HP Designjet T1100 Printer Series - The Image Diagnostics Print

The Image Diagnostics Print consists of patterns designed to highlight printhead reliability problems. It helps you to check the performance of the printheads that are currently installed in your printer, and whether any printhead suffers from clogging or other problems.

To print the Image Diagnostics Print:

1. Use the same paper type that you were using when you detected a problem.
2. Use the View loaded paper key on the front panel to check that the selected paper type is the same as the paper type loaded into the printer.
3. At the printer's front panel, select the Image Quality Maintenance menu icon , then Print diagnostic image.

It takes about two minutes to print the Image Diagnostics Print.

The print is divided into two parts, both of which test printhead performance.

• Part 1 (top) consists of rectangles of pure colors, one for each printhead. This part represents the print quality that you will get from each color.
• Part 2 (bottom) consists of small dashes, one for each nozzle on each printhead. This part complements the first, and aims more specifically to detect how many faulty nozzles each printhead has.

Please look carefully at the print. The names of the colors are shown above the rectangles and in the center of the patterns of dashes.

First look at the upper part of the print (part 1). Each colored rectangle should be a uniform color without any horizontal lines across it.

Then look at the bottom part of the print (part 2). For each individual colored pattern, check that most of the dashes are present.

If you see horizontal lines in part 1 and also missing dashes in part 2 for the same color, the printhead responsible needs cleaning. However, if the rectangles look solid, do not worry about just a few missing dashes in part 2; these are acceptable because the printer can compensate for a few clogged nozzles.

Here is an example of a gray printhead in a good state:

And here is an example of the same printhead in a bad state:

1. Clean any faulty printheads. Then reprint the Image Diagnostics Print to see whether the problem has been solved.
2. If the problem remains, clean the printheads again, and reprint the Image Diagnostics Print to see whether the problem has been solved.
3. If the problem remains, consider cleaning your printheads manually. You could also try reprinting your current print job, in case it now prints satisfactorily.
4. If the problem remains, try cleaning the printhead drop detector. The printer normally notifies you when this is necessary, but it may be worth trying even if the printer has not suggested it.
5. If the problem still remains, replace any persistently faulty printheads, or contact HP Support.