HP 855C -- long pauses during page printing

[Ed Connors]

Deskjet 855C with bidirectional cable on LPT1 with Windows ME has
begun to malfunction during a print session. The printhead and paper
transport go in spurts with regular pauses of 8 to 9 seconds..

When Deskjet 855C is powered down and detached from AC power cable and
data cable, and restarted without connecting the data cable, the slow
behavior also occurs during self-test on this printer. The self-test
pages (i.e., data from ROM in the printer) are printed just as slowly.
So, this seems to be a printer firmware problem.

The behavior is the same, whether I indicate "default" properties and
launch a "print" test either thru Windows ME, or else thru HP DJCP
loaded in a DOS shell.

"Removing" and "adding" the Windows ME LPT1 driver did not overcome
it.

After DJCP exits and DOS shell exits, there is an ERRORLOG.TXT file:
"Error in transport close -- 78" in the DJCP directory. What does that
code mean?
Did the code 78 come from the 855C printer or from DJCP or WinME?

Does anyone have a possible solution to restore the printing rate to
"normal"?

-- E Connors

 

[Zermut]

Deskjet 855C with bidirectional cable on LPT1 with Windows ME has
begun to malfunction during a print session. The printhead and paper
transport go in spurts with regular pauses of 8 to 9 seconds..

When Deskjet 855C is powered down and detached from AC power cable and
data cable, and restarted without connecting the data cable, the slow
behavior also occurs during self-test on this printer. The self-test
pages (i.e., data from ROM in the printer) are printed just as slowly.
So, this seems to be a printer firmware problem.

The behavior is the same, whether I indicate "default" properties and
launch a "print" test either thru Windows ME, or else thru HP DJCP
loaded in a DOS shell.

"Removing" and "adding" the Windows ME LPT1 driver did not overcome
it.

After DJCP exits and DOS shell exits, there is an ERRORLOG.TXT file:
"Error in transport close -- 78" in the DJCP directory. What does that
code mean?
Did the code 78 come from the 855C printer or from DJCP or WinME?

Does anyone have a possible solution to restore the printing rate to
"normal"?

-- E Connors

You would get a better response if you posted this in the
comp.sys.hp.hardware newsgroup.

 

[Bob Headrick]

Deskjet 855C with bidirectional cable on LPT1 with Windows ME has
begun to malfunction during a print session. The printhead and paper
transport go in spurts with regular pauses of 8 to 9 seconds..

This may be caused by a defective cartridge. There is a thermal sense device
in the cartridge to ensure the cartridge prints at the correct temperature. If
the cartridge is defective the printer may "think" the cartridge is too hot or
too cold. The printer will then pause between sweeps to give the cartridge a
chance to get to the correct temperature.

It could be either cartridge, but I would suspect the black cartridge. You
might check the cartridge date as shown at the following:
http://www.hp.com/cposupport/printers/support_doc/bpa02014.html ; a very old
cartridge may fail in this manner.

You can print a selftest as shown at the following:
http://www.hp.com/cposupport/printers/support_doc/bpd07098.html#P94_3163 I
would print a test page as shown in the "diagnostic selftest", but try a 12-tap
test instead of the 5 tap. Near the middle of the page will be a line that
says "Cartridge status:" It will report separate status for the CMY and K
pens. If one of the cartridges reports something other than "OK" it is
probably the one to replace.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

 

[Bob Headrick]

[snip]

You would get a better response if you posted this in the
comp.sys.hp.hardware newsgroup.

Actually for most printer questions (HP printers included) this is a better
forum than comp.sys.hp.hardware.

- Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

 

[Ed Connors]

This may be caused by a defective cartridge. There is a thermal sense device
in the cartridge to ensure the cartridge prints at the correct temperature. If
the cartridge is defective the printer may "think" the cartridge is too hot or
too cold. The printer will then pause between sweeps to give the cartridge a
chance to get to the correct temperature.

It could be either cartridge, but I would suspect the black cartridge. You
might check the cartridge date as shown at the following:
http://www.hp.com/cposupport/printers/support_doc/bpa02014.html ; a very old
cartridge may fail in this manner.

You can print a selftest as shown at the following:
http://www.hp.com/cposupport/printers/support_doc/bpd07098.html#P94_3163 I
would print a test page as shown in the "diagnostic selftest", but try a 12-tap
test instead of the 5 tap. Near the middle of the page will be a line that
says "Cartridge status:" It will report separate status for the CMY and K
pens. If one of the cartridges reports something other than "OK" it is
probably the one to replace.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP

Thank you Bob. My printer is at the cold corner of a room whose
average
temperature is 56 degrees F. I substituted a black cartridge at this
room temperature and performed 12-tap test. The output is

Cartridge Status: K: ID 0xa5000 N 1 P 0
A 0
CMY: ID 0x8ec7 N 0 P 0
A 0
= 0x287

followed by the NVM field. Yes, it is true all of my cartridges are
old.
But long pauses are still a problem. Does this diagnostic result mean
I need to replace both K and CMY cartridges?

Thinking analogously to a very old furnace, does connector oxidation
tend to
affect the accuracy of the thermal measurements after many years of
use?
Is it practicable to wipe and brighten the connector surfaces?

Or perhaps I should just heat up the printer in a warm closet for a
while,
before beginning a print session?

BTW, Thanks to all at HP for making 855C very durable and reliable,
and
for sharing insight into its rare malfunctions.

PS to other readers: Somewhere in the ancient USENET there is a
question I asked about printing in the tropics, too.

Ed Connors, (e-mail address removed)

 

[Bob Headrick]

My printer is at the cold corner of a room whose average
temperature is 56 degrees F.

I do not think the cold is a problem, although it is possible. Normally the
print cartrdiges will self-heat during printing to the controlled temperature.
If your problem were soley due to the cold I would expect printing to return to
normal after a bit of printing.

I substituted a black cartridge at this
room temperature and performed 12-tap test. The output is

Cartridge Status: K: ID 0xa5000 N 1 P 0
A 0
CMY: ID 0x8ec7 N 0 P 0
A 0
= 0x287

followed by the NVM field. Yes, it is true all of my cartridges are
old. But long pauses are still a problem. Does this diagnostic
result mean I need to replace both K and CMY cartridges?

The above test indicates that there is one nozzle (of 300) burned out on the
black cartrdige and the color cartrdige is OK electrically. (The N x is the
number of bad nozzles, A x and P x are the number of bad control lines. The
thermal sense resistor is not reported as part of this and it is not possible
to tell from this information which cartrdige is the problem. Your best bet
may to find another printer that accept the #45 and/or #41 cartrdiges and try
your cartrdiges in that printer to narrow which cartrdige is the problem.

Thinking analogously to a very old furnace, does connector oxidation
tend to affect the accuracy of the thermal measurements after
many years of use?
Is it practicable to wipe and brighten the connector surfaces?

Yes, it is possible that you have some issues with interconnect, especially if
the cartrdiges are very old.. You can try cleaning the cartrdige contacts as
shown at the following:
http://www.hp.com/cposupport/printers/support_doc/bpa02060.html I do not have
a lot of hope that this is the problem, because if it were I would expect some
A or P control line errors in your self test page.

Or perhaps I should just heat up the printer in a warm closet for a
while, before beginning a print session?

It would be interesting as a test to start with the printer a bit warmer. A
similar result could probably be had by printing a bit, opening the lid,
removing the cartrdige and then pulling the power cord. Leave it unplugged for
30 seconds or so, then plug it back in, the replace the cartrdiges. This
should cause the print cartrdiges to be recalibrated (if I remember correctly -
it has been about 7 years for that model which may cure your problem, at
least temprarily. I think to really cure the problem you will need to replace
whichever cartrdige is causing the problem but unfortunately it is difficult to
tell which one.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, not speaking for my employer HP