HP 1120C Printer Woes

[Guest]

My HP 1120C has worked flawlessly for me for the past few
years. Recently, however, it's started having problems
completing the printing process. In fact, it barely even
gets started.

What happens is that the printout will start and only
proceed within a few lines. Suddenly, the printing stops
and all three lights on the front start blinking like
there's a paper jam. But, there is no paper jam.

If I press the power button, the lower 2 yellow lights
stops blinking and the print action proceeds but it only
prints garbage from there on until the printer is shut
down, the document Deleted.

I read that there's been a problem with Epson printers
failing to respond after installing a recent Update
Patch. I don't know at this time whether that's my
problem or not. If it's possible, I need to know which
Update I may need to uninstall in order to test it.

Thanks,

L.Turner

 

[Quaoar]

My HP 1120C has worked flawlessly for me for the past few
years. Recently, however, it's started having problems
completing the printing process. In fact, it barely even
gets started.

What happens is that the printout will start and only
proceed within a few lines. Suddenly, the printing stops
and all three lights on the front start blinking like
there's a paper jam. But, there is no paper jam.

If I press the power button, the lower 2 yellow lights
stops blinking and the print action proceeds but it only
prints garbage from there on until the printer is shut
down, the document Deleted.

I read that there's been a problem with Epson printers
failing to respond after installing a recent Update
Patch. I don't know at this time whether that's my
problem or not. If it's possible, I need to know which
Update I may need to uninstall in order to test it.

Thanks,

L.Turner

The 1120c must be what, seven years old? It might just be, well, worn
out. You can check the drive gears for dirt, paper, wear in the left
hand side of the case with the door open. If you try to move them back
and forth, there should be no play at all. If they are worn, there will
be some play. The guide bar can be cleaned with a soft cloth; the left
side accumulates a fair amount of detritus. The clear plastic strip
that encodes the print head position can be cleaned with isopropyl
alcohol, very, very gently with a soft cloth; this can lead to spurious
errors if dirty. Check the drive cable; if it is worn the print head
can get out of the position expected, resulting in an error. Check the
power cable; it can work itself loose with all the shaking this printer
does. Remove the print carts and clean the contacts with isopropyl
alcohol and a soft cloth. The only remaining item is to reinstall the
print driver. Good luck. The 1120c was so problematical for HP that
overwhelming user complaints in the HP forums lead to HP terminating
them, AIRC.

Q