How to make old HP print fonts like new.

[Sam Nickaby]

I bought a used 1995 HP 5P and it works great but the font weight is a
bit thin. The printed fonts look as though they don't have enough weight.
They look very slim but print without error. Most printers I've used don't
look like this. I've downloaded their Darkcourior and they still appear
thin. So thin that the word "W" in TimesRoman will look like "\\" from
a distance. How do I download and install a new set of TrueType fonts
to substitute for the device fonts in the printer?

Thanks

 

[Tony]

I bought a used 1995 HP 5P and it works great but the font weight is a
bit thin. The printed fonts look as though they don't have enough weight.
They look very slim but print without error. Most printers I've used don't
look like this. I've downloaded their Darkcourior and they still appear
thin. So thin that the word "W" in TimesRoman will look like "\\" from
a distance. How do I download and install a new set of TrueType fonts
to substitute for the device fonts in the printer?

Thanks

A basic question first Sam,
What does the test page look like (press Go and Reset simultaneously).
If this produces thin text then the problem is within the printer and you need
to do a half test to see where the problem is.
Half test -
Put one piece of paper in the multipurpose tray, press Go and Reset
simultaneously, open the top cover when there is about 1 inch of paper still to
feed into the printer.
Lift out the toner cartridge, open the drum shutter on the cartridge and look
at the text on the drum (do not expose the drum to light for more than a few
seconds), if the text is thin on the drum itself then the problem is either in
the cartridge or a dirty laser scanner lens. There should be a green brush
under the lid. This is used to clean the laser scanner lens. If there is no
brush a slightly damp paper towel should do. The lens sits right under the top
of the printer just behind the door. You can access it by opening the door,
removing the cartridge and looking above where the cartridge sits. This is the
most likely cause if the test page is poor.
If the test page is good I would try a cold reset, press the RESET button for
more than 20 seconds, this will reset the printer to factory defaults and clear
the NVRAM.
Tony

 

[budgie]

A basic question first Sam,
What does the test page look like (press Go and Reset simultaneously).
If this produces thin text then the problem is within the printer and you need
to do a half test to see where the problem is.
Half test -
Put one piece of paper in the multipurpose tray, press Go and Reset
simultaneously, open the top cover when there is about 1 inch of paper still to
feed into the printer.
Lift out the toner cartridge, open the drum shutter on the cartridge and look
at the text on the drum (do not expose the drum to light for more than a few
seconds), if the text is thin on the drum itself then the problem is either in
the cartridge or a dirty laser scanner lens. There should be a green brush
under the lid. This is used to clean the laser scanner lens. If there is no
brush a slightly damp paper towel should do. The lens sits right under the top
of the printer just behind the door. You can access it by opening the door,
removing the cartridge and looking above where the cartridge sits. This is the
most likely cause if the test page is poor.
If the test page is good I would try a cold reset, press the RESET button for
more than 20 seconds, this will reset the printer to factory defaults and clear
the NVRAM.

Interestingly, I have the same problem with a 5L. The above steps don't sound
directly applicable to that machine, but is there an equivalent? Replacing the
toner cartridge did nothing for the font "line thichness".

 

[Tony]

Interestingly, I have the same problem with a 5L. The above steps don't sound
directly applicable to that machine, but is there an equivalent? Replacing the
toner cartridge did nothing for the font "line thichness".

The test page is performed simply by pushing the button briefly on the 5L as I
am sure you are aware.
Since there is no multipurpose tray you have to perform the half test using the
normal input tray, open the printer cover about 8 seconds after the motor
starts to turn. You may have to experiment a bit, the trick is to get the image
on the drum before it is wiped off, so the paper should be roughly half way
past the drum when you stop the printer.
The mirror is in about the same place as it is on the 5P, remove the cartridge,
look in and up and you should see a slot in the rectangular assembly in the top
of the printer, the mirror is in that slot, compressed air works well but so
will a damp paper towel pushed into the slot and moved side to side.
The reset procedure is - make sure paper is in the printer, hold the button
until the 3 lights blink quickly in succession (about 5 seconds).
A different test is available on this printer, the engine test button is hidden
behind a hole at the front, very bottom of the printer, if you lift it up you
can see the hole, push the button with a non-metallic object like a toothpick;
you should get a page with good solid vertical black lines printed.
Tony

 

[budgie]

The test page is performed simply by pushing the button briefly on the 5L as I
am sure you are aware.
Since there is no multipurpose tray you have to perform the half test using the
normal input tray, open the printer cover about 8 seconds after the motor
starts to turn. You may have to experiment a bit, the trick is to get the image
on the drum before it is wiped off, so the paper should be roughly half way
past the drum when you stop the printer.
The mirror is in about the same place as it is on the 5P, remove the cartridge,
look in and up and you should see a slot in the rectangular assembly in the top
of the printer, the mirror is in that slot, compressed air works well but so
will a damp paper towel pushed into the slot and moved side to side.
The reset procedure is - make sure paper is in the printer, hold the button
until the 3 lights blink quickly in succession (about 5 seconds).
A different test is available on this printer, the engine test button is hidden
behind a hole at the front, very bottom of the printer, if you lift it up you
can see the hole, push the button with a non-metallic object like a toothpick;
you should get a page with good solid vertical black lines printed.

Thanks Tony for the quick response. Will try that next time I'm near the 5L.

 

[George E. Cawthon]

I bought a used 1995 HP 5P and it works great but the font weight is a
bit thin. The printed fonts look as though they don't have enough weight.
They look very slim but print without error. Most printers I've used don't
look like this. I've downloaded their Darkcourior and they still appear
thin. So thin that the word "W" in TimesRoman will look like "\\" from
a distance. How do I download and install a new set of TrueType fonts
to substitute for the device fonts in the printer?

Thanks

Fonts don't wear out, printers wear out. It's
probably the cartridge running out of toner. Try
removing the cartridge and gently shaking side to
side, reinstall, and prints something.

As to new fonts, if you find them all you have to
do is copy the new fonts to where the present
fonts are. If you have a font manger, such as in
WordPerfect, you just follow the directions.

 

[budgie]

The test page is performed simply by pushing the button briefly on the 5L as I
am sure you are aware.
Since there is no multipurpose tray you have to perform the half test using the
normal input tray, open the printer cover about 8 seconds after the motor
starts to turn. You may have to experiment a bit, the trick is to get the image
on the drum before it is wiped off, so the paper should be roughly half way
past the drum when you stop the printer.
The mirror is in about the same place as it is on the 5P, remove the cartridge,
look in and up and you should see a slot in the rectangular assembly in the top
of the printer, the mirror is in that slot, compressed air works well but so
will a damp paper towel pushed into the slot and moved side to side.
The reset procedure is - make sure paper is in the printer, hold the button
until the 3 lights blink quickly in succession (about 5 seconds).
A different test is available on this printer, the engine test button is hidden
behind a hole at the front, very bottom of the printer, if you lift it up you
can see the hole, push the button with a non-metallic object like a toothpick;
you should get a page with good solid vertical black lines printed.

As mentioned in my previous post, replacing the toner cart didn't fix the
problem. Reset did nothing. Engine test was OK. On the 5L test page the
following fonts are "thin" to the point of being almost unreadable:

Courier
Courier It
Letter Gothic
Letter Gothic It
Coronet

while the Wingding symbols are also dodgy.

I tried the mirror cleaning with compressed air - again no improvement. You are
referring to the long thin slot in themetal under the top front of the 5L?

Towards the back of the machine, underside of top (just in front of the front
paper feed slot) and dead centre, is something that looks like a lens - or is it
an optical sensor?