User manual HP DESKJET 950C

HP DeskJet Printer User's Guide for Windows 950C Series English Acknowledgments Microsoft, MS, MS-DOS, and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation (U.S. patent numbers 4955066 and 4974159). MMX and Pentium are U.S. registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. TrueType is a U.S. trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Adobe and Acrobat are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Notice The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. Hewlett-Packard Company makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Hewlett-Packard shall not be liable for any errors or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material. All rights reserved. Reproduction, adaptation, or translation of this manual is prohibited without prior written permission of Hewlett-Packard Company, except as allowed under the copyright laws. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, or translated to another language without the prior written consent of Hewlett-Packard Company. Edition 1, October 1999 © Copyright Hewlett-Packard Company 1999 Table of Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii Buttons and Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Paper Trays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Printer Maintenance Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 How to Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Printer Properties Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 HP DeskJet Toolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Chapter 1 Printing Basics Chapter 2 Beyond the Basics Getting the Right Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Printing on Different Types of Paper and Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Chapter 3 Using and Caring for Your Print Cartridges Print Cartridge Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Replacing Print Cartridges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Storing Print Cartridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Cleaning Print Cartridges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Damage Resulting from Refilling the Print Cartridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Chapter 4 Getting Help When Things Go Wrong Troubleshooting Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 HP Customer Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Chapter 5 More About Your Printer Setup Instructions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Legal Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Printing in Windows 3.1x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A-1 Minimum Printing Margins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-5 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-5 Supplies and Accessories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-6 Ordering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-8 Electronic Appendix i ii Introduction Thank You For Buying an HP DeskJet Printer! Here's what comes in the box. If something is missing, talk to your HP dealer or call HP Customer Care. (See page 47 for phone numbers.) Printer Literature about your printer Printer software and electronic User's Guide Par alle lC Power cord Quick Start Poster able Setu p Black print cartridge Color print cartridge Note: You'll need to buy a printer cable, such as the HP IEEE 1284-Compliant Parallel Interface Cable (bidirectional). If you are using Windows 98 and want to use a USB connection, purchase an HP USB-Compliant cable (see "Ordering Information" on page A-7 in the Electronic Appendix). Access the Electronic Appendix from the HP DeskJet Toolbox (see page 8). If your computer does not have a CD-ROM drive and if diskettes were not included with your printer, see "Printer Software" on page 46 for information on how to get the printer software on diskettes. Special Features of Your HP DeskJet Printer Your new HP DeskJet printer is equipped with these special features: · Stunning photo quality through HP's PhotoREt printing technology · Uncompromising performance with print speeds of up to 11 pages per minute for black text and 8.5 pages per minute for text with color graphics · Special Photo Tray for printing on HP Premium Plus Photo Paper, Glossy 4 x 6 in., 102 x 152 mm (with tear-off tab) iii Finding More Information This User's Guide shows you how to operate your printer. For more information: · Use the Quick Start Poster for installation. · Visit an HP web site for the latest product information, troubleshooting, and printer software updates (see page 45 for web site addresses). · Consult the Electronic Appendix for information about supplies, accessories, and specifications. The Electronic Appendix is found in the electronic User's Guide which you can access from the HP DeskJet Toolbox (see page 8), or go to Start Programs HP DeskJet 950C Series View User's Guide. If you do not have Adobe® Acrobat® Reader on your computer, begin the printer software installation process, select View User's Guide, then follow on-screen instructions to install Adobe Acrobat Reader. Begin the printer software installation again, and select View User's Guide. · Consult the Release Notes file in the HP DeskJet 950C Series program group for information about hardware and software compatibility. To access the Release Notes, click on Start Programs HP DeskJet 950C Series. · If you are using DOS, information can be found in a text document (dosread.txt). This document is on the printer software CD in the \\djcp\ directory. For example, "enu" is the language code for English, so dosread.txt is located in the \enu\djcp directory. For a list of language codes, see page 52. If you have diskettes, the file is located on the HP DeskJet Control Panel for DOS diskette. · If you are a Windows 2000 Professional user, visit HP's web site at http://www.hp.com/cposupport/eschome.html for more information. For Windows 3.1x Users Windows 3.1x specific information is only found in the Electronic Appendix of the electronic User's Guide. · If you have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer, begin the printer software installation process and select View User's Guide. · If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer, begin the printer software installation process, select View User's Guide, then follow on-screen instructions to install Adobe Acrobat Reader. Begin the printer software installation process again, and select View User's Guide. Whenever you want to view your electronic User's Guide, insert your printer software CD or diskette, begin the software installation and select View User's Guide. iv 1 Printing Basics Buttons and Lights The HP DeskJet printer buttons (shown below) let you turn the printer on and off, cancel a print job, or resume printing. The lights give you visual cues about the state of your printer. The buttons and lights from left to right are: Cancel Button ­ Press this button to cancel the current print job. Print Cartridge Status Light ­ When lit, the light above this symbol indicates that you need to check the status of your print cartridges. See "Print Cartridge Status" on page 25 for more information. Resume Button and Light ­ When this light flashes an action is needed such as load paper or clear a paper jam. To continue printing, press the Resume Button. See "What do the flashing lights mean?" on page 40. Power Button and Light ­ Use the Power Button to turn the printer on and off. When the green light above the Power Button flashes, printing is in progress. Warning Always use the Power Button on the front of the printer to turn the printer on and off. Using a power strip, surge protector, or a wall-mounted switch to turn the printer on and off may cause premature printer failure. 1 1 Printing Basics Paper Trays IN Tray To print, place paper or other media types in the IN tray. Pull out this tray for easy loading. Load media print side down. Slide all media as far as it will go into the IN tray. Once you insert the media you want to use, slide the paper guides so they rest snugly against the media. Make sure the IN tray is pushed back in. IN tray pulled out Paper width guide Paper length guide IN tray pushed in OUT Tray The printer sends finished pages to the OUT tray. The OUT tray can be up or down depending on what you're printing. Down ­ This is the typical position for most types of printing. The down position also allows single envelope printing. For information about printing on other media, see Chapter 2. Up ­ The OUT tray must be in the up position to properly load HP Premium Plus Photo Paper, Glossy 4 x 6 in., 102 x 152 mm (with tear-off tab). To print banners, the OUT tray must remain in the up position. Single envelope slot OUT tray down OUT tray up 2 Printing Basics Photo Tray 1 The HP DeskJet 950C uses HP's exclusive PhotoREt technology to enhance your color photos, giving you exceptional quality pictures when you print on HP Premium Plus Photo Paper, Glossy 4 x 6 in., 102 x 152 mm (with tear-off tab). You can place up to 24 sheets of HP Photo Paper into the photo tray. The first time 4 x 6 in. photo paper is used, the printer will calibrate the Photo Tray by feeding through a blank sheet. You can save the blank sheet for future use. See pages 10 and 11 for specific instructions on printing photos. OUT tray down OUT tray up Photo Tray ­ load photo paper here Photo Tray Button ­ press down and slide it toward the printer to engage the Photo Tray Printer Maintenance Tips Because the printer ejects ink onto the paper in a fine mist, ink smudges will eventually appear on the printer case. To remove smudges, stains, and/or dried ink from the exterior of the printer, use a soft cloth moistened with water. When cleaning your printer, keep these tips in mind: · Do not clean the interior of the printer. Keep all fluids away from the interior. · Do not use household cleaners or detergent. In the event that a household cleaner or detergent is used on the printer, wipe the printer's exterior surfaces with a soft cloth moistened with water. · Do not lubricate the print cartridge support rod. Noise is normal when the print cartridge cradles slide back and forth. For information on cleaning print cartridges and the print cartridge cradle, see page 30. 3 1 Printing Basics How to Print The printer is controlled through a software program that you install on your computer. The software program provides a dialog box (like the one shown below) that you use to communicate with the printer. In the dialog box, you select settings such as paper size and type, orientation, and print quality. Note: This information is for Windows 95, 98, and NT users. If you use Windows 3.1x, see "For Windows 3.1x Users" on page iv. If you use DOS, see "Finding More Information" on page iv. HP Printer Properties Dialog Box Finding the HP Printer Properties Dialog Box How you find the dialog box differs depending on the software program and operating system that you are using. Since each software program is different, the dialog box that appears on your screen may differ from those shown here. One of the following methods will surely get you to the HP Printer Properties dialog box. 4 Printing Basics From your software program, try this: 1 Note: When you see 1 Click File Print. , it means to find and click the word that follows. Click File and then click Print. Click Properties to open the HP Printer Properties dialog box. 2 Your software program opens a Print dialog box, similar to the one above. From the Print dialog box, click whichever button you see--Properties, Setup, or Printer. The HP Printer Properties dialog box opens. Or try this: 1 If you don't see a Print option in the File menu, select File File Print Setup. Click File and then click Printer Setup. Click Setup to open the HP Printer Properties dialog box. Printer Setup or 2 From the Printer Setup or Print Setup dialog box, click Setup or Options. Note: This information is for Windows 95, 98, and NT users. If you use Windows 3.1x, see "For Windows 3.1x Users" on page iv. If you use DOS, see "Finding More Information" on page iv. 5 1 Printing Basics Printer Properties Dialog Box There are three tabs located in the Printer Properties dialog box. Once you've opened this box, simply click a tab, then choose your settings. Note: Right-click on any item shown on these screens to view helpful information. Setup Tab Look here to see your current settings. Choose the print quality. · Click Draft to save time and ink. · Click Normal for most types of printing. · Click Best to produce the highest print quality with the richest colors. Select the appropriate page settings. · Choose from a wide range of paper types. · Choose a paper size or enter a paper size of your own. Click here to resize an image if it's too large to fit on the specified paper size. Click here to print banners. This option is only available when you select a photo paper as your Paper Type. PhotoREt provides the best results when printing photos. To access the highest resolution possible (2400 dpi), uncheck this box. The standard buttons at the bottom of every Printer Properties dialog box are shown here. Cancel --Cancels your changes and closes the dialog box. Factory Settings -- Returns all of the tab settings to the factory defaults. Help --Displays a message telling you to click your right mouse button for help. OK --Accepts your changes and closes the dialog box. Apply --Applies your changes. 6 Printing Basics Features Tab Choose the best page orientation. · Click Portrait for vertical page layout. · Click Landscape for horizontal page layout. · Click Mirror Image to reverse the printed image. 1 Look here to see your current settings. Check here to choose a Two-Sided printing method: · Book -- binding on the side. · Tablet -- binding on the top. Check here to print multiple pages per sheet. Choose: · Two or four pages per sheet · Border around each page on the sheet. Check here to print the last page of your document first. Check here to see how your document will look before you print. HP Preview will allow you to print, cancel or create a graphic file of your document. You can change some print settings, visually see the effect, and print with the new settings. Check here and choose the size of your poster by selecting the number of pages across and down. Advanced Tab Look here to see your current settings. Choose appropriate color options. · Click here to print in shades of gray. · Fax and photocopy optimization is only available when printing in grayscale. Slide to adjust saturation, brightness, and color tone to meet your needs. Slide to adjust the amount of ink on the page. Slide to provide extra drying time. 7 1 Printing Basics HP DeskJet Toolbox Use the HP DeskJet Toolbox for cleaning and calibrating your printer, finding information, and printing a test page. To find the HP Toolbox, follow the instructions below. For Windows 95, 98, and Windows NT 4.0 · Click Start Programs Series Toolbox. HP DeskJet 950C Series HP DeskJet 950C · Click the HP Toolbox button that appears on the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen when the HP Toolbox is open. The HP Toolbox has three tabs. The Printer Services tab is shown here. Simply click a tab, then choose your option. Printer Services Tab Enable Hardware ECP on the Configuration tab. When you check Attempt to Use Hardware ECP, photos may print more quickly. Clicking on the Estimated Ink Level tab... · Presents a visual display of the black and color cartridge ink level. · Shows the print cartridge part numbers. Click on an icon to... · Open an electronic copy of the User's Guide. · Calibrate the printer anytime you change the print cartridges or when colored and black ink don't line up on what you have printed. · Clean the print cartridges when lines and dots are missing from what you have printed. · Check for clarity after cleaning, by printing a test page. · Calibrate the Photo Tray to center the printed image on the photo paper that is loaded in the Photo Tray. 8 2 Beyond the Basics Getting the Right Paper Most plain photocopy paper works fine in your printer, particularly paper that is marked for use in inkjet printers. To get the best results, use one of the HewlettPackard papers, which were developed especially for HP inks and your printer. Size. Paper width must be between 77 and 215 mm (3 and 8.5 inches). Paper length must be between 127 and 356 mm (5 and 14 inches). Weight. Paper comes in a multitude of different weights. For most of your printing needs use 75­90 g/m2 (16­24-pound) plain paper. Brightness. Some papers are whiter than others and produce sharper, more vibrant colors. For photographs, you'll want to use HP Premium Plus Photo Paper or HP Premium Photo Paper for the best results. For projects that use other colored images, HP Bright White Inkjet or HP Premium Inkjet paper work well. For a complete list of available HP media, see "Supplies and Accessories" on page A- 6 of the Electronic Appendix in the electronic User's Guide. Printing on Different Types of Paper and Media Your HP DeskJet printer is designed to encompass so many different types of print media that you're practically set up as a small print shop. This chapter explains how to use the different printing materials in tables that span both pages. 9 2 Beyond the Basics Single envelope slot OUT tray up Photo Tray Button IN tray pulled out OUT tray down IN tray pushed in Photo Tray Paper width guide Paper length guide I want to print... 4 x 6 in., 102 x 152 mm Photo Paper I should... 1 Raise the OUT tray to the up position. 2 Insert up to 24 sheets of HP Premium Plus Photo Paper, Glossy 4 x 6 in., 102 x 152 mm (with tear-off tab) into the Photo Tray, glossy side down. Place paper with the tear-off tab away from the printer. 3 Lower the OUT tray. 4 Press the Photo Tray Button and slide it toward the printer so that the Photo Tray is engaged. 5 Choose the appropriate print settings. 6 Print the photo. Note: The first time you use the Photo Tray, the printer will calibrate the tray by feeding through a blank sheet. 7 When you have finished printing, press down on the Photo Tray Button, and slide it away from the printer to disengage the Photo Tray. 1 Remove all paper from the IN tray. 2 Insert up to 30 sheets of photo paper (printable side down) into the IN tray. 3 Slide the paper guides snugly against the edges of the paper. Make sure the IN tray is pushed in. 4 Choose the print settings that match the type and size of the photo paper. 5 Print the photos. 8.5 x 11 in. or A4 Photo Paper 10 Beyond the Basics Setup Tab Features Tab 2 HP print settings to choose Setup Tab - Paper Type: Choose HP Premium Plus Photo Paper, Glossy - Print Quality: Choose Best - Paper Size: Choose Photo 4 x 6 in., 102 x 152 mm (with tear-off tab) Features Tab - Orientation: Choose appropriate orientation - Two-Sided Printing: Unchecked Guidelines to remember · The Photo Tray is specifically designed to use HP Premium Plus Photo Paper, Glossy 4 x 6 in., 102 x 152 mm (with tear-off tab). · Remember to lower the OUT tray once the photo paper is loaded. · Select appropriate settings on the Setup tab from the pull-down menus. · If you get an out of paper message make sure that the Photo Tray is engaged. · After you have finished printing, disengage the Photo Tray by sliding the Photo Tray Button away from the printer. · You may be able to increase photo printing speed by enabling Hardware ECP. Open the HP DeskJet Toolbox. Click the Configuration tab and check Attempt to Use Hardware ECP. Apply your changes and print your photo. · For best results use HP Photo Paper. · The photo needs to be in electronic (digital) form, before you can print it. Take a digital picture, scan a photo, or have your local camera shop provide an electronic file of your photo. Setup Tab - Paper Type: Choose appropriate HP Photo Paper type - Print Quality: Choose Best - Paper Size: Choose appropriate paper size Features Tab - Orientation: Choose appropriate orientation - Two-Sided Printing: Unchecked 11 2 Beyond the Basics Single envelope slot OUT tray up Photo Tray Button IN tray pulled out OUT tray down IN tray pushed in Photo Tray Paper width guide Paper length guide I want to print... Single envelope I should... 1 Slide the envelope, with its flap side on the left and flap facing up, into the OUT tray's single envelope slot. Push the envelope in until it stops. 2 Choose the print settings that match the type and size of the envelope. 3 Print the envelope. Stack of envelopes 1 Slide out both of the paper guides, and remove all paper from the IN tray. 2 Slide up to 15 envelopes, with their flap side on the left and flap facing up, into the IN tray as far as they will go. 3 Slide the paper guides snugly against the edges of the envelopes. 4 Make sure the IN tray is pushed in. 5 Choose the print settings that match the type and size of the envelopes. 6 Print the envelopes. 12 Beyond the Basics Setup Tab Features Tab 2 HP print settings to choose Setup Tab - Paper Type: Choose Plain Paper - Print Quality: Choose Normal - Paper Size: Choose appropriate envelope size Features Tab - Orientation: Choose appropriate orientation - Two-Sided Printing: Unchecked Guidelines to remember · Make sure the OUT tray is in the down position. · Avoid envelopes that have clasps or windows. · Avoid envelopes that are shiny or embossed, envelopes with thick, irregular, or curled edges, or envelopes that are wrinkled, torn, or otherwise damaged. · If your software program includes an envelopeprinting feature, follow those instructions instead of the procedure here. · · · · Never load more than 15 envelopes at one time. Align the envelope edges before inserting them. Avoid envelopes that have clasps or windows. Avoid envelopes that are shiny or embossed, envelopes with thick, irregular, or curled edges, or envelopes that are wrinkled, torn, or otherwise damaged. · If your software program includes an envelopeprinting feature, follow those instructions instead of the procedure here. Setup Tab - Paper Type: Choose Plain Paper - Print Quality: Choose Normal - Paper Size: Choose appropriate envelope size Features Tab - Orientation: Choose appropriate orientation - Two-Sided Printing: Unchecked 13 2 Beyond the Basics Single envelope slot OUT tray up Photo Tray Button IN tray pulled out OUT tray down IN tray pushed in Photo Tray Paper width guide Paper length guide I want to print... Greeting Cards I should... 1 Slide out both of the paper guides, and remove all paper from the IN tray. 2 Insert up to 5 cards into the IN tray as far as they will go. 3 Slide the paper guides snugly against the edges of the cards. 4 Make sure the IN tray is pushed in. 5 Choose the print settings that match the type and size of the cards. 6 Print the cards. 1 Pull out the IN tray. 2 Slide out both of the paper guides, and remove all paper from the IN tray. 3 Insert up to 30 cards into the IN tray as far as they will go. 4 Push the paper length guide in as far as it will go. Push the fine-length guide (colored portion of paper length guide) snugly against the small media. Then push the paper width guide in. 5 Make sure the IN tray is pushed in. 6 Choose the print settings that match the type and size of the cards. 7 Print the cards. Cards (index, business, and other small media) 14