Printing glitch

[Abbeville]

Any Gurus here to spread some Christmas cheer?

I have a HP 870cxi linked up to Windows XP which normally works fine. Occasionally it throws a wobbly and when I start to print a document it prints half a dozen characters (hearts, clubs, smiley faces etc) in the top left hand corner of the page. It then seems to want to do that until the paper tray is empty :eek:

I have been able to stop that bit of nonsense through the control panel etc however, when I try to print again the problem still exists even tho’ I have cancelled all print jobs.

I even deleted the printer software and reloaded it but the problem is still there.

Any ideas for a puter simpleton?

:(

[amanoffewwords]

I would have suspected the cable causing some sort of interference - is it parallel? Whichever it is it would be a good idea to try swapping the interface type (i.e. USB to paralle or paralle to USB) so as to eliminate the connector on the motherboard and the printer as well as the cable itself as potential causes.

HTH
Cheers

[timmcat]

I have the same problem on an old HP printer hooked up to my (even older) laptop at work. It usually happens immediatly after a paper jam or some other interruption to the print job. The only cure I have found is to ensure the spooler is empty of print tasks, and to switch off the printer and then switch on again.

I know this doesnt 'bottom' the problem, but its the only way I know of getting round the issue short term.


Tim[

[Abbeville]

Problem still exists and the spotty faced, earing festooned geek behind the MTCE counter at PCWorld seemed to think the ROM chip (?) was more than likely corrupted. Suggestion was to power down completely for a few hours then start again. In fact I have shut it down completely and removed all forms of trons and wiggly amps inputs to the printer totally. Same old garbage being chucked out regrettably.

Clearly PCWorld would like to sell me a new puter. Does anyone out there know if it is a simple job to change the chip or should I just recycle the whole shebang and have done with it?

If recycle is the option does anyone have a good URL to compare state of the art deskjets available on the market? Damned nuisance as I really liked my 870Cxi!! :*

[Celloistic]

... I'm afraid that a lot of the HP/Epson printers do this. It is a communication glitch. ALWAYS be highly sceptical of what anyone with PCWorld shirt on tells you. They are on low wages, that only become slightly reasonable if they sell lots. And then there are the ones that don't know what they're talking about...

(I once asked fro a min-VGA adapter and was asked what VGA stood for! :mad:

Anyhow, basically there are no quick fixes - yes, you can replace cables (never a bad idea anyway) but it will still happen even after re-installing the software, as you've discovered. It is a communication issue, however. The information coming from the computer is translated into ASCII characters.

When it happens, cancel the printing queue (all documents), as soon as you see the ASCII characters on the page switch the printer off - for at least 4 minutes. This clears the memory on both PC and printer. Switch printer back on and print the pritner's test page - all should be fine. Then resend your document to print.

There are some good printers available now. I have the Epson 880i which is great and although only a year old, has been superceded - but the good thing is it hardly ever produces the ASCII characters! Bought it for £199.

Cello

[Bern Oulli]

At work I am still running an HP Deskjet 550. It is incredibly slow, noisy and does the ASCII character thing with monotonous regularity. Cure as above.

At home I have an aged Epson Stylus 600 which is fairly quick, not too noisy and has NEVER (touch wood) done the ASCII thing even when I have goofed up the paper feed and other horrible things. A truly excellent printer.

[Ronbmy]

Don't want to drive you away from proon but you might like to post this on...

www.experts-exchange.com

One of the guys on there - Keith - designs the electronics for HP deskjets.

I have his email address at hp.com but you might be better going through the forum so as not to abuse the system.

Failing that, buy an Epson.

Used to have an 870cxi for business use. Too expensive foro the amount of paper I used. Smacked it with a 2lb hammer & threw it on the tip. Bought Epson laser & inkjet and running costs shrank by over 60%. To buy a new printer is same cost as 5 or 6 HP cartridges.

[Abbeville]

Cello, Bern & Ron,

Excuse my not responding sooner - I am down the track at the moment.

Will try your various 'fixes' once I get home next week.

Feedback MUCH appreciated. Many thanks.


Brgds


Abbeville