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Noisy Printing or Erratic Carriage Movement

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ISSUE:
Sometimes, during printing, the carriage makes an abnormal noise or its movement is erratic.
SOLUTION:
To solve this issue, follow these steps.
NOTE: The images and descriptions in this document might vary, depending on your HP All-in-One model.
  1. Follow these steps to clean the back rollers, front rollers, carriage rod, and pitch rollers.
    1. Disconnect the power cord or power supply from the rear of the unit.
    2. Remove the rear door and check it for damage.
      Figure 1: Open the rear access door.
    3. Make sure that the paper rollers inside the rear access door rotate freely. Please clean them using a lightly moistened cloth.
    4. Wipe the paper rollers with a lint-free cloth lightly moistened with distilled or bottled water. Rotate the rollers with your fingers to clean all the way around.
    5. Allow the rollers to dry completely, and then close the rear access door.
      NOTE: Make sure the rear access door is correctly and completely closed.
    6. Open the carriage access door.
      Figure 2: Open the carriage access door
    7. Clean the front rollers with a lint-free cloth lightly moistened with distilled or bottled water. Rotate the rollers with your fingers to clean all the way around.
      Figure 3: Clean the front rollers
    8. Use a clean dry cotton cloth to wipe the carriage rod. Move the carriage as needed to clean the full length of the rod.
      WARNING: Do not lubricate the rod.
      Figure 4: Clean the carriage rod
    9. If noise is located at the paper path, it may be caused by ink, dust or other residues stored over the pinch rollers.
      Please, clean the pinch rollers by using a cloth lightly moistened with alcohol.
      Figure 5: Clean the pinch rollers
    10. The edge of the pitch rollers must be cleaned too. To do so, use a small drop of alcohol. This will remove the ink and will solve the issue. (See detail in the following figure.)
      Figure 6: Clean the edge of the pitch rollers
  2. Follow these steps to clean the carriage contacts and the capping station.
    1. Connect the power cord to your HP All-in-One product, and turn the unit on.
    2. Lift the carriage access door. The cartridge capping station lowers to allow access to the cartridges.
      Figure 7: Lift the carriage access door
      1 - Print cartridge latch
      2 - Capping station
    3. Gently pull up the cartridge latch to release it. The latch is spring loaded and will spring upwards. Slowly raise the latch instead of letting it spring open.
    4. Figure 8: Lift the cartridge latch
    5. Remove each print cartridge by sliding it out of its socket, moving it toward the front of the HP All-in-One product. Pull the cartridge out , not upward.
      Figure 9: Pull the cartridge out
      NOTE: If cartridge does not move, make sure that the latch is raised, and that the HP All-in-One is on. If it is not possible to remove the cartridge, it might be because the capping station has risen again. Close the carriage access door, wait five seconds, and then open it again to lower the capping station.
    6. Clean the cartridge copper contacts with a clean, lightly moistened, lint-free cloth. Do not clean the ink nozzles.
      Figure 10: Clean the copper contacts
      1 - Copper contacts
      2 - Ink nozzles (do not clean)
    7. Disconnect the power cord from the HP All-in-One.
    8. Clean the electric pins placed in the front of the carriage using a clean, lightly moistened, lint-free cloth.
      Figure 11: Clean the electric pins
    9. Using a clean, dry, lint-free cloth, clean the ink stored inside the capping station sponges.
      Figure 12: Clean the capping station sponges
    10. Mop up the electric pins completely, and connect the power cord again.
    11. Turn on the unit, reinstall the cartridges, and close the carriage access door.
    12. If the noise persists, follow these steps:
      1. Turn the unit off.
      2. Unplug the power cord from the unit.
      3. Wait 30 seconds, and then re-connect the power cord to the unit.
      4. Turn the unit on.
    13. If the issue persists, the unit may need to be reset. To learn how to perform a reset, go to HP All-in-One Products - Performing a Partial Reset of the All-in-One (in English).
Additional steps (for HP PSC 1100 and HP PSC 1200 Series All-in-Ones only)
HP PSC 1100 and HP PSC 1200 Series All-in-Ones may be affected by this issue, due to the friction between the printing carriage and the paper.
Print a couple pages that are full of black text in Normal mode. Check the text for streaks and blurs.
Figure 13: Text and image showing streaks and blurs; image showing color bleeding
If the text shows streaks and blurs, follow these steps:
  1. Print a Self-Test Report , and then check the quality of either the text or the color bars.
    Follow these steps to print a self-test report:
    1. Press and hold the Cancel and the Color buttons at the same time.
    2. Release both buttons. The self-test report prints out.
  2. If the media does not comply with the weight specifications (see table below), or if paper is curled, then this may cause the bottom of the ink cartridge to come in contact with the media. This can smear ink and damage the cartridge.
    Paper weight specifications for HP PSC 1100 and HP PSC 1200 Series All-in-Ones
    TypePaper Weight
    Plain paper70 to 90 gr/m2 (20 to 24 lb.)
    CardsUp to 200 gr/m2 (110 lb.)
    Envelopes75 to 90 gr/m2 (20 to 24 lb. max.)
    Transparency FilmN/A
    LabelsN/A
    4 x 6 Photo236 gr/m2 (145 lb.)
    Custom Media34 gr/m2 (9 lb.)
  3. Make sure that the Paper Type is correctly set to either Plain or Photo .
    Figure 14: Sample control panel showing paper type set to Plain
  4. Follow these steps to align the cartridges, depending on your HP PSC All-in-One model.
    • HP PSC 1100 Series
      1. Turn the product on.
      2. Disconnect the USB cord from the rear of the product.
      3. Follow these steps to align the cartridges:
        NOTE: This button-press sequence must be completed within ten seconds. It might take several tries to complete the sequence within ten seconds.
        1. Press and hold the Cancel button.
        2. While holding the Cancel button, press the On button.
        3. When the Check Paper and Check Print Cartridge lights begin to blink simultaneously, release both buttons.
        4. Press the Cancel button again.
        5. Press the Resume button.
        6. Press the Paper Type button.
        7. Press Color Start Copy . The alignment page printing will begin.
          NOTE: If the alignment page does not print, repeat the button-press sequence.
      4. When the alignment page prints, place the page face down on the scanner glass and press the Scan button.
        Figure 15: Scan the alignment page
        The print cartridge alignment process is complete when the On light stops blinking.
      5. Reconnect the USB cord to unit rear.
    • HP PSC 1200 Series
      1. Turn on the unit.
      2. Disconnect the USB cord from the unit.
      3. Follow these steps to align the cartridges:
        NOTE: This button-press sequence must be completed within ten seconds. It might take several tries to complete the sequence within ten seconds.
        1. Press and hold the Cancel button, and then press the On/Resume button. Then, release both buttons.
        2. When the Check Paper and Check Print Cartridge lights begin to blink simultaneously, release both buttons.
        3. Press and release the Cancel button again.
        4. Press and release the Copies button.
        5. Press and release the Paper Type button.
        6. Press and release the Start Color Copy button. The alignment page printing will begin.
          NOTE: If the alignment page does not print, repeat the button-press sequence.
      4. When the alignment page prints, place the page face down on the scanner glass and press the Scan button.
        Figure 16: Scan the alignment page
        The print cartridge alignment process is complete when the On/Resume light stops blinking.
      5. Reconnect the USB cord to the unit.
  5. Close the cover and press the Scan button. Wait until the alignment is finished. The On light stops blinking when the alignment finishes.


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