Having Trouble With My HP 4V Printer

[geezer]

I've been working on a newsletter all week, a highly complex issue
with lots of multiple printed pages and paste-on photos. All through
the many test prints to adjust layout to close tolerances the big HP4
laser printer performed flawlessly. Now that I'm printing camera-ready
copy and photos on pricey high-gloss, the damned thing has gotten
cranky.

Actually, it has been tolerably cranky for quite some time, requiring
a reboot to print. Suddenly re booting doesn't help.

It displays three status messages: Ready (It always works), Out of
Paper (It isn't and it generally prints), and Offline (Forget about
printing anything). Normally I can just switch to Diana's Brother
laser. But it prints too dark for reproduction purposes and probably
would mess up typeface spacing.

This morning I'm seeing the Out of Paper message. I discovered that if
I leave the room it mocks me by printing in my absence. I'm only half
kidding. I started a bit after 7 this morning and just got the last
page printed at 10:30. And now it seems to want to work. If that isn't
deliberate mocking, I don't know what is.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

Geezer

 

[CSM1]

I've been working on a newsletter all week, a highly complex issue
with lots of multiple printed pages and paste-on photos. All through
the many test prints to adjust layout to close tolerances the big HP4
laser printer performed flawlessly. Now that I'm printing camera-ready
copy and photos on pricey high-gloss, the damned thing has gotten
cranky.

Actually, it has been tolerably cranky for quite some time, requiring
a reboot to print. Suddenly re booting doesn't help.

It displays three status messages: Ready (It always works), Out of
Paper (It isn't and it generally prints), and Offline (Forget about
printing anything). Normally I can just switch to Diana's Brother
laser. But it prints too dark for reproduction purposes and probably
would mess up typeface spacing.

This morning I'm seeing the Out of Paper message. I discovered that if
I leave the room it mocks me by printing in my absence. I'm only half
kidding. I started a bit after 7 this morning and just got the last
page printed at 10:30. And now it seems to want to work. If that isn't
deliberate mocking, I don't know what is.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

Geezer

Maybe you are exceeding the duty cycle limits of the printer.

Many laser printers have a duty cycle of so much time printing and so much
time cooling between print jobs.

A lot of heat and power is generated in use.

 

[Tony]

I've been working on a newsletter all week, a highly complex issue
with lots of multiple printed pages and paste-on photos. All through
the many test prints to adjust layout to close tolerances the big HP4
laser printer performed flawlessly. Now that I'm printing camera-ready
copy and photos on pricey high-gloss, the damned thing has gotten
cranky.

Actually, it has been tolerably cranky for quite some time, requiring
a reboot to print. Suddenly re booting doesn't help.

It displays three status messages: Ready (It always works), Out of
Paper (It isn't and it generally prints), and Offline (Forget about
printing anything). Normally I can just switch to Diana's Brother
laser. But it prints too dark for reproduction purposes and probably
would mess up typeface spacing.

This morning I'm seeing the Out of Paper message. I discovered that if
I leave the room it mocks me by printing in my absence. I'm only half
kidding. I started a bit after 7 this morning and just got the last
page printed at 10:30. And now it seems to want to work. If that isn't
deliberate mocking, I don't know what is.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

Geezer

Very strange, I have worked on lots of these and never seen that. Can you print
out the error log?
Error log instructions....
1. Power printer off
2. Press and hold Online, Form feed and Enter keys while turning printer on.
Keep the buttons pressed until all the lights are on and the display is blank.
Release the keys.
3. Press Form feed and then press enter. You should see Service Mode appear
briefly, then the printer will do a self test and finish warming up and you
should see Service Mode appear again.
4. Press Menu
5. Press Item until you see ERR LOG diplayed and press Enter. This should print
the last 10 errors together with the page count. If you want to print all
errors then you should select PRT ERR LOG instead of ERR LOG.
6. Press Online to exit service mode.
What errors do you see?
Tony

 

[George E. Cawthon]

I've been working on a newsletter all week, a highly complex issue
with lots of multiple printed pages and paste-on photos. All through
the many test prints to adjust layout to close tolerances the big HP4
laser printer performed flawlessly. Now that I'm printing camera-ready
copy and photos on pricey high-gloss, the damned thing has gotten
cranky.

Actually, it has been tolerably cranky for quite some time, requiring
a reboot to print. Suddenly re booting doesn't help.

It displays three status messages: Ready (It always works), Out of
Paper (It isn't and it generally prints), and Offline (Forget about
printing anything). Normally I can just switch to Diana's Brother
laser. But it prints too dark for reproduction purposes and probably
would mess up typeface spacing.

This morning I'm seeing the Out of Paper message. I discovered that if
I leave the room it mocks me by printing in my absence. I'm only half
kidding. I started a bit after 7 this morning and just got the last
page printed at 10:30. And now it seems to want to work. If that isn't
deliberate mocking, I don't know what is.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

Geezer

If you haven't already, the first thing to do is
to turn the printer off with the on/off switch on
the printer then pull the plug. That will erase
any memory errors that might have occurred. If
you don't pull the plug, the printer is never
really off so the memory can't be erased. You
might want to try the same thing with your computer.

 

[Tony]

If you haven't already, the first thing to do is
to turn the printer off with the on/off switch on
the printer then pull the plug. That will erase
any memory errors that might have occurred. If
you don't pull the plug, the printer is never
really off so the memory can't be erased. You
might want to try the same thing with your computer.

George
On this printer the main power switch removes all power to the printer.
The error list in NVRAM retains all errors until it either fills up or is
reset in Service Mode.
This is true for most HP Laser printers of this vintage.
Tony

 

[geezer]

Tony - Actually this is not my problem, but that of a good friend whom
I am trying to help.

At this point it might be more helpful to him if he had direct contact
with you. Could you continue all this with him at
(e-mail address removed)? (unless you think a newsgroups dialog would
help others). Whatever, Your choice. I'll help where I can.

I tried to answer your questions below.

Geezer

Very strange, I have worked on lots of these and never seen that. Can you print
out the error log?
Error log instructions....
1. Power printer off
2. Press and hold Online, Form feed and Enter keys while turning printer on.
Keep the buttons pressed until all the lights are on and the display is blank.
Release the keys.
3. Press Form feed and then press enter. You should see Service Mode appear
briefly, then the printer will do a self test and finish warming up and you
should see Service Mode appear again.

Msg says "PC TRAY EMPTY (it isn't)

4. Press Menu
5. Press Item until you see ERR LOG diplayed and press Enter. This should print
the last 10 errors together with the page count.

It didn't. Msg says "01 130001 044012

If you want to print all
errors then you should select PRT ERR LOG instead of ERR LOG.

This worked. Lists 5 incidents, all error 13, sub error 0001

6. Press Online to exit service mode.
What errors do you see?

Msg says "PC TRAY EMPTY." It isn't.
I put paper in bottom drawer (which I don't use; I find open paper
feeder on top handier for frequent paper changing) msg changed to
"SERVICE MODE."
I don't have a manual for the HP4V. But I do have one for a QMS 1660e
if this would be helpful. They appear to have common ancestry.

 

[geezer]

My friend says he turns this printer on and off from a switch console,
which cuts the current as totally as unplugging it. He considers this
to be a more effective strategy than rebooting the computer. His
recollection is that it takes about five minutes for the printer's
memory to drain.


He wonders if the printer is designed to always have power to the
memory perhaps his power console arrangement contributes to the
problems. He knows to turn off inkjets by the printer switch because
they perform a post shutdown head-cleaning process, but isn't aware of
any problem with total shutdown of laser printers.

???

 

[Leythos]

My friend says he turns this printer on and off from a switch console,
which cuts the current as totally as unplugging it. He considers this
to be a more effective strategy than rebooting the computer. His
recollection is that it takes about five minutes for the printer's
memory to drain.

That's funny. The printers RAM is erased within seconds when power is
removed. The NVRAM is not erased when power is off for any amount of
time.

He wonders if the printer is designed to always have power to the
memory perhaps his power console arrangement contributes to the
problems. He knows to turn off inkjets by the printer switch because
they perform a post shutdown head-cleaning process, but isn't aware of
any problem with total shutdown of laser printers.

Laser printers, if setup properly, will go into one of two sleep modes,
power save, or deep sleep - in either case they don't need to be shut-
off at the power switch unless you are going to not use them for a LONG
period of time.

Printer "Memory" is the same as the RAM in your computer, once power is
removed it's gone.

I think you are confusing the Windows XP (or any other OS) Queue and
print spooler service with "memory". The printer does not retain any
"print" memory when turned off.

 

[Tony]

My friend says he turns this printer on and off from a switch console,
which cuts the current as totally as unplugging it. He considers this
to be a more effective strategy than rebooting the computer. His
recollection is that it takes about five minutes for the printer's
memory to drain.


He wonders if the printer is designed to always have power to the
memory perhaps his power console arrangement contributes to the
problems. He knows to turn off inkjets by the printer switch because
they perform a post shutdown head-cleaning process, but isn't aware of
any problem with total shutdown of laser printers.

As Leythos has correctly pointed out. This printer has two types of memory.
(not true of some other laser printers).
1. RAM that holds the print data.
2. NVRAM that holds configuration settings and error logs.
RAM is volatile and will be erased whenever the printer is powered off. It
makes no difference whether the power is removed at the wall or by using the
printer power switch.
NVRAM will not be erased at power off since it is Non Volatile and has to be
deliberately erased or altered from the control panel.
The problem that your friend is experiencing has nothing to do with either of
these.

The first question is what page counts did the errors occur at, it should be
reported on the error log you obtained as follows
01 (event number) 130001 (error type 13 sub type 0001) 044012 (page count). You
would normally expect one error 13 failure every few thousand pages due to many
reasons. So did the reported errors all happen within a few pages of each other
and recently (compare the reported page counts to the total printer page count
from the configuration page) ? If so then this is likely the problem.

Error 13 is either a paper jam or a false paper jam. If the printer reports
that error and has failed to feed paper then the probably cause is paper pick
up rollers that need to be cleaned or replaced. This is unlikely if the problem
occurs from both trays (I assume the printer does not have the optional 500
page tray that sits under the printer). So your friend needs to see if both
trays exhibit the problem. If it is only one tray then that tray has a paper
feed roller problem. If it is from both trays then it is probably a paper
sensor arm that is either not moving freely or has a piece of paper stuck close
to it. This may require removal of the fuser and other components so that the
paper sensor levers can be seen. I have the service manual, please advise if
you would like me to e-mail it to your friend.

Tony

 

[Tony]

<snip>

I have the service manual, please advise if

you would like me to e-mail it to your friend.

Or better still he can download it for free from
http://www.eserviceinfo.com/downloadsm/10373/HP_LaserJet 4V.html

There are 2 parts that need to be downloaded.

Tony

 

[geezer]

I just forwarded this to him. Thank you.

He has your email address - I sent that to him this AM.

Geezer

 

[Tony]

I just forwarded this to him. Thank you.

He has your email address - I sent that to him this AM.

Geezer

OK Geezer, he is welcome to e-mail me at the address in the header of my posts.
He will need to get the right number of r's and the correct case or it will be
bounced.
Tony

 

[geezer]

Thanks

He should know that.

I sent him the address unchanged - with all the r's.

He must be busy - he hasn't answered me since this AM.

Geezer

 

[geezer]

I am curious.

I have read that desk jets should never be powered off except by the
switch on the printer itself. I wonder if this is true of lasers?

I just bought a Konica/Minolta B/W 1350W laser printer and find it has
no power switch on the printer itself. Ergo, powering it off and on
has to be done at the power source. Is this okay?

Thanks
\
Geezer

 

[Elmo P. Shagnasty]

I have read that desk jets should never be powered off except by the
switch on the printer itself. I wonder if this is true of lasers?

No.

 

[geezer]

No.

Well then - should a laser printer left continually on, or is okay to
power it off when not in use? May sound like a dumb question, but I
wonder if powering it on and off would cause any anomalies?

Thanks

Geezer

 

[Elmo P. Shagnasty]

No.

Well then - should a laser printer left continually on, or is okay to
power it off when not in use? May sound like a dumb question, but I
wonder if powering it on and off would cause any anomalies?[/QUOTE]

No, it won't.

 

[Leythos]

I am curious.

I have read that desk jets should never be powered off except by the
switch on the printer itself. I wonder if this is true of lasers?

I just bought a Konica/Minolta B/W 1350W laser printer and find it has
no power switch on the printer itself. Ergo, powering it off and on
has to be done at the power source. Is this okay?

Why are you posting this question to a CAMERA group?

 

[geezer]

OOPS!

How did that happen?

Sorry 'bout dat.

Geezer

 

[ato_zee]

It should be switched on and off by a switch, some devices can
suffer memory corruption if you just push the power plug into the socket,
due to momentary arcing and intermittent connection.
It doesn't seem to damage anything but a clean fast action on/off
is best, whether the switch is on the printer, or the power socket
doesn't matter.
Whether things last longer, if left on all the time, is a continuous
ongoing flame war debate. Those who say leave things on argue
about the deleterious effects of repeated thermal cycles, the
other camp the slow deterioration of semiconductors that
are permanently on. Not to mention the ecology crowd going
on about power saving and global warming..
Certainly there is slow deterioration of permanently on
semiconductors, less if you pay an arm and a leg for the
military spec versions, and the more expensive glass passivated
LED's don't deteriorate as fast as the plastic ones, due to
slower oxygen diffusion through the glass passivation.
Usually you junk the product long before the semiconductors fail,
though the high temperature running semiconductors on heat
sinks in power supplies fail quite frequently, and some resort
to water cooling their CPU's for the same reason.