ink level warnings and indicators provide estimates for planning
purposes only. When you receive an ink alert message, consider having a
replacement cartridge available to avoid possible printing delays. You do not need
to replace cartridges until print quality becomes unacceptable.
Good color bars
▲ Look at the color bars in the middle of the page. There should be seven color bars.
The color bars should have sharp edges. They should be solid (not streaked with
white or other colors). They should be uniform in color throughout.
Example of Good Color Bars - all seven bars are solid, sharp-edged, and extend with
uniform color all the way across the page - the printer is operating correctly. The bars
correspond to the ink cartridges in the printer as follows:
ItemCartridge color
1Black Ink Cartridge
2Cyan Ink Cartridge
3Magenta Ink Cartridge
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ItemCartridge color
4Yellow Ink Cartridge
Ragged, irregularly streaked, or faded bars
Example of Bad Color Bars - The top bar is irregularly streaked or fading.
Example of Bad Color Bars - The top black bar is ragged on one end.
If any of the bars are ragged, irregularly streaked, or faded, follow these steps:
1.Make sure the ink cartridges have ink.
2. Remove the cartridge corresponding to the streaked bar and make sure it is properly
vented. For more  information, see 
Replace the ink cartridges .
3. Reinstall the cartridge and make sure all the cartridges are properly latched. For more
information, see 
Replace the ink cartridges
4. Clean the printhead. For more information, see 
Clean the printhead
5. Try another print or reprint the Print Quality Diagnostic report. If the problem still
occurs, but cleaning seems to have helped, clean again.
6. If cleaning does not solve the problem, replace the cartridge that corresponds to the
ragged bar.
7. If replacing the ink cartridge does not help, contact HP - the printhead may need to
be replaced.
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156 Maintain and troubleshoot