HP Deskjet 320 Solutions Guide - Page 153

Troubleshooting Print Cartridges Short Print Cartridge Life There are several causes for a short print cartridge life. The information below describes the average print cartridge life for the two recommended print cartridges and possible causes for a reduction to this expected print cartridge life. Table 6-8. Print Cartridge Life Specifications - Ink Used Print Cartridge Black Print Cartridge1 Color Print Cartridge2 Part Number 51633A 51625A Print Cartridge Life Based on Ink Used 1000 Characters Per 1500 Characters Per Normal Print Mode Page Coverage Page Coverage (8% Area Fill) 500 to 1000 Pages 333 to 666 Pages 250 Pages 1. The 51633A black print cartridge life specifications are based on printing Courier 10. The lower numbers in the specifications are based on using letter-quality print mode and the higher numbers in the specifications are based on using draft print mode. A now obsolete black print cartridge, part number 51608A, had the same life specifications as this cartridge. 2. The 51625A color print cartridge life specification is based on using Normal print mode in Windows with an average 8% area fill. The HP DeskJet Portable prints black only; it cannot use this color print cartridge. Table 6-9. Possible Causes for Short Print Cartridge Life - Black or Color Possible Cause Explanation Pages used a higher rate of ink coverage than that used for the cartridge life specification The rate of coverage on the page has a significant impact on the number of pages per print cartridge. Heavy concentrations of ink and higher print quality significantly reduce the number of pages per print cartridge. Pages contained graphics Generally, graphics use ink at a much higher rate than the Courier 10 font at the 1500 characters per page specification. If possible, print drafts of documents without the graphics. The selected print mode uses ink at a higher rate Higher quality print modes use more ink than draft print mode. To maximize print cartridge life, print drafts of documents in draft mode, then print the final copies in letter-quality mode. The print cartridge is past the expiration date Replace the print cartridge. Use a First In-First Out ("FIFO") inventory process to avoid a stock of expired print cartridges. The printer was turned off with the print cartridge away from home position A service station is located at the right end of the mechanism. This service station caps the print cartridge nozzles to minimize ink drying in the nozzles. Always allow the print cartridge to return to the home position so that the service station can cap the print cartridge nozzles when the printer is not in use. The print cartridge was open outside the printer Opened print cartridges must be stored in the printer or in the print cartridge storage container supplied with the optional Color Kit3. The print cartridge was refilled Hewlett-Packard does not recommend or guarantee the print quality or cartridge life of refilled print cartridges. Replace the print cartridge with a new print cartridge. 3. The HP DeskJet Portable only prints black; the Color Kit is available for the HP DeskJet 310 and 320 only. Problem Resolution 6-29