HP Hydra Designjet 500Plus Printer User's Guide C00749371

User Manual: HP HP Designjet 500Plus Printer - User's Guide

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Introduction
This User’s Reference Guide explains how to use your D/A1 size or A0+/E+ size HP Designjet 500 Plus Printer.
The Introduction Tab contains these topics:
•

Introducing the Documentation
Introduces your printer’s documentation.

•

Introducing Your HP Designjet 500 Plus Printer
Contains a brief overview of the printer. It contains information about the printer’s features and what is
included with the printer.

•

Front View of Printer
Contains a view of the front of the printer showing the location of the printer’s consumable items.

•

Printer Connections
Shows all the connections to the printer: power, parallel interface, USB and optional network interface.

Introducing the Documentation
You have the following resources to help you in using your HP Designjet 500 Plus printer.
•

The Assembly and Set-up Poster comes with your printer and shows step-by-step information on how to
prepare your printer for use.

•

This User’s Reference Guide explains the
details of using your printer. For more day-to-day
guidance you can refer to the Pocket Guide.

•

The Pocket Guide can be found in a slot on the
right-hand side of the printer (as shown). It gives
information that you are most likely to need for
printer operation on a daily basis, such as
loading paper or replacing ink supplies.

•

You can also visit us on our Web page:
www.hp.com/go/designjet.

Pocket Guide location

Introducing Your HP Designjet 500 Plus Printer
•

Your Printer’s Main Features
A general overview of the major features of your printer.

•

HP Ink Supplies
A description of the HP Ink Supplies required for your printer.

•

Print Resolution
Specifications of the print resolution for your printer.

•

Media
A description of the different types of media available for your printer.

•

User Interface
A description of the printer’s user interface.

•

Memory
Details of internal memory and memory options available with your printer.

•

Drivers
Details of the drivers delivered with your printer.

Your Printer’s Main Features
The HP Designjet 500 Plus printing system is specially designed for individuals or small work-groups in
Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) and mechanical CAD design.
For the complete printing solution, HP also offers a wide range of media including HP Heavyweight Coated Paper
with fade-resistant photo-quality output and HP High-Gloss Photo Paper for high-quality long-lasting prints that
produce a professional look and feel. And with the HP Complementary Media Program, HP provides users with a
wide spectrum of choice and flexibility in their media selection.
The HP Designjet 500 Plus printer comes in two sizes: A0+/E+ size (42 inches/1066.8 mm) and D/A1 size
(24 inches/609.6 mm) models. Both models have roll-feed capabilities and come with an HP-GL/2 Accessory
Card. The A0+/E+ size model also includes legs and a media bin.
• Ultimate Photo Image Quality and Excellent Line Quality: The HP Designjet 500 Plus printer delivers ultimate
line quality with a true resolution of 1200×600-dpi, using HP’s color layering technology, which layers multiple
color ink drops on a single drop, on coated paper. This excellent line quality is achieved due to the fact that
each one-half inch/12.7mm printhead contains 304 nozzles, producing miniscule 18-picoliter black pigmented
ink drops and four picoliter color dye-based drops, that are idea for engineering and architectural applications.
In addition, the HP Designjet 500 Plus printer delivers excellent photo quality for renders and photographs,
providing continuous tones and smooth transitions.
• Unattendedness: The HP Designjet 500 Plus printing system includes a modular ink delivery system, with
69-cc cartridge capacity, and long life printheads which last, on average, through ten black ink cartridges and
six color ink cartridges, depending on use. This modular system allows users to replace individual ink supplies
separately, as needed and also provide automatic alignment and cutting and stacking of finished prints in the
media bin, enabling continuous and unattended printing. In addition, the HP Designjet 500 Plus printer
includes smart chips that are embedded into each individual printhead and ink cartridge that alert the user if it
time to replace the printhead and continuously monitor ink levels.
• Ease-of-use: The HP Designjet 500 Plus printing system is a true out-of the box solution and provides the
user with everything he or she needs to install and use the printer. The HP Designjet 500 Plus printer
includes a control-display panel for simple navigation, straightforward media loading and easy-to-install
drivers.
More…

•

HP Premium Printing Material: The HP Designjet 500 Plus A0+/E+ size and D/A1 size printing systems
accept a wide range of roll and sheet media from 24 inches/609.6 mm (D/A1 size) to 42 inches/1066.8 mm
(A0+/E+ size) wide including HP Satin Poster Paper, HP High-Gloss Photo Paper and HP Heavyweight
Coated Paper. In addition, the HP Designjet 500 Plus printer accepts a wide range of media for technical
applications.
Complementary Media Program (CMP): The CMP helps HP customers grow their businesses by referencing
third-party printing material choices to ensure maximum HP Designjet printer flexibility and printing solutions.

HP Ink Supplies
HP Ink Supplies for your printer contain two components: printheads and ink cartridges. Your HP Designjet 500
Plus printer uses the following HP Ink Supplies:
• Black Ink Cartridges are HP No 10 Supplies.
• Cyan, Magenta and Yellow Cartridges are HP No 82 Supplies.
• All Printheads are HP No 11 Supplies.
Each 600-dpi thermal inkjet printhead applies thousands of ink droplets onto the paper. The printer automatically
refills the printhead as it prints, enabling continuous uninterrupted printing. The ink is supplied to each printhead
from a separate large capacity ink cartridge.
There is more information available in a pamphlet which comes with the printheads and in Print Times for a
Selected Print Quality.

Print Resolution
Your HP Designjet 500 Plus printer provides two different print modes that change the print resolutions of each of
the print quality modes. These different print modes are optimized for: Line Drawings/Text or Images.
You can then choose between three levels of print quality for each of the print modes: Best, Normal or Fast from
your software or from the printer's front panel.
With the best mode selected you have an additional selection available to provide maximum detail for your printed
image by increasing the resolution of your job above the default resolution.
Print Quality Setting

Optimized for Line Drawing/Text

Optimized for Images

Resolution in dpi

Re0×nder

Halftone

Render

Halftone

Fast

300×300

600×300

150×150

600×300

Normal

600×600

300×300

600×600

Best (default)

600×600

Best (maximum detail)

600×600

1200×600

600×600

1200×600

Use Fast to get draft copies of your prints at maximum throughput. Normal is optimized so that you get the best
line quality with the fastest throughput. Select Best if you want to get the best quality for images and renderings.

Media
You can print on roll media or sheet media up to 42 inches (1066.8 mm) wide with the A0+/E+ size HP Designjet
500 Plus printer and up to 24 inches (609.6 mm) with the D/A1 size model.
The following media types are supported on the HP Designjet 500 Plus printer:
•

HP Bright White Inkjet Paper (Bond)

•

HP Paper-Based Semi-Gloss

•

HP Vellum

•

HP Clear film

•

HP Natural Tracing Paper

•

HP Translucent bond

•

HP Coated Paper

•

HP Studio Canvas

•

HP Heavyweight Coated Paper

•

HP Satin Poster Paper

•

HP Matte film

•

HP Banners with Tyvek®

•

HP High-Gloss Photo Paper

•

HP Colorfast Adhesive Vinyl

•

HP Semi-Gloss Photo Paper

User Interface
The printer’s front panel includes an easy-to-use interface with a display, giving you access to a comprehensive
set of printer functions.

See Navigating the Menu System, for a short tutorial to teach you how to navigate through the menus and a
description of internal prints.

Memory
The D/A1 size and A0+/E+ size HP Designjet 500 Plus printers come with 32 MB of internal Random Access
Memory (RAM). Additional memory can be added to the HP-GL/2 Accessory card that came with your printer. You
can add 64 MB (part number C2387A) or 128 MB (part number C2388A) of memory for large file processing and
improved printing.

Drivers
Always use the right driver (configured correctly) for the combination of your application software and your printer
to ensure that your printer prints exactly what you were expecting in terms of: size, position, orientation, color and
quality.
NOTE:

Many software applications include their own drivers.

Your HP Designjet 500 Plus printer comes supplied with:
• Windows drivers
• Mac OS X drivers
• AutoCAD drivers for Windows
NOTE:

If AutoCAD drivers are available for the specific AutoCAD release you are using, it is strongly
recommended that you install them to print from AutoCAD.

Front View of Printer
Ink Cartridge
Power
Switch/Indicator

Printhead

Front Panel

Printer Connections
Your HP Designjet 500 Plus printer can be
connected directly to your computer via the
traditional parallel interface or through the Universal
Serial Bus (USB) port.

Connection

For Local Area Network (LAN) connection your
printer can be fitted with an optional HP JetDirect
Print Server Fast Ethernet 10/100 base TX network
interface card.
See the Assembly and Set-up Poster for information
on connecting your printer to a computer or network.

Power socket
Parallel Port

USB Connection

Media & Ink
The D/A1 size and A0+/E+ size format HP Designjet 500 Plus Printers use a variety of media. The
recommended media are engineered to use with your printer and your printer’s ink system to give you the best
results.
The Media & Ink Tab contains these topics:
•

Media Choice explains how to choose the correct media type. Choosing the correct paper type for your
needs is an essential step in ensuring good image quality.

•

Roll Media details the procedures used for loading and unloading your roll media.

•

Sheet Media details the procedures used for loading and unloading your sheet media.

•

Ink System gives you an overview of the printer’s ink system, with some warnings and precautions for its
optimum use.

•

Ink Cartridges details the procedures used for: obtaining information, interpreting errors, checking levels and
replacing ink cartridges.

•

Printheads details the procedures used for: obtaining information, interpreting errors, replacing printheads
and aligning printheads.

Media Choice
•

Choosing Paper or Other Media
Your printer supports several types of paper. Choosing the best paper type for your needs is an essential
step in ensuring good image quality. These topics help you to select the best media for your particular
printing task.

•

Paper Types
Detailed information concerning the different types of media available for your printer. This includes
information on: the types of paper supported, their physical characteristics, quality selection, handling and
how to obtain information.

•

Print Times for a Selected Print Quality
Typical Printing Times for color and black lines and images on different types of paper.

•

Printable Area
The dimensions for all the printable areas for all paper and other types of media formats.

Choosing Paper or Other Media
For best printing results, use only genuine Hewlett-Packard paper or other type of media, whose reliability and
performance have been developed and thoroughly tested. All Hewlett-Packard printing components (printer, ink
system, and paper/other media) have been designed to work together to give trouble-free performance and optimal
image quality. For detailed information on Hewlett-Packard paper, see Paper Types.

You should also take note of some important points about paper and other types of media:
• This printer supports many types of paper. However, the quality of some images may be reduced if you do not
use the correct paper for your application. For example, images with large regions of intense color, where
many ink drops are needed to fully saturate the color, will not print well on HP Bright White InkJet Paper. On
HP Coated paper, the same images might cause the paper to wrinkle and then come into contact with the
printheads, smearing your print and risking damage to the printhead. See Combinations of Media Type and
Print Quality Selection.
• Whenever you load a roll or a sheet, the printer’s front-panel display prompts you to specify the paper type
you are loading. It is absolutely essential to specify this correctly for good image quality. The Physical Characteristics of Paper Types table gives you all the information you need. If paper is already loaded and you are
unsure which paper type was specified, go to the Paper Menu and press Enter; see Obtaining Roll or Sheet
Paper Information.
• Make sure the appropriate print-quality setting (Best, Normal or Fast) is selected. You can set the print quality either from your software or from the printer’s front panel (software driver settings override any print-quality
settings made on the front panel). The combination of paper type and print-quality settings tells the printer
how to place the ink on the paper—for example, the ink density, dithering method, and number of passes of
the printheads. For more details, see Combinations of Media Type and Print Quality Selection.
• Included with this printer is the Hewlett-Packard Printing Materials catalog which gives ordering details for
Hewlett-Packard paper supplies. To get the latest version of this document, contact your local Hewlett-Packard Sales and Support office.

Paper Types
The following topics address the various types of media available, their particular use and how to obtain
information about them.
•

Physical Characteristics of Paper Types
Details the physical characteristics of each of the supported paper types.

•

Combinations of Media Type and Print Quality Selection
Gives guidelines for selecting the correct Print Quality selection for the type of paper or other type of media
you are using.

•

Handling Your Paper or Type of Media
Explains the precautions to take when handling paper or other type of media.

•

Obtaining Roll or Sheet Paper Information

Physical Characteristics of Paper Types
The following table lists the physical characteristics and selection numbers of supported HP Premium Printing
Material. Always print on the image side with the special coating. Image side faces outward on roll products from
Hewlett-Packard.
Physical Characteristics of Paper and Other Media
HP Premium Printing Material
HP Bright White Inkjet Paper (Bond)
24 lb. (90g/m2) - 150 ft. (45m)
HP Vellum
3 mil (75g/m2) - 150 ft. (45m)
HP Natural Tracing Paper
3 mil (90g/m2) - 150 ft. (45m)
HP Coated Paper
26 lb. (98g/m2) - 150 ft. (45m)

24 inch
610 mm

36 inch
914 mm

C1860Aa
C6035Ab
C3862A

C1861Aa
C6036Ab
C3861A

C3869A

C3868A

C6019B

C6020B

42 inch
1067 mm

C6559Ba
C6567Bb
C6569C

HP Heavyweight Coated Paper
C6029C
C6030C
35 lb. (130g/m2) - 100 ft. (30m)
HP Matte film
51642A
51642B
5 mil (198g/m2) - 120 ft. (36m)
HP High-Gloss Photo Paper
C6813A
C6814A
8 mil (207g/m2) - 100 ft. (30m)
Click on the Next Page Icon to see more Paper and Other Media Types

Physical Characteristics of Paper and Other Media (Continued)
HP Premium Printing Material
HP High-Gloss Photo Paper
6 mil (158g/m2) - 100 ft. (30m)
HP Semi-Gloss Photo Paper
6 mil (158g/m2) - 100 ft. (30m)
HP Paper-Based Semi-Gloss
6 mil (158g/m2) - 100 ft. (30m)
HP Clear film
4 mil (174g/m2) - 75 ft. (22m)
HP Translucent bond
3 mil (67g/m2) - 75 ft. (45m)
HP Studio Canvas
20 mil (368g/m2) - 35 ft. (10m)
HP Satin Poster Paper
5.5 mil (162g/m2) - 100 ft. (30m)
HP Banners with Tyvek®
10 mil (140g/m2) - 50 ft. (15m)
HP Colorfast Adhesive Vinyl
10 mil (140g/m2) - 50 ft. (15m)

24 inch
610 mm

36 inch
914 mm

C3882A

C3881A

C3884A

C3883A

C6782A

C6783A

C3876A

C3875A

C3860A

C3859A
C6771A
C7011A

C6786A

C6787A
C6775A

a. Available in United States, Canada and Latin America
b. Available in Europe, Asia and Japan
Additional Information About Paper Types

42 inch
1067 mm

Additional Information About Paper Types
The following HP Premium Printing Material can be used to perform the printhead alignment, see Printhead
Alignment.
• HP Bright White Inkjet Paper (Bond)
• HP Coated Paper
• HP Heavyweight Coated Paper
• HP High-Gloss Photo Paper
• HP Satin Poster Paper
You can also use Plain Paper in addition to the above.
To order any of the HP Premium Printing Material, see the pamphlet Hewlett-Packard Printing Materials.
From time to time, new paper types may become available. For up-to-date information, please contact your
Hewlett-Packard dealer, local Hewlett-Packard Sales and Support Office or the Designjet Online Web site.

Combinations of Media Type and Print Quality Selection
Use the following tables, given by application, to guide you when choosing your paper and selecting the print
quality setting (Fast, Normal, Best).
•

CAD Drawings—Mono

•

CAD Drawings and GIS—Color (Lines and low density)

•

CAD Rendering, GIS and Images—Color and CAD (high ink density).

As a general guide:
•

Fast is best for draft copies of your prints at maximum throughput

•

Normal is optimized so that you get the best line quality with the fastest throughput

•

Best is for when you want to get the best quality for images and renderings.

CAD Drawings—Mono
The following table lists the recommended print quality settings for specific usage with typical media.
Supported Paper Types—Mono
Usage

Typical Media Selection

Recommended Print Quality Setting

Drafts

Plain Paper
Bright Inkjet Paper
Natural Tracing Paper
Translucent Bond

Fast or normal

Final Versions

Plain Paper
Bright Inkjet Paper
Natural Tracing Paper
Translucent Bond
Coated paper
Heavy Coated Paper
Matte Film
Clear film

Normal or Best

Archives

Matte Film
Clear Film

Best

Transparencies

Clear Film

Normal or Best

CAD Rendering, GIS and Images—Color and CAD (high ink density)
The following table lists the recommended print quality settings for specific usage with typical media.
Supported Paper Types—Color and CAD
Usage

Typical Media Selection

Recommended Print Quality Setting

Matte Paper

Heavy Coated Paper

Normal or Best

Glossy

High Gloss Photo Paper

Normal or Best

Transparencies Clear Film

Best

Handling Your Paper or Type of Media
Take the following precautions when handling paper or other type of media:
• Handle film and glossy paper by the edges or wear cotton gloves. Skin oils can interact with the ink and cause
it to smear.
• Although the ink systems supplied with this printer have good light fastness, colors will eventually fade or
change if exposed to sunlight over a long period of time.
• Rewrap partially used rolls if they are not being used and do not stack rolls.
• Always keep unused rolls in their plastic wrappings to prevent discoloration.

Obtaining Roll or Sheet Paper Information
If roll media or sheet media is loaded, the type of media is displayed when you select the Paper menu on the front
panel.
Bright White Inkjet Paper
Plain Paper
Vellum
Natural Tracing Paper
Translucent Bond
Clear Film
Matte Film
Coated Paper
Heavy Coated Paper
High-Gloss Photo
Canvas
Poster Paper

Roll or Sheet

If there is no paper loaded the front panel display shows the following message and you will need to load roll or
sheet media.

Print Times for a Selected Print Quality
The following table lists some typical printing times for D/A1 size paper.
Typical Printing Times
Print Quality

Time (in seconds)
Mono Lines
on Bond

Color Lines
on Coated
Paper

Images
on Coated
Paper

Images
on Glossy
Paper

Fast

234

480

Normal

216

550

690

Best

360

285

940

990

More Printing Times

Printable Area
The following topics detail the printable areas for each of the different paper size systems:
•

ANSI Paper
The American National Standards Institute imperial paper sizing system.

•

Architectural Paper
The Architectural paper sizing system.

•

ISO Paper
The International Standards Organization metric paper sizing system, which is the size system commonly
used in Europe.

ANSI Paper
The following table lists the printable area for the ANSI paper size system. The left and right margins are
0.2 inches (5 mm) and the leading and trailing edge margins are 0.7 inches (17 mm).
Where: Printable area = Paper Size – Margins
Printable Areas for ANSI paper
Printable area (width × height) by Image Orientation
Paper
size

A
B
C
D
E

Orientation of
paper in
printer
Portrait
Landscape
Portrait
Landscape
Portrait
Landscape
Portrait
Landscape
Portrait
Landscape

Inches
Landscape

Millimeters
Portrait

Landscape

Portrait

Width

Height

Width

Height

Width

Height

Width

Height

9.7
7.2
15.7
9.7
20.7
15.7
32.7
20.7

8.1
10.6
10.6
16.6
16.6
21.6
21.6
33.6

8.1
10.6
10.6
16.6
16.6
21.6
21.6
33.6
33.6

9.7
7.2
15.7
9.7
20.7
15.7
32.7
20.7
42.7

245
182
398
245
525
398
830
525

206
269
269
422
422
549
549
854

206
269
269
422
422
549
549
854
854

245
182
398
245
525
398
830
525
1084

N/A
32.7

43.6

N/A

N/A
830

1108

Indicates this printable area is only available if you are using the A0+/E+ size format
HP Designjet 500 Plus printer

N/A

Architectural Paper
The following table lists the printable area for the Architectural paper size system.
The left and right margins are 0.2 inches (5 mm) and the leading and trailing edge margins are 0.7 inches
(17 mm).
Where: Printable area = Paper Size – Margins .
Printable Areas for Architectural paper
Printable area (width × height) by Image Orientation
Orientation of
Paper
paper in
size
printer
C
D
E1
E

Portrait
Landscape
Portrait
Landscape
Portrait
Landscape
Portrait
Landscape

Inches
Landscape

Millimeters
Portrait

Landscape

Portrait

Width

Height

Width

Height

Width

Height

Width

Height

22.7
16.7
34.7
22.7
40.7
28.7

17.6
23.6
23.6
35.6
29.6
41.6

17.6
23.6
23.6
35.6
29.6
41.6
35.6

22.7
16.7
34.7
22.7
40.7
28.7
46.7

576
423
880
576
1033
728

447
600
600
904
752
1057

447
600
600
904
752
1057
904

576
423
880
576
1033
728
1185

N/A
34.7

47.6

N/A

N/A
880

1209

Indicates this printable area is only available if you are using the A0+/E+ size format
HP Designjet 500 Plus printer

N/A

ISO Paper
The following table lists the printable area for the ISO paper size system.
The left and right margins are 0.2 inches (5 mm) and the leading and trailing edge margins are 0.7 inches
(17 mm).
Where: Printable area = Paper Size – Margins
Printable Areas for ISO paper
Printable area (width × height) by Image Orientation
Paper
size

A4
A3
A2
A1
A0

Orientation of
paper in
printer
Portrait
Landscape
Portrait
Landscape
Portrait
Landscape
Portrait
Landscape
Portrait

Inches
Landscape

Millimeters
Portrait

Landscape

Portrait

Width

Height

Width

Height

Width

Height

Width

Height

10.4
6.9
15.2
10.4
22.0
15.2
31.7
22.0

7.9
11.3
11.3
16.1
16.1
23.0
23.0
32.7

7.9
11.3
11.3
16.1
16.1
23.0
23.0
32.7
32.7

10.4
6.9
15.2
10.4
22.0
15.2
31.7
22.0
45.4

263
176
386
263
560
386
806
560

200
287
287
410
410
584
584
830

200
287
287
410
410
584
584
830
830

263
176
386
263
560
386
806
560
1154

N/A

Indicates this printable area is only available if you are using the A0+/E+ size format
HP Designjet 500 Plus printer

Roll Media
The following procedures are described in detail, with animations where appropriate:
•

Installing a New Roll on the Printer

•

Loading Roll Media

•

Unloading Roll Media

•

Removing Roll Media from the Spindle

•

Cutter Replacement

Installing a New Roll on the Printer
The animation sequence shows how to install a new roll
of paper on the printer.
CAUTION: Make sure the printer wheels are locked

(the brake lever on each wheel is
pressed Down) to prevent the printer
from moving.
If you are a regular user of different types of roll paper,
you can change the paper quicker if you have more
than one spindle. This allows you to do the following:
1. Pre-load the different types of paper onto the spindles.
2. Remove and replace the spindle with the new type
of paper.
NOTE:

Click on this

Additional spindles are available from
Hewlett Packard as accessories.
icon to run the animation sequence. A printable version of the sequence is also available so

that you can take the key illustrations to the printer, if it is remote from your computer.

Loading Roll Media
The animation sequence shows how to load a new roll
of paper on the printer.
NOTE:

You must have installed a new roll of
paper on the printer before you can load
it.

The front-panel menu items are:
Select (using the

keys)

Then Press:

1. Paper

Enter

2. Load Roll

Enter

3. Select Roll Type

Enter

Click on the

icon to run the animation

sequence. A printable version of the sequence is also
available so that you can take the key illustrations to the printer, if it is remote from your computer.

Unloading Roll Media
The animation sequence shows how to unload a roll of
paper from the printer.
Click on the

icon to run the animation

sequence. A printable version of the sequence is also
available so that you can take the key illustrations to the
printer, if it is remote from your computer.

Removing Roll Media from the Printer
The animation sequence shows how to remove a roll of
paper from the printer.
NOTE:

Click on the

You must have unloaded the roll of
paper from the printer before you can
remove it.
icon to run the animation

sequence. A printable version of the sequence is also
available so that you can take the key illustrations to the
printer, if it's remote from your computer.

Removing Roll Media from the Spindle
The animation sequence shows how to remove a roll of
paper from the roll spindle.
NOTE:

Click on the

You must have removed the roll of paper
from the printer before you can remove it
from the spindle.
icon to run the animation

sequence. A printable version of the sequence is also
available so that you can take the key illustrations to the
printer, if it is remote from your computer.

Cutter Replacement
The animation sequence shows the complete
procedure for the replacement of the paper cutter in
your printer.

Prerequisites
Before attempting to replace the cutter you must
contact your local HP Customer Care center to:
• Order the replacement cutter.
• Receive instructions on how to access the Front
Panel Service Menu.

Important Information
•

•
•
•

The cutter unit is attached to the printer by a black
cutter holder that runs along the metal guide rail,
and is hooked onto the edge of the platen at the
front of the printer.
The cutting wheel is inside the cutter unit.
Do not remove the cutter holder.
When inserting the new cutter, with the cutter holder raised to about 45 degrees, partially insert the cutter so it
rests in the cutter holder, but do NOT clip it in at this stage.

CAUTION: Be very careful when replacing the cutter because you can easily break the cutter holder if you

apply too much force.
Click on the

icon to run the animation sequence. A printable version of the sequence is also available so

that you can take the key illustrations to the printer, if it is remote from your computer.

Sheet Media
•

Which Side Up?
Instructs you how to identify which side of the sheet media should be printed on.

•

Which Edge First?
Explains which edge of the sheet should be loaded first (short edge or long edge).

•

Loading Sheet Media
Details the sheet media loading procedure.

•

Unloading Sheet Media
Details the sheet media unloading procedure.

Which Side Up?
The printer prints on the side of the paper that faces up. It may be important to load the sheet with the correct side
facing up. See the table below.
Print Side for Media Types
Media Type
HP Bright White Inkjet Paper (Bond)
HP Vellum

Matte or Glossy
Both sides are the same. If sheet
is curled, load with curl down.

Natural Tracing Paper
Coated Paper

Load with the coated side up.

Heavy Coated Paper
Matte Film

Load with the matte side up.

High-Gloss Photo

Load with the glossy side up.

Clear Film
Translucent Bond

Both sides are the same. If sheet
is curled, load with curl down.

Canvas
Poster Paper
Plain Paper

Both sides are the same. If sheet
is curled, load with curl down.

Which Edge First?
You can load sheet paper in either portrait or landscape orientation. Unless you are using the Rotate option,
always load the sheet in the same orientation as you have specified in your software.

Landscape (long edge first)
Portrait (short edge first)

Loading Sheet Media
The animation sequence shows how to load a new
sheet of paper on the printer.

Important
•
•

If you have a roll of paper loaded on the printer you
must first unload it from the printer.
Make sure the correct side of the sheet is facing up
when you load it.

The front panel menu selections are:
Select (using the

keys)

Then Press:

1. Paper

Enter

2. Load sheet

Enter

3. Select Sheet Type

Enter

Click on the

icon to run the animation sequence. A printable version of the sequence is also available so

that you can take the key illustrations to the printer, if it's remote from your computer.

Unloading Sheet Media
The animation sequence shows how to unload a sheet
of paper from the printer.

Important
•

To give the ink time to dry the printer holds the
paper for some time.

Click on the

icon to run the animation

sequence. A printable version of the sequence is also
available so that you can take the key illustrations to the
printer, if it is remote from your computer.

Ink System
These topics cover the various elements of the Ink System.
•

What are HP Ink Supplies?
Details the elements of the HP Ink Supplies supplies.

•

Component identification
Shows you where to find the various elements of the Ink System.

•

Ink Supply Guidelines
Explains how to obtain the best results from your Ink System.

•

Precautions
Details the specific precautions you must take to avoid damaging the components of your Ink System.

•

Color Calibration
Explains how to calibrate the ink system for the type of media loaded

•

Drying Time
Explains drying time function and details how to use it to ensure you obtain the highest quality print under all
conditions.

What are HP Ink Supplies?
For each of the four ink colors used in the printer, there are two separate components, the printhead and the
ink cartridge. These components are called the HP Ink Supplies and are coded with a Hewlett-Packard No.
selection number to help you reorder the correct replacement. Your HP Designjet 500 Plus printer uses the
following HP Ink Supplies:
• Black Ink Cartridges are HP No 10 Supplies.
• Cyan, Magenta and Yellow Cartridges are HP No 82 Supplies.
• All Printheads are HP No 11 Supplies.

Ink Cartridges
The Hewlett-Packard ink cartridges for your printer require no maintenance or cleaning. As long as each ink
cartridge is inserted correctly into its slot, the ink will flow to the printheads. Because the printheads control the
amount of ink transferred to the page, you will continue to see high-quality printing results, even when the ink
levels are getting low.
The front panel notifies you when an ink cartridge’s ink level is low. You can also check the ink levels of all the ink
cartridges to determine if an ink cartridge needs to be replaced, see Ink Cartridge Information.
If the ink cartridge is empty, the printer stops printing. See Ink Cartridge Replacement.

Printheads
The Hewlett-Packard printheads are extremely durable and do not need to be replaced every time an ink cartridge
is replaced. They are independent of the ink cartridges and will continue giving excellent image quality results
even if the ink cartridges are low in ink.
If you notice a decline in print quality such as lines or dots missing from text or graphics, see Stepped Lines.

Component identification
The following illustration will help you identify the components of the HP Ink Supplies.
Printheads

Ink Cartridges

The Hewlett-Packard selection number on the ink cartridges and printheads makes it easy for you to find the
correct HP Ink Supplies for your printer. Determine the color of the printhead or ink cartridge you need, then make
sure you purchase or order the correct Hewlett-Packard printhead or ink cartridge. Each ink cartridge and
printhead can be purchased separately from your usual Hewlett-Packard retailer. See Ordering Accessories.

Ink Supply Guidelines
For optimum results from your printer and the ink system, always follow these guidelines when handling HP Ink
Supplies:
• Always install the ink cartridges and printheads before the expiry date, which is on the packaging.
• Install ink cartridges and printheads in their color-coded slots.
• Follow the instructions on the front panel during installation.
• Avoid unnecessary removal of the ink cartridges and printheads.
• When turning off your printer, always use the power-off button on the front panel. The printheads are then
parked correctly which prevents them from drying out.
• The ink cartridges should never be removed while the printer is printing. They should only be removed when
the printer is ready for you to replace them. The front panel will guide you through the removal and installation
procedure. See When to Replace HP Ink Supplies.
CAUTION: When you first received your printer it was supplied with a set of four setup printheads installed
in the printhead carriage. These setup printheads are used for the priming of the tubes in the
modular ink delivery system. Do not remove the setup printheads from the carriage without
following the procedures in the Assembly and Set-up Poster.

Precautions
Handle HP Ink Supplies with care. In particular, the printhead, which is a high-precision device, must be handled
carefully.
CAUTION: Do not touch, wipe or attempt to clean the printhead nozzles. This can damage the printhead.

•
•
•

•

Do not put the printhead down on the nozzles.
Do not be rough when handling the printheads.
Always set them down gently.
Do not drop the printheads. Proper handling will
assure optimum performance throughout the printhead life.
Do not touch the end of the ink cartridge which is
inserted into the printer as there may be a small
amount of ink on the connection.
Avoid storing partly used ink cartridges on their
ends.

Color Calibration
You can calibrate the ink system for the specific media loaded in your printer. Doing this ensures the printed
output matches the colors of the original image as closely as possible. The printer stores the calibration data for
each type of media you have calibrated it for since it was powered up. Once the printer has been powered down,
the next time you use it only the last calibration made will be available and it will print using this calibration data.
To color calibrate your printer, first make sure you have the correct type of media loaded and then make the
following front-panel selections:
Select (using the

keys)

Then Press:

1. Ink

Enter

2. Color calibration

Enter

3. Calibrate Paper

Enter

The printer prints a calibration pattern and scans it to create the calibration data for the type of media loaded.
If you want to check the color calibration status of your printer, make the following front-panel selections:
Select (using the

keys)

Then Press:

1. Ink

Enter

2. Color calibration

Enter

3. Status

Enter

The front panel display shows what types of media the ink system is currently calibrated for.
To remove all the calibrations and reset the printer to its factory values choose
Color calibration > Reset from the Ink menu.

Drying Time
The following topics detail the drying time function and how to use it to ensure you obtain the highest quality print
under all conditions.
•

Drying Time Settings
Describes how to set the required drying times from the front panel.

•

Typical Drying Times
Lists typical drying times for Hewlett-Packard tested paper at approximately 25°C with 50% relative humidity.

•

Drying Procedure
Details how the drying procedure operates.

Drying Time Settings
With some paper types and environmental conditions the ink needs time to dry before the paper is unloaded. The
printer has three settings which you can choose through the front panel. See Navigation Example for more help.
Manual
The printer holds in place paper which has a specific drying time, and displays a “drying time to go” countdown on
the front panel. You can change this time from one minute to 99 minutes in one minute increments.
Automatic
The printer automatically determines the appropriate drying time, based on the type of paper you have selected
and the current temperature. If there is any drying time the printer displays a “drying time to go” countdown on the
front panel.
None
With this setting, when the printer has finished printing an image, the paper will fall into the paper bin under the
printer.
CAUTION: Changing the drying time to speed up the printer could result in damage to your printed image
or reduce the quality of your print.

Typical Drying Times
The following table shows the typical drying times for Hewlett-Packard tested paper at approximately 25°C with
50% relative humidity.
Drying Times by Paper Types
Drying Time (seconds)

Hewlett Packard Tested Paper
Type

Fast

HP Bright White Inkjet Paper (Bond)

HP Vellum
HP Natural Tracing Paper
HP Coated Paper

Normal

Best
25

120

180

HP Heavyweight Coated Paper

HP Matte film

HP High-Gloss Photo Paper

120

180

HP Semi-Gloss Photo Paper
HP Paper-Based Semi-Gloss
HP Clear film
HP Translucent bond
HP Studio Canvas
HP Satin Poster Paper
HP Banners with Tyvek®
HP Colorfast Adhesive Vinyl

60
60

120
6000
60

180

Drying Procedure
The drying procedure operates as follows:
1. The printed image emerges from beneath the printer window and a vacuum holds it on the platen of the
printer.
2. The front panel displays:
The countdown
timer indicates
how much
drying time
remains

3. You can press the Cancel or the Form Feed & Cut key to cancel the drying time and release the paper.
4. After the drying time has elapsed:
For roll media the printer cuts the media and turns off the vacuum so the printed image can drop into the
printer bin.
For sheet media the vacuum is turned off and the printed image drops into the printer bin.

Ink Cartridges
•

Ink Cartridge Errors
Details the error messages that could be displayed on the front panel for the Ink Cartridges.

•

Ink Cartridge Levels
Details the information about levels that can be displayed on the front panel for the Ink Cartridges.

•

Ink Cartridge Information
Shows you how to display the current status of the Ink Cartridges on the front-panel display.

•

Ink Cartridge Replacement
Details the Ink Cartridge replacement procedure.

Ink Cartridge Errors
The Front Panel can display the following error messages for the ink cartridges:

Cartridge
Missing

Faulty
Cartridge

NOTE:

Cartridge
Nearly
Reached
End of Life

Cartridge
Empty

If a cartridge has actually passed its expiry date, it will be shown as a faulty cartridge and will
have to be replaced.

The printer will also display the Ink Cartridge Levels.

Ink Cartridge Levels
The Front Panel will tell you when your ink supply is low, very low or empty. This means you know current status
of your HP Ink Supplies all the time:

Cartridge
Full

Low Ink
Warning

Cartridge
Empty

NOTE:

Depending on type of print jobs, a cartridge with a Low Ink Warning may in fact last quite a long
time (for example, with line drawings).

NOTE:

The Ink Cartridges levels information can also be selected with
Ink menu > Information > Ink Cartridges > Ink Levels if it is not automatically shown in the Ink
menu.

Ink Cartridge Information
Use the following procedure to display the Ink Cartridge Information screen on the front panel.
The front-panel menu items are:
Select (using the

keys)

Then Press:

1. Ink

Enter

2. Information

Enter

3. Ink Cartridges

Enter

4. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow or Black
Ink cartridge

Enter

The front panel displays the following information for the selected ink cartridge:
• Color: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow or Black.
• Model: Hewlett-Packard No 82 (Cyan, Magenta and Yellow) or Hewlett-Packard No 10 (Black).
• Status: inserted, low on ink, out of ink, missing, expired and faulty.
• Expiration date.
• Serial Number.
• Ink Level: in cc and % used.

Ink Cartridge Replacement
The animation sequence opposite shows how to
replace an Ink Cartridge.
WARNING: Make sure the printer wheels are locked

(the brake lever is pressed down) to
prevent the printer from moving.
CAUTION: Only remove an ink cartridge if you are

replacing it.
CAUTION: Do not replace cartridges while the

printer is printing because doing this will
cancel the current print job.
You would need to change cartridges either if prompted
to do so on the Front Panel because the printer has
detected a cartridge is out of ink or the cartridge is low
and you want to replace it before it runs out.
Click on the

icon to run the animation

sequence.
A printable version of the sequence is also available so that you can take the key illustrations to the printer, if it is
remote from your computer.

Printheads
•

Printhead Errors
Details the different error messages that could be displayed on the front panel for the Printheads.

•

Printhead Information
Shows you how to display the current status of the Printheads on the front panel display.

•

Printhead Replacement
Details the Printhead Replacement procedure.

•

Printhead Alignment
Details the Printhead Alignment procedure.

Printhead Errors
The Front Panel can display the following error messages for the printheads:

Printhead
Missing

Faulty
Printhead

NOTE:

Printhead
Worn Out

Unknown
Error

An unknown error is displayed when one of the printheads is causing a problem but the system
cannot detect which one it is. Refer to Unknown Printhead Error to solve this problem.

Printhead Information
Use the following procedure to display the Printheads Information screen on the front panel.
The front panel menu selections are:
Select (using the

keys)

Then Press:

1. Ink

Enter

2. Information

Enter

3. Printhead

Enter

4. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow or Black
printhead

Enter

The front panel displays the following information for the selected printhead:
• Color: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow or Black
• Model: Hewlett-Packard No 11 and Warranty (In warranty or Out of warranty)
• Status: inserted, missing, faulty worn-out and unknown.
If there is a problem the system displays an action: missing -> insert, unknown -> troubleshoot,
faulty, worn out -> replace.
• Expiration date.
• Serial Number.
• Ink Used: in cc and % used.
• Paper Jams.
• If the printheads are aligned and color calibrated.

Printhead Replacement
The animation sequence shows how to replace a
printhead in the printer.
The front-panel menu selections are:
Select (using the

keys)

Then Press:

1. Ink

Enter

2. Replace Printheads

Enter

Click on the

icon to run the animation

sequence. A printable version of the sequence is also
available.
Once you have replaced the printhead, if you have
media loaded, the printer prompts you to start the
Printhead Alignment procedure. If no media is loaded
the printer prompts you to load paper and then automatically starts the alignment. The alignment takes several
minutes to complete and then printer will then prompts you to run the Color Calibration procedure.

Printhead Alignment
You should have one of the following types of paper loaded before attempting to align the printheads: HP Bright
White Inkjet Paper (Bond), HP Coated Paper, HP Heavyweight Coated Paper, HP High-Gloss Photo Paper, HP
Satin Poster Paper or Plain Paper. If you try to do this with any other type of paper loaded, the printer will prompt
you to load a different type of paper before letting you align the printheads.
From time to time you may be required to align the printheads to ensure maximum print quality. To select
Printhead Alignment manually, make sure you have the correct type of roll or sheet media loaded.
There are two types of alignment: Standard which will take about 4½ minutes; and Special which takes about
11 minutes. Standard alignment is recommended for normal use and requires paper of at least A4/Letter-size,
loaded in landscape mode. Special alignment should be used to correct pen to paper spacing variations which
would be show by variations in vertical line quality, particularly in wide plots and fast print modes. Special
alignment requires paper of at least A3/B-size, loaded in landscape mode. Two separate prints are made.
Then use the following front panel menu selections to start the alignment:
Select (using the

keys)

Then Press:

1. Ink

Enter

2. Align Printheads

Enter

3. Standard (4.5 minutes)
Special (11 minutes)

Enter

Once you have made this selection the printer starts the alignment process which then takes several minutes.
The printer will also automatically use the standard alignment process to align its printheads after
Printhead Replacement. When the alignment procedure completes after a printhead replacement, the printer
prompts you to ask if you want to run the Color Calibration procedure.

Solutions
These topics guide you through the different procedures required to troubleshoot and find the solutions to various
problems you could encounter while using your printer.
The Solutions Tab contains these topics:
•

Solving Problems helps you to quickly troubleshoot your specific problem; it also contains instructions on
where you can get further information.

•

Image Quality Problems helps you to solve any image quality problems you may be experiencing. It takes
you through the troubleshooting procedure step-by-step.

•

Ink Supply Problems guides you when you have problems installing the consumable ink items: the ink
cartridges and printheads.

•

Media Problems contains information on what to do if you have image smears or marks on your media, and
also what to do if you have a media jam.

•

Image Error contains information on what to do if the image that your printer printed is incorrect, or not what
you expected.

•

Other Problems covers miscellaneous problems you could face.

•

Getting Help explains what to do if you cannot solve the problem you are having. It also provides full details
of the steps to take to contact the Hewlett-Packard Customer Care Center.

Solving Problems
•
•

•
•

•
•
•

To find the meaning of front-panel messages, see Message Descriptions.
If you know the problem is related to a certain task, first check the relevant section in this manual, for step-bystep procedures. Use this manual’s index or table of contents to find the section. For example, if you are having difficulty with page formatting, refer to Page Format.
If the problem is directly related to the quality of your printed images, refer first to Image Quality Problems.
Refer to the appropriate topic:
– Ink Supply Problems
– Media Problems
– Communication Problems
– Image Error
– Other Problems
If the problem could be related to your software driver, and you are using an HP driver, refer to the driver’s
troubleshooting documentation and the on-line help in your application software.
If the problem has no obvious cause, refer to Finding the Source of Your Problem.
If you still cannot solve the problem, see Getting Help.

Finding the Source of Your Problem
1. Look at the front-panel display for messages. See Message Descriptions for a full explanation of front-panel
messages.
2. Test the printer.
– Switch the printer off on the front of the printer. Make sure that the power cord is firmly inserted in the
printer and plugged in to an outlet that you know works.
– Switch the printer on and make sure the front-panel display shows the HP welcome screen followed by
Main Menu after a short initialization period.
3. Test your computer hardware and interface.
– Make sure that you have the correct interface cable between the computer and the printer and that it is
firmly connected to the correct ports (see the Assembly and Set-up Poster).

Image Quality Problems
Your HP Designjet 500 Plus printer provides a full troubleshooting utility to ensure you can always quickly
overcome any image problems you encounter. You should use this utility whenever you (and not the printer)
perceive a problem with print quality.
Often what you believe to be a print quality problem is in fact caused by incorrect configuration of the printer for
the type of image you are trying to print. Always check Configuration Correction as your first diagnostic task to find
the cause of your problem.
If a message, such as “PRINTHEADS not functional” appears on the front-panel of your printer, follow the
instructions given for the particular message (see Message Descriptions).
The types of problems you could possibly encounter are:
• Stepped Lines
• Incomplete Lines
• Color Accuracy
• Horizontal Banding
• Color Alignment
Whenever you see any of these problems work through the Troubleshooting Procedure replying to the questions
displayed on the front panel. This will lead you to correct remedial action required to solve your image quality
problem.

Configuration Correction
Before attempting the image quality diagnostic procedures contained in this section, you should first check that
the printer is correctly configured to print what you want. Many problems concerned with image quality can be
solved by correcting the way the printer is configured.
1. To achieve the best performance from your printer, only use genuine HP accessories and supplies, whose
reliability and performance have been thoroughly tested to give trouble-free performance and best-quality
prints. For details of HP media, see Paper Types.
2. Make sure that the Type of paper selected in the front panel is the same type of paper loaded into the printer.
To check this go to the Roll or Sheet menu in the front panel and press Enter.
3. To ensure the maximum print quality use HP certified media only. For details of HP media see Physical
Characteristics of Paper Types. You can also look at the Web page http://www.hp.com/go/designJet for the
most up-to-date information.
4. Make sure that the Print quality (Fast, Normal, Best) used for your printer is correct. This is set in the Print
Setup dialog box of the printer driver or in the front panel from the Set-up menu. The printer driver setting
overrides the front panel setting.
5. Select Best print mode for maximum print quality.
6. For Non-HP drivers, set front panel media settings to match the media type loaded in the printer. The
documentation that came with your software should provide information about media type/print quality
settings.
7. If your image quality problem is color accuracy related, go to Color Accuracy for further configuration help.

Troubleshooting Procedure
Working through the Troubleshooting procedure should always be your first action when you encounter image
quality problems. Refer to the Troubleshooting Flow Chart for a description of the sequence of processes used to
complete troubleshooting procedure.
It is important that the paper loaded for this procedure is exactly that used when you encountered image quality
problems, type (for example, glossy paper) and size. If you use a different kind of paper or a different size, you
stand less likelihood of resolving the problem.
Running the Troubleshooting Utility
1. From the main front-panel menu, select the Ink menu (

) and press Enter.

2. Select Troubleshooting and press Enter.
3. The printer first checks to see whether the
printheads are aligned. Misalignment of the
printheads is a common cause of image quality
problems. If they are not aligned, you are prompted
to accept Printhead Alignment. This procedure
requires a few centimeters of paper loaded and takes several minutes to perform.
NOTE:

Note that you do not have to interpret the patterns printed by the Printhead Alignment routine.

4. If the printheads do not seem to require alignment, the printer prints Diagnostic Print A. See Diagnostic Print
A Interpretation for full details of how to use this diagnostic print.

Diagnostic Print A Interpretation

Diagnostic Print A

Diagnostic Print A contains several blocks of color and a block of thin black
broken lines (the lines are actually very much closer than those represented
here).
1. Examine the broken lines in Diagnostic Print A carefully and indicate whether
there are problems with them. The sorts of problems to look for here are:
•

Jaggedness or serrations in the thin lines, like this:
; the thin lines should be straight,
though not necessarily perfectly aligned. The irregularities that are significant
extend along the whole of the length of the lines. Shorter irregularities,
arranged in columns, can be ignored at this stage.

Ignore this
black bar

2. Examine the blocks of color in Diagnostic Print A carefully and indicate whether
there are problems with them. The sorts of problems to look for here are:
•

White streaks or bands in the solid blocks.

3. If you indicate that there is a problem with the dashed lines in Diagnostic Print A,
you are prompted to use the Advance Calibration routine; your printer will be at step 3 of the routine (if you don’t
want to continue with calibration, press the Cancel key).
4. If there are problems in the blocks of color in Diagnostic Print A, for example white streaks or bands, the printer will
try to clean the printheads that have the problem. A printhead can be cleaned up to three times this way; after that
it cannot be cleaned and you will be told; the Troubleshooting routine will finish. In that case we recommend that
you try to reprint your print, and then, if necessary, start the Troubleshooting routine again.
After cleaning the printheads, the printer reprints the blocks of color (but not the black lines) in Diagnostic Print A,
and asks you to examine it again (as in step 1).
5. If there are no problems the first time you print Diagnostic Print A, the printer prints Diagnostic Print B. See
Diagnostic Print B Interpretation for full details of how to use this diagnostic print.

Diagnostic Print B Interpretation
1. For each color in the pattern in Diagnostic Print B, you are asked about the
quality—look for missing lines. If you answer that a color is defective, the
printer tries to clean that printhead.
If the printhead cleaning process completes, Diagnostic Print B is printed
again and you are asked the same questions again.
2. Afterwards, if problems with images remain, use the Troubleshooting
procedure again.

Diagnostic Print B

Ignore these
solid bars

If none of the patterns or blocks in the two Diagnostic Prints shows any problem, it could be that your image
quality problem is caused by a wrong setting in your software, or perhaps the job should have been printed with
the Print quality set to Best instead of Normal or Draft.
If the Troubleshooting routine didn’t indicate that printhead alignment was necessary, you can select Align
printheads in the Ink menu to try to solve any further image quality problems.

Troubleshooting Flow Chart
The following diagram shows the flow of the troubleshooting procedure.
Start

Printer checks
whether Printhead
Alignment is required

Printer recommends
Printhead Alignment
(Standard or Special)

Yes

No
Printer prints
Diagnostic Print A
without black lines

Printer prints
Diagnostic Print A
including black lines

Indicates that
troubleshooting has
completed but further
procedures are required
to solve the problem
Indicates that
troubleshooting has
completed successfully
and there no problems

Yes

Printheads are OK
after first printing of
Diagnostic Print A
No
Printer prints
Diagnostic Print B
without black lines

Printer asks if Cyan,
Magenta, Yellow and
Black Patterns in
Diagnostic Print B are
OK
Yes

Troubleshooting
completed successfully

Printheads need
cleaning. If possible
printer tries to clean
printheads

Printer asks questions
about Diagnostic
Print A

Wrong paper advance.
Printer recommends
Advance Calibration

No problems detected

Printer prints
Diagnostic Print B

If possible printer tries
to clean printheads

If printheads have
been cleaned three
time Troubleshooting
finishes

Advance Calibration
It is important that the paper loaded for this calibration is exactly that used for normal printing, both in quality (for
example, glossy paper) and in width (for example, A0 or 36-inch). Either roll or sheet paper can be used.
The routine prints a pattern and then cuts the roll (the cutter must be set to On—see Controlling the Cutter) or
ejects the sheet; it requires paper that is at least 65 cm/25.5 inches long and at least 50 cm/19.7 inches wide. You
must then reload that piece of paper as a sheet, so that the printer can accurately measure the pattern, and make
whatever adjustments are appropriate to the amount it advances between printing swaths of data. (See Loading
Sheet Media)
The pattern printed is solely for the use of the printer; you are not expected to relate any of its characteristics to the
quality of your images.

2. Select Advance calibration and press Enter.
3. Select Create pattern and press Enter.
The printer prints its calibration pattern (as represented here) and
cuts or ejects the paper.
4. Load the sheet printed side up with the dotted line at the top (that is,
rotated 90º).
5. Now select Measure pattern and press Enter.
The printer reads the calibration pattern and makes the appropriate
internal adjustments.
These Advance Calibration Values are used whenever you print on the
same type of media until you have used the Advance calibration twice
more with different types of media.

) and press Enter.

Direction of paper while
printing (creating pattern)

1. From the main front-panel menu, with the correct paper loaded, select the Paper menu (

Direction of paper when
loading (measuring pattern)

Advance Calibration Values
The printer stores the advance calibration values of the last two
different types of media used for the calibration. When you print the
printer ties to match the media you have selected to the stored
values. If there is a match the printer applies the stored Advance
calibration values.
If the type of media you are using has not been used for either of the
last two Advance calibrations the printer uses a set default values for
your media.
The Restore factory option of the Advance calibration menu erases any stored advance calibration values from
the printer memory. This means that until you run the advance calibration again the printer will use the factory
default values for all types of media.

Stepped Lines
When you look at the image you have printed there are ‘stepped lines’ in the borders of arrows and diagonal
lines. The lines should be straight with no stepping.
The following is an example of what you might see if you have problems with stepped lines.

To solve this problem:
1. Increase the dpi setting by changing the print quality to Best in the front panel and driver software.
2. The problems may be inherent in the image you are trying to print. Try to improve the image with the
application that generated the file.

Incomplete Lines
When you look at the image you have printed there are:
• Missing or faint lines.
• Printed characters having missing parts to them.
The following is an example of what you might see if you have problems with incomplete lines.

TEST
Missing parts of text; this
should say TEST

See the Troubleshooting Procedure for instructions on how to solve this problem.

Color Alignment
When you look at the image you have printed:

The colored lines are printed
double and they are the wrong
colors

The borders of colored blocks
are overlapped and the
overlapping areas have
different colors in them.

See the Troubleshooting Procedure for instructions on how to solve this problem.

Vertical lines are misaligned or
fuzzy (not smooth)

Horizontal Banding
When you look at the image you have printed there are light or dark lines on the image, these are particularly
highlighted in high density ink areas. This problem is known as banding.
Banding can occur to a certain degree in Fast and Normal mode when printing high
density prints. To obtain the best image always print in Best Mode.

IMPORTANT

The following is an example of what you might see if you have problems with banding.

80
jop

ernk

aure

Pojfd

Possibilitie

Expanding

80
Ironk

ernk aure
Pojfdjop
me
ernk Chor
Pojfdjop

Expand

ing Po

ssibilit

ies
80
kheuhg
kheuhg

sfrfefg
sfrfefg

Ink ero

Ink ca Caps
rtridge

See the Troubleshooting Procedure for instructions on how to solve this problem.

Color Accuracy
These are the areas you should review when troubleshooting a color accuracy problem:

Media
Ensure the media loaded is genuine HP media and the correct media type selected on the front panel and in the
driver.

Other Problems
•

Communication Problems
Describes typical problems you could encounter with communications between your computer and the
printer.

•

Printer Does not Print
Details common causes for the printer failing to print.

•

Printer Seems Too Slow
Lists the reasons why printing may slow down.

Communication Problems
Symptoms are:
•
•
•
•

The front-panel display does not show Processing when you are sending a print to the printer.
Your computer displays an error message when you are trying to print.
Your computer or printer “hangs” (stays idle) while communication is taking place. However, note that large
prints can take a correspondingly long time to print.
Your printed output shows random or inexplicable errors (misplaced lines, partial graphics etc.)

How to solve the problem:
•
•
•
•
•

Have you selected the correct printer in your software?
Does the printer work correctly when printing from other software?
If the printer is connected to a network, try using it when connected directly to your computer through parallel
or USB ports.
If your printer is connected to your computer through any other intermediate devices, such as switch boxes,
buffer boxes, cable adapters, cable converters, etc., try using it when connected directly to your computer.
Try another interface cable. For details of supported cables, see Connection Specifications.

File Size and Memory
There is no direct relationship between file size on your computer and memory used in the printer to print that file.
In fact, because of file compression (and general complexity) it is often impossible to estimate how much memory
will be used. This means that some large prints will work fine, but some smaller prints may not and you will have
to add more memory to your printer.

Printer Does not Print
•

•

You may have a power problem. If there is no activity at all from the printer, and power on indicator in the
power switch on the front of the printer is off, check that the power cable is connected correctly and that there
is power available at the socket.
You may have a problem with your application driver. Is your software configured for this printer? For general
advice, see the Assembly and Set-up Poster. For advice specific to your software, see the documentation
supplied with the driver.
The file may be too large for the printer’s memory. This is the case if the front panel displays “Out of memory–
data was lost”. Look on your computer screen for any error message; some drivers allow you to choose a different printing mode and try to send the file again.
If you continue to have problems, see Getting Help.

Printer Seems Too Slow
•
•

•
•
•

Did you specify Best print quality level on the front panel?
Best quality mode prints take longer to print.
Did you specify the right media type when loading the media? For details of front-panel media types, see
Paper Types. To find out the printer’s current media type setting, see Obtaining Roll or Sheet Paper Information.
The printhead may need replacing; see Printhead Replacement
Did you specify a Manual Dry Time in the front panel? Change the dry time to Automatic see Ink System.
If the printer is in Fast mode and the file it is printing contains high density inked areas, the printer may need
to slow down to compensate.

Getting Help
•

HP Customer Care
Details about the HP Customer Care program.

•

What to Do Before You Call
Information on what you should do before you contact your local HP Customer Care Center.

•

HP Designjet Online
How to get help and much more via the World Wide Web.

HP Customer Care
As your strategic support partner, we make it our business to help keep your business running smoothly. HP
Customer Care offers award-winning support to ensure you get the most from your HP Designjet.
The contact details for your local HP Customer Care Center are provided in the Hewlett-Packard Customer Care
booklet supplied with your printer.
HP Customer Care provides comprehensive, proven support expertise and leverages new technologies to give
customers unique end-to-end support. Services include setup and installation, troubleshooting tools, warranty
upgrades, repair and exchange services, phone and Web support, software updates, and self-maintenance
services.
To find out more about HP Customer Care, please visit us at: www.hp.com/go/support.

What to Do Before You Call
1. Review the troubleshooting suggestions in this section:
– In the relevant driver documentation supplied with this printer (for users sending PostScript files or those
using Microsoft Windows).
– If you have installed third party software drivers and RIPs refer to that user documentation.
2. If the problem appears to be related to your software application, first contact your software vendor.
3. If you still have difficulty, refer to the HP Support Services booklet shipped with this printer. This document
contains a comprehensive list of various support services available to help solve printer problems.
4. If you do call one of the Hewlett-Packard offices, please have the following information available to help us
answer your questions more quickly:
– The printer you are using (the product number and the serial number, found on the label at the back of the
printer).
– The computer you are using.
– Any special equipment or software you are using (for example, spoolers, networks, switch-boxes,
modems, or special software drivers).
– The cable you are using (by part number) and where you purchased it.
– The type of interface used on your printer (parallel, or network).
– The software name and version you are currently using.
– If the problem is a system error it will have a error number; record the error number and have it ready. See
Printer Does not Print.

HP Designjet Online
Direct access to HP and the information you want, when you need it. Register now!
www.hp.com/go/designjet
HP Designjet Online is a free, Web-based “user club” exclusive to HP Designjet users. Having registered, the
user has unrestricted access to a range of useful services, the emphasis being on “useful”, as this is definitely not
a sales-oriented site.
Communication from HP to users includes:
• a quarterly newsletter focussing on usage tips, technical briefings and examples of HP Designjet applications
around the world;
• full information on worldwide HP Customer Care contacts;
• an on-line HP Designjet Diagnosis troubleshooting tool;
• a calendar of HP Designjet-related events and programs;
• on-line access to training videos and selected user documents;
• and immediate information on new products.
Communication from the users to HP includes:
• feedback on HP Designjet features;
• automatic contact with HP Customer Care from the troubleshooting tool, for HP to follow up;
• and the chance to ask technical questions on large-format printing to industry experts.
And finally, communication from user to user includes the chance to win prizes by submitting HP Designjet
success stories, as well as a user-to-user discussion forum where users can share best practices and ask for
advice from their fellow professionals.
HP Designjet Online is available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.

Front Panel
The printer’s front panel is a user-friendly interface that gives you access to a comprehensive set of printer
functions. There is also information on your ink consumable items which is continually updated.
•

The Front Panel

•

Menu Structure

•

Navigating the Menu System

•

Message Descriptions

The Front Panel
The panel on the front of your printer is the principal way of changing the behavior of the printer, apart from any
software driven controls that may be provided through the application in use. The front panel of the printer
contains the following functional areas:

Display Screen

Navigation Keys

Action Keys

Navigation Keys
The display section of the front panel consists of an LCD display and the following five navigation keys, provided
to navigate through the menus displayed on the screen:
•

The Up

•

The Menu key takes you to the main screen. It cancels any choices that have not yet been selected by pressing the Enter key.
The Back key takes you to the previous screen.
The Enter key selects the item in the menu list and makes it current. If there are sub-selections to be made,
this key takes you to them; otherwise it takes you back a screen.

•
•

and

Down keys let you scroll through the various items in a menu list.

.
Up

Down

Back

Enter

Display Screen
The display screen of the front panel shows the main menu (the words displayed may vary).
NOTE:

You can always reach the main menu by pressing the Menu key.

After a short time-out, the display will always revert to the main menu with the Job Management menu active.
Active menu
Paper Menu Icon
Ink Menu Icon
Job Management Menu Icon (Active)
Information
message

The Navigation Example is given from the Job Management menu.
Error
Message

Setup Menu Icon

Action Keys
The Cancel key cancels the current printer operation (printing or preparing for printing). It will also cancel the
current menu selection and return to the main menu if a menu option is highlighted.
The Form Feed and Cut key causes a sheet to be ejected or the roll to be advanced and cut.
Cancel

Form Feed
and Cut Key

Menu Structure
The front panel display area screen shows the four classes of menu options available represented with specific
icons. Click on the icon to display its menu structure.
•

Paper Menu

•

Ink Menu

•

Job Management Menu

•

Set-up Menu

Paper Menu
Load/Unload Roll
Paper

Load/Unload Sheet
Select paper type

Bright White Inkjet Paper

Cutter

On/off

Page Format

Size

Advance Calibration

Plain Paper
Automatic

Vellum

Inked area

Natural Tracing Paper

ANSI

Best ANSI A…E

Translucent Bond

ISO

Best ISO …A0

Clear film

JIS

Best JIS …B1

Matte film

ARCH

Best ARCH …E1

Coated Paper

Oversize

Over A2, Over A1

Heavy Coated Paper

Extra

100cm × 140cm, …

Rotate

0, 90, 180, 270

Mirroring

On/off

Small margins

On/off

Create pattern

Restore factory
Shown only if paper is loaded

Poster Paper
Canvas

Measure pattern

Menu item depends on the
type of paper loaded

High-Gloss Photo

Items always shown

Ink Menu
Ink
Information

Ink Cartridges

Ink Levels

Printheads

Cyan Printhead

Cyan Ink Cartridge

Color calibration

Status

Magenta Printhead

Magenta Ink Cartridge

Troubleshooting

Calibrate Paper

Yellow Printhead

Yellow Ink Cartridge

Reset

Black Printhead

Black Ink Cartridge

Align Print Heads

Standard (4.5 min.)

Replace Print Heads

Special (11 min.)

Replace Ink Cartridges
Color settings

Color/monochrome
RGB

Rendering Intent

Color
Native

Grayscale

sRGB

True Black

Perceptual
Saturation
Colorimetric

Drying time

Automatic
None
Manual

1, 2 … , 99 min.

Job Management Menu
The HP-GL/2 Accessory Card provides a Reprint menu.

Set-up Menu
Help
Print quality

Best
Normal
Fast

Advanced Options

Optimize for

Line drawings / text
Images

Best Quality Settings

Default
Maximum detail

Model number, Serial number, Service ID,
Firmware rev, Accessory rev, Paper used,
Ink used (c, m, y, k), Scan axis usage,
Paper axis usage, Service station usage,
Spittoon usage, Pinch-lift usage, Cutter
usage, Ink usage.

Printer Information

HPGL/2 settings

Palette

Software, Factory, Palette A, B

Define Palette

Palette A, Palette B

Pen no. 0 … 15

Width

0.13 ... 12.0mm

Factory

Pen no. 0 … 15

Width

0.13 ... 12.0mm

Merge

More menu options

On/Off

Set-up Menu (continued)
Previous menu options

I/O setup

Card ID

No I/O Cards present / Contents provided by card

Card setup

No I/O Cards present
Configuration
Advanced

I/O Timeout
Front Panel

Log

Service tools

30 sec, … , 30 min

Language
Buzzer

ON/OFF

Contrast

0%, 5%, … , 100%

Altitude

Reset Card

English, German, Spanish, French, Italian,
Japenese, Portuguese, Korean, Chinese,
Taiwanese, …

0-1000m
Printheads

1000m - 2000m

Errors

>2000m

Service tests
Service calibrations
Service utilities

Items always shown

Hidden items that can only be accessed
from the Set-up menu through a
certain combination of keys

Navigating the Menu System
From the top level of the menu system, you can navigate through the menus using the display keys. Any menu
item followed by a greater-than symbol (>), indicates that a further level of menu items is available.
Press Menu to return to the top level
Press Back to return to the previous menu
without changing any menu selections.
level without changing any menu selections.
This will bring you to the four menu icons.

Press the Up
and Down
keys to scroll
up and down though the menus or menu
options.

Press Enter to:
•

Select a menu and move to the next menu level.

•

Change the value of the selected menu item.

See Navigation Example for a brief overview of the menu system.

Navigation Example
This section provides a typical example of how to navigate through the menus to configure a specific print option.

How to Set the Ink-drying Time to Two Minutes
The Front Panel Menu Structure diagram for the Ink Menu shows that the path to the Drying time option is:
Ink menu

→ Drying time

Use the following procedure to set the ink-drying time to two minutes.
Setting Drying Time Navigation Example
Key Action
1. Use the Up

and

Down
keys to highlight the Ink menu icon.

2. Press the Enter key to
enter the printer Ink
menu.

Display

Result
The Ink menu icon is
highlighted to allow you to
select the Ink menu options.

The display shows the Ink
menu to allow you to select
Drying Time.

Continued …

Setting Drying Time Navigation Example (continued)
Key Action
3. Use the Up

and

Down
keys to
highlight the Drying
time menu option.

Display

Result
The display shows the Drying
time option highlighted.

4. Press the Enter key to
enter the Drying time
menu.

The display shows the Drying
time menu to allow you to
select the type of drying time
you require.

5. Use the Up

The display shows the
Manual option highlighted.

and

Down
keys to
highlight the Manual
menu option.
6. Press the Enter key to
enter the Manual drying
time setting menu.

The display shows the
Manual drying time setting
menu to allow you to select
the drying time you require.

Previous …

Continued …

Setting Drying Time Navigation Example (continued)
Key Action

Display

Result

7. Press the Up
key
once to select two
minutes.

The display shows the
Manual drying time setting
menu with two minutes
selected.

8. Press the Enter key to
set the drying time to two
minutes.

If the front-panel Buzzer is set
ON, there will be a short
‘beep’ to confirm the change.
A tick mark (√) in the right side
of the field confirms the value.

9. Press the Top key to
return to the top level
menu.

The display shows the Ink
menu.

Previous …

Message Descriptions
This is a list of the error messages in the front-panel display. If an action is needed, it is shown in italics in the
Explanation and Action column. The messages are listed in alphabetical order. Other front-panel messages,
such as prompts, are included in the descriptions of the relevant procedures elsewhere in this document.
Front Panel Messages
Message

Explanation and Action

Alignment error due to
printheads.
Press ENTER to see faulty
printheads

The printer was aligning its printheads, but encountered an error
due to some printheads not printing properly. Alignment has
stopped.
Press the Enter key.

Alignment error
Press ENTER to continue

The printer was aligning its printheads, but encountered an error.
Alignment has stopped.
Press the Enter key.

Cartridges will expire in days:
nn

One or more of the cartridges are about to expire. nn is the number
of days until expiry date of the cartridge that will expire first. The
cartridges that are about to expire are indicated below this message.
For an explanation of the replacement procedure, see Ink Cartridge
Replacement.

Color calibration error
Press ENTER to continue

The printer was performing a calibration of its color system, but
encountered an error.
Press the Enter key.
For more Messages, click on the Next Page button

Front Panel Messages (continued)
Message

Explanation and Action

Error
Select Replace Printheads

The printer has detected that one or more of the printheads is
missing or has an error, as indicated by flashing crosses. The four
icons refer from left to right to the Cyan (•), Black (•), Magenta (•)
and Yellow (•) printheads.
For an explanation of the replacement procedure, see
Printhead Replacement.

HP is not responsible for
damage from use of non-HP
ink.
Replace
Continue

The printer has determined that one or more of the ink cartridges is
not an HP product. Your product warranty only applies when you
use HP ink. Any damage caused to your printer resulting from the
use of non-HP ink cartridges is not the responsibility of HewlettPackard.
If you want to replace the non-HP ink cartridges, select Replace and
press the Enter key. Otherwise, select Continue and press Enter to
continue.

HP is not responsible for
damage from use of non-HP
printheads.
Replace
Continue

The printer has determined that one or more of the printheads is not
an HP product. Your product warranty only applies when you use
HP printheads. Any damage caused to your printer resulting from
the use of non-HP printheads is not the responsibility of HewlettPackard.
If you want to replace the non-HP printheads, select Replace and
press the Enter key. Otherwise, select Continue and press Enter to
continue.
For more Messages, click on the Next Page button

Front Panel Messages (continued)
Message

Explanation and Action

Ink cartridge replacement
required

The printer has detected that one or more of the ink cartridges is
missing or has an error, as indicated by flashing crosses. The four
icons refer from left to right to the Cyan (•), Black (•), Magenta (•)
and Yellow (•) cartridges.
For an explanation of the icons and details of the replacement
procedure, see Ink Cartridges.

INK CARTRIDGES need to be
functional.
Replace before replacing
printheads

You have attempted to replace printheads, but the printer has
detected that there are ink cartridges that are wrong. The ink
cartridges must be replaced before the printheads can be replaced.
First replace the faulty, empty or missing ink cartridges and then
replace the printheads. See Ink Cartridge Replacement and
Printhead Replacement.

Install missing cartridges and
replace empty cartridges
before replacing printheads

You are replacing printheads, but the printer has detected that some
cartridges are empty and some are missing. The empty cartridges
must be replaced and the missing ones inserted before the
printheads are replaced.
Follow the procedure for Ink Cartridge Replacement. Press the Enter
or Cancel key to continue.

Install missing cartridges
before replacing printheads

You are replacing printheads, but the printer has detected that one
or more cartridges are missing. The missing cartridges must be
installed before the printheads are replaced.
Follow the procedure for Printhead Replacement. Press the Enter or
Cancel key to continue.
For more Messages, click on the Next Page button

Front Panel Messages (continued)
Message

Explanation and Action

Open window and check
printhead cover is properly
closed

You have replaced one or more printheads and the printer’s check
has found that the printhead cover is not securely closed.
Open the window and check the printhead cover. The procedure is
described in the Printhead Replacement procedure.
Note: This message may also appear following a paper jam, as the
printer cannot detect the exact reason for the problem. In this case
you may have to resort to powering off the printer or even removing
the power cable from the machine, in order to recover from the
problem. See Clearing a Media Jam.

Open window and check
proper installation of setup
printheads

During system start-up, which occurs when you first install the
printer, you need to install the setup printheads. These special
printheads cannot be used for printing, but must be used when the
printer has been powered off. The printer has detected that the
setup printheads have not been installed correctly.
Open the window and follow subsequent instructions to reinstall or
relocate the setup printheads. Contact HP for advice if the setup
printheads are missing or cannot be installed correctly.

Option not available now

You have selected an option in the menu that is not available at the
moment. (The printer may be busy, out of ink, out of paper, etc.)

Out of paper

The printer ran out of paper while printing the calibration pattern.
Load a sheet or roll that is at least 65 cm (25 inches) long and 50 cm
(20 inches) wide.
For more Messages, click on the Next Page button

Front Panel Messages (continued)
Message

Explanation and Action

Paper advance calibration is
recommended.
Press ENTER to calibrate

You are recommended to perform the Advance calibration routine,
to ensure the optimum print quality.
Press the Enter key to create the calibration pattern. See Advance
Calibration.

Paper advance calibration is
recommended. Load paper
and select Paper advance
calibration.
Press ENTER to finish

You are recommended to perform the Advance calibration routine,
to ensure the optimum print quality.
Load a sheet or roll of paper and then select Advance calibration
from the Paper menu. See Advance Calibration.

Paper loaded with too much
skew
Press ENTER to retry
Press CANCEL to abort

During the loading of paper, the printer has detected that the paper
is skewed too much, that is, it has not been loaded straight enough.
(‘Skew’ is the angle between the actual paper edge and the correct
line.)
Either: Press the Enter key to restart the loading procedure;
Or: Press the Cancel key to cancel paper loading.

Paper mispositioned

The paper is not properly positioned in the printer. Either it is out of
the load line margins or it has moved too much from its previous
position.
Reload the paper following the normal procedure, to solve this
problem. See Loading Roll Media and Loading Sheet Media.

Paper not found
Press ENTER to retry
Press CANCEL to abort

During the loading of paper, the printer has detected that no paper
has been loaded.
Either: Press the Enter key to restart the loading procedure;
Or: Press the Cancel key to cancel paper loading.
For more Messages, click on the Next Page button

Front Panel Messages (continued)
Message

Explanation and Action

Paper not present.
Load paper to print calibration
pattern

The paper axis calibration routine has been triggered with out
having paper loaded.
Load paper; see Advance Calibration for details of the routine.

Paper too big to scan the
pattern after printing it

During the paper loading for the Calibration routine, the printer has
detected that the it will not be able to load the later when it will be
needed for scanning. The minimum size required for the print is
65 cm (25 inches) long and 50 cm (20 inches) wide.
Load a smaller sheet that satisfies this minimum requirement.

Paper too big
Press ENTER to retry
Press CANCEL to abort

While loading paper into the printer (roll or sheet), the printer has
found that it is either too wide or too long (only for sheet) to be
loaded properly.
Press the Enter key to load smaller paper, or the Cancel key to stop
the load.

Paper too small for a
diagnostic print

The Troubleshooting utility has found that the single sheet loaded in
the printer is too small for a Diagnostic Print.
Load a roll of paper, or a sheet that is A3-size or larger.

Paper too small
to align printheads
Load bigger size to
align
Press ENTER to continue

The paper loaded is not big enough to contain the alignment pattern.
Unload the paper (select Unload roll or Unload sheet from the
Paper menu) and then load paper that is large enough—at least A4/
Letter-size in landscape mode for Standard alignment, or A3/B size
in landscape mode for Special alignment.
For more Messages, click on the Next Page button

Front Panel Messages (continued)
Message

Explanation and Action

Paper too small to print the
pattern

The paper loaded is not big enough to contain the paper axis
calibration pattern.
Load a roll or sheet that is at least 65 cm (25 inches) long and 50 cm
(20 inches) wide.

Paper too small
Press ENTER to retry
Press CANCEL to abort

While loading paper into the printer (roll or sheet), the printer has
found that it is either too narrow or too short (only for sheet) to be
loaded properly.
Press the Enter key to load larger paper, or the Cancel key to stop
the load process.

Paper type not valid
to align printheads
Change paper type to
align
Press ENTER to continue

You have requested the printer to align paper but it has detected
that the paper loaded is not the right type to use to align the
printheads. The paper loaded is not big enough to contain the
alignment pattern.
Unload the paper (select Unload roll or Unload sheet from the
Paper menu) and then load paper that is the right type for the
alignment. See Printhead Alignment.

Pattern not found
Reload it again, please

The printer is trying to perform a scan of the calibration pattern, but
the pattern was not found.
Reload the sheet that was printed by the Create pattern part of the
calibration routine.
For more Messages, click on the Next Page button

Front Panel Messages (continued)
Message

Explanation and Action

Possibly a paper jam
1. Open window
2. Switch power off
3. Clear paper path
4. Switch power on
5. Align printheads

There may be paper jammed in the printer. (The printer has
detected that a motor is blocked and the likely cause is a paper jam;
however, it may be due to some other cause.)
Follow these steps to check the paper path, as described in Clearing
a Media Jam. When the jammed paper has been cleared, you are
strongly recommended to align the printheads, as they are quite
likely to have become misaligned as a result of the paper jam.

Printhead replacement not
available now. Cancel print
jobs before replacement

You have requested the printer to replace one or more printheads,
but the printer is busy printing a job and cannot honor the request
now.
Either: press the Cancel key to cancel the job that is currently
printing, and then again select Replace Printheads (from the Ink
system menu).
Or: wait until the job has finished printing (and there are no more
jobs in the print queue), and then again select Replace Printheads
(from the Ink system menu).

Printhead warning
Poor print quality

A problem has occurred with one or more printheads. The
printheads are still functional. The problem was detected either
during printhead alignment or during troubleshooting. If you have
completed the routine, the system was unable to clean the
printheads fully.
You should use the Troubleshooting Procedure to correct any image
quality problems that may be apparent; alternatively, you should
replace the printheads (see Printhead Replacement).
For more Messages, click on the Next Page button

Front Panel Messages (continued)
Message

Explanation and Action

Printheads not aligned
Paper type not valid
to align printheads
Press ENTER to continue

You have replaced one or more printheads but the printer has
detected that you do not have the right type of paper loaded for the
alignment process.
Press the Enter key to load the correct type of paper, or the Cancel
key to stop the load process.

Printheads not aligned
Paper too small
to align printheads
Press ENTER to continue

You have replaced one or more printheads but the printer has
detected that you do not have wide enough paper loaded for the
alignment process.
Press the Enter key to load larger paper, or the Cancel key to stop
the load process.

PRINTHEADS not functional
Replace printheads
Cancel print

The printer is attempting to print a job, but finds that there is a
problem with the printheads. You may either replace the printheads
at this stage or cancel the print.
Select the required option and press the Enter key. If you decide to
replace them, you will be told which ones are failing or missing.

Printheads require alignment.
Load paper and select Align
printheads.
Press ENTER to finish

The printer has detected that the printheads need to be aligned.
Press the Enter key to continue. Load a sheet or roll of paper, and
select Align printheads from the Ink menu. See Printhead
Alignment.

Printheads require alignment.
Press ENTER to align

The printer has detected that the printheads need to be aligned.
Press the Enter key to align them. See Printhead Alignment.
For more Messages, click on the Next Page button

Front Panel Messages (continued)
Message

Explanation and Action

Problem found during
calibration

A general problem was found during the Advance Calibration
routine.
Respond to any other messages that appear on the front panel,
indicating ink or paper problems, and then retry the Advance
calibration routine.

Problems detected in INK
CARTRIDGES.
Continue process and replace
them.
Press ENTER to continue

There is an error with the ink cartridges during the preparation of the
ink system.
Press the Enter key and then follow the instructions to replace the
faulty ink cartridges.

Reload paper

There is an error in the paper, as shown in another message.
Use the normal procedure to reload the paper.

Replace empty cartridges
before replacing printheads

You have requested the printer to permit the replacement of
printheads, but the printer has detected that one or more cartridges
are empty. The empty cartridges must be replaced before the
printheads are replaced.
Press the Enter key and follow the procedure for replacing empty
cartridges, described in Ink Cartridge Replacement.

Right edge of roll too far from
load line
Press ENTER to retry
Press CANCEL to abort

The paper is out of the load line margins—too far from the line
where it should be loaded.
Either: Press the Enter key to restart the loading procedure;
Or: Press the Cancel key to cancel paper loading.
For more Messages, click on the Next Page button

Front Panel Messages (continued)
Message

Explanation and Action

Right edge of sheet too far
from load line
Press ENTER to retry
Press CANCEL to abort

During the loading of a sheet of paper, the printer has detected that
the paper is too far to the left; it should be aligned close to the blue
line painted on the right side of the platen.
Either: Press the Enter key to restart the loading procedure;
Or: Press the Cancel key to cancel paper loading.

Roll edge not found
Please check roll edges are
non-clear
Press ENTER to retry
Press CANCEL to abort

During the loading of a roll, the printer cannot detect the side edge
of the paper. A possible cause is that the media is transparent
(clear); only non-clear media are supported.
Either: Press the Enter key to restart the loading procedure;
Or: Press the Cancel key to cancel paper loading.

Roll right edge too far from
load line
Press ENTER to retry
Press CANCEL to abort

During the loading of a roll of paper, the printer has detected that the
paper is too far to the left; it should be aligned with the blue line
painted on the right side of the platen.
Either: Press the Enter key to restart the loading procedure;
Or: Press the Cancel key to cancel paper loading.

Sheet edge not found
Please check sheet edges are
non-clear
Press ENTER to retry
Press CANCEL to abort

During the loading of a sheet, the printer cannot detect the side
edge of the paper. A possible cause is that the media is transparent
(clear); only non-clear media are supported.
Either: Press the Enter key to restart the loading procedure;
Or: Press the Cancel key to cancel paper loading.

Sheet not loaded
Load sheet with printed
pattern

The printer is trying to perform a scan of the calibration pattern, but
no sheet was found.
Load the sheet that was printed by the Create pattern part of the
calibration routine.
For more Messages, click on the Next Page button

Front Panel Messages (continued)
Message

Explanation and Action

Sheet too long
Please check it is not a roll
Press ENTER to retry
Press CANCEL to abort

You have requested the printer to load a sheet of paper, but the
sheet appears to be too long.
Check that the paper is not a roll.
Either: Press the Enter key to try to load the sheet again;
Or: Press the Cancel key to stop the process. If the paper is on a
roll, follow the instructions in Loading Roll Media.

Troubleshooting finished
Resume normal printing
If problem persists select
Troubleshooting again
Press ENTER to continue

The printer has finished the Troubleshooting routine and will not at
this stage perform further cleaning on the printheads because this
could damage the other ones. However, according to the evaluation
you have given, the printheads require cleaning because there are
defects in the Diagnostic Print.
Press the Enter key. Then resume your normal printing activities. If
the problem recurs, try using the Troubleshooting routine again, or
select Replace Printheads from the front panel (in the Ink System
menu) to replace the printheads that are faulty.

Troubleshooting requires
paper for a diagnostic print.

The Troubleshooting utility has found that there is no paper loaded
in the printer.
Load a roll of paper.

Unable to initialize ink system.
Call HP representative.

The system cannot successfully complete the startup.
Call HP for service.

Unable to prepare ink system.
Open window to check
SETUP printheads

During ink system start-up, the purge of the ink system has failed
and the system is asking you if the preparation has completed.
Check the setup printheads and then follow the instructions in the
front panel and respond to further questions.
For more Messages, click on the Next Page button

Front Panel Messages (continued)
Message

Explanation and Action

Unknown ink cartridges.
Press ENTER to continue.

The ink cartridges are not recognized by the printer as ink cartridges
approved by HP, and there is at least one that is new.
Press the Enter key.

Unknown paper format
Reload paper

The format (roll or sheet) of the paper loaded in the printer is
unknown.
Reload the paper following the normal procedure, to solve this
problem. See Loading Roll Media or Loading Sheet Media.

Unknown paper type
Select paper type

The type of the paper loaded in the printer is unknown to the printer.
Select a known paper type from the printer menu.

Unknown printheads.
Press ENTER to continue.

The printheads are not recognized by the printer as printheads
approved by HP, though the printer can still use them.
Press the Enter key.
For more Messages, click on the Next Page button

Front Panel Messages (continued)
Message

Explanation and Action

Warning!
Machine calibrations need to
be performed. Refer to guide
for instructions.

The color calibrations for the paper that is loaded have been lost.
Follow the procedure described in Advance Calibration.

Warning: color calibration not
done on this paper type

The printer has detected that the color calibrations have not been
performed on this paper type, and the system is configured to do
them.
To calibrate color for the current paper type, select Ink menu →
Color calibration → Calibrate paper.

Warning: printheads not
aligned

The printer has detected that the printheads have not been aligned
since the last replacement.
You should align the printheads by selecting Align printheads from
the Ink menu.

Printer Options
The printer has many options that you can use to ensure that the image you print has the look and appearance
you want. You can select printer settings either from the front panel or from the driver you have for the printer. In
most cases the driver settings override the front panel settings.
The Print Options Tab contains these topics:
•

Page Format deals with the formatting of the image and how to use the settings to obtain the formatting that
you want. It also explains how to control the orientation of the image on the media.

•

Setting Page Size in the Front Panel explains how to set the page size from the front panel.

•

Image Appearance describes how to control the overall appearance of your prints.

•

Print Management describes how to efficiently manage your printing.

•

Printer Configuration details how to set specific configuration parameters of your printer.

Page Format
•

Page Description explains how to make sure the you obtain the prints from your printer in the format you
want.

•

Rotating an Image details on how to rotate the image.

•

Printing a Mirror Image explains how to print a mirror image of your print.

Page Description
This section explains how to make sure that the printer produces your print in the page format you want.
Leading Edge

Margins

17 mm
(0.7 in)

Page Size

5 mm
(0.2 in)

Direction of paper
leaving the printer

Printing Area
17 mm
(0.7 in)
5 mm
(0.2 in)

Inked Area

Trailing Edge

Page Size
Page size can be specified from the front panel or in the software, where it may be called “Page Size”, “Media
Size”, “Paper Size”, etc., and where the options include, for example, ISO A3, ANSI Letter, Custom. If your
software does not define the page size in the print file, the front-panel setting is used. Otherwise, the software
setting overrides the front-panel setting.

Margins
The margins are set to ensure the maximum printable area on your paper. The two side margins are 5 mm. The
margin settings for the leading and trailing edges are 17 mm.
However, if you are using roll paper and you select small margins, the margins are 5 mm on all four sides.

Printing Area
The printing area is the page size minus the margins. For a table showing the printing areas for standard paper
sizes, see Printable Area.

Inked Area
Inked area is the smallest rectangle that contains the entire image.

Rotating an Image
These topics detail all aspects of job rotation:
•

Job Rotation (HP-GL/2)

•

Page Size and the Rotation

•

What is Rotated?

Job Rotation (HP-GL/2)
If the software in the driver does not specify the rotation setting, it can be specified in the front panel
(Paper > Page Format > Rotate).

Page Size and the Rotation
Note that when you rotate a job the page size is enlarged to avoid clipping, because the trailing and leading
margins are not the same size as the side margins.

What is Rotated?
With roll paper, both the image and the page orientation are rotated.

90º

0º

Notice that the narrow margins are always at the left and right sides, regardless of the orientation. The page size
is adjusted to maintain the printing area, preventing clipping.
With sheet paper, the image is rotated, but the page orientation specified in your software is retained. (You should
always load sheet paper in the orientation you have specified in the software.)
90º
0º

Printing a Mirror Image
If you are using clear imaging paper, sometimes called ‘backlit’, you may want to print a mirror image of your print,
so that when the paper is lit from behind it is in the correct orientation. This can be done from the front panel,
without changing the image in your software.

Mirror Off

Mirror On

Setting Page Size in the Front Panel
•

Adjusting the Page Size in the Front Panel
Details how and why you would adjust the Page Size from the Front Panel.

•

Page Size
Describes the various methods of controlling the page size.

•

Page Size and Clipped Images
Explains what happens if you choose a larger page size than the current media loaded in your printer.

Adjusting the Page Size in the Front Panel
You do not normally need to adjust the page size through the front panel, because the page size you have
selected in your HP driver overrides the page size selected in the printer. However, some of the circumstances in
which you may want to change the default setting are:
• When you want to save paper by printing only the inked area of your print, plus the margins. In this case set
Page Format > Size > Inked area.
Depending on the driver you are using, you may not need to change the page size in the front panel. The default
Size setting (Software) in the Page Format menu causes the printer to look for the page size information in the print
file: if it is there, the printer uses it.
However, some of the circumstances in which you may want to change the default setting are:
• If you want to print the inked area only, but the driver you are using does not specify “Inked Area”.
In this case, set the Size setting in the Page Format menu to Inked area.
If you can select Inked area from your driver, any selection you have made in the front-panel menu will be
overridden by the settings in the driver.
• When the prints you are creating need to be of a specific standard (for example, ISO or ANSI), but the actual
size within that standard is not important. For example, your page size may need to conform to a standard
ISO page size, but it does not matter whether the final page size is ISO A4 or ISO A3.
In this case, set Page Format > Size to ISO > Best... or ANSI > Best... etc. The printer uses the smallest standard
size into which the inked area will fit.

Page Size
The Page Size option lets you select the page size of your print. The options are described in the following table. If
you need to adjust the page size from the front panel, do so before sending the file from your computer. The
printer determines the size of a print at the time it is received from your application.
NOTE:

Settings will be overridden by your driver or application.
Page format

Available Sizes

Inked Area

The printed page size is the Inked Area plus margins.

Automatic

The printer looks to the print you have sent for a page size instruction. If
it is present the printer uses this. If not, the printed page size is the
inked area plus margins.

ISO

Besta ISO A, ISO A0/A1/A2/A3/A4

ANSI

Besta ANSI, ANSI E/D/C/B/A

JIS

Besta JIS B, JIS B1/B2/B3/B4

ARCH

Besta ARCH, ARCH E1/E/D/C/B/A

Oversize

Over A1/A2

Extra

100 cm x 140 cm, 42 in x 59 in

The printed page size is exactly
the size you specify. The largest
discrete page size you can specify
is E/A0

a. The printer chooses the smallest page size from the corresponding discrete options
that will hold the inked area of the print. For example, if Best ISO A is selected and the
inked area of the print is between A3 and A4,the printer chooses A3 as the page size.

Page Size and Clipped Images
If you specify in your software a page size that is larger than the paper size loaded in the printer, the printer will
still print what it can, but may clip your image.
A2 paper in printer
Clipped
Area

A1 page size in software or front panel

Image Appearance
These topics explain how you can control the overall appearance of your prints.
•

Front Panel Image Options
explains how to change the HP-GL/2 color palettes.

•

Printing Images in Grayscale
describes how to print color images in grayscale.

•

Print Speeds and Print Quality
lists typical printing times by output quality.

•

Print Quality
describes the different print modes that are available with your printer.

•

Advanced Options
describes the various optimization and quality enhancement methods available.

Front Panel Image Options
These topics deal with the ways you can control the overall appearance of your prints from the front panel in
terms of:
•

Pen Widths and Colors in the Internal Palettes

•

Changing the Treatment of Overlapping Lines (Merge)

Some front-panel selections affect the next file you send from your computer, not pages already in the printer’s
queue. If this is the case, it is stated in the relevant topic.
Some of the controls are available using the front-panel menus (for example) pen width, pen color, overlapping
lines). Print mode options are controlled from the front-panel.
Why Use the Front Panel?
By default, the printer looks to your software to provide information on all the above attributes. However, your
driver or application may not provide these controls or you may want to experiment with various effects, or try a
temporary change, without the need to change your images or your driver settings.
Some of these settings do not affect the output generated when printing from most of the applications under
Windows when using a HP-GL/2 driver.

Pen Widths and Colors in the Internal Palettes
The “pens” discussed throughout these topics are the conceptual pens in a software palette, rather than the
printer’s physical printheads.
The printer has three pen palettes:
• Factory
• Palette A
• Palette B.
The factory palette cannot be changed. You can, however, change the line width and color settings for each pen
in the remaining two palettes (palette A and palette B). Initially, all three palettes are identical. Each palette has 16
pens which can include pens of different widths and any combination of the printer’s predefined 256 colors.
Related Information
•

To Select a Palette

•

Change the Palette Settings

•

How to Define Palette A

To Select a Palette
To select a palette through the front-panel menu, go to the Define Palette selection under HP-GL/2 Settings and
choose the palette you want. See Set-up Menu.
The following table describes the palette choices.
Palette

Comments

Software

The printer looks to your software for pen settings and ignores all three internal palettes.

Palette A

The printer assigns the attributes defined in Palette A to the pens defined in your software
as 0 through 15.

Palette B

The printer assigns the attributes defined in Palette B to the pens defined in your software
as 0 through 15.

Factory

The printer assigns the attributes defined in the Factory Palette to the pens defined in your
software as 0 through 15.

Change the Palette Settings
You cannot change the Factory palette, but you can define Palettes A and B to be whatever you choose. The
defaults are Palette, width:
Item

Available Options

Defaults

Palettes

Factory, A, B.

Factory

Pens

0 through 15.

Widths (mm)

0.13, 0.18, 0.25, 0.35, 0.50, 0.65, 0.70, 0.80, 0.90, 1.00, 0.13 mm
1.40, 2.00, 3.00, 5.00, 8.00, 12.00.
Note that 0.13 mm is a one-pixel line width at 300 dpi
and three-pixels line width at 600 dpi.

Colors

0 through 255.

How to Define Palette A

As specified on the Palette
Print.

How to Define Palette A
The following steps explain how to define Palette A.
Instructions
1.

Select (using the

keys)

Then Press:

Set-up menu

Enter

HP-GL/2

Enter

Define palette

Enter

Palette A

Enter

5. Select pen to change (in this example 3).

Pen 3

Enter

6. The current width assigned to this pen is
displayed, for example Width=0.13mm.

Width = 0.13mm

Enter

7. Scroll to the width you want.

0.35mm

Enter > Back

8. Scroll to Color. The current color
assigned to the pen is displayed (in this
example 4)

Color = 4

Enter

9. Scroll to the color you want.

Color = 110

Enter > Back

10. If both width and color are correct (for
Pen 3), press Back four times

Pen 3

Top

2.
3.

Select Palette A

Repeat this procedure to define each of the other pens.
NOTE:

The palette you have just defined will take effect only when you select it to be the current
palette, as explained in To Select a Palette.

Changing the Treatment of Overlapping Lines (Merge)
The Merge setting controls the overlapping lines in an image. There are two settings, Off and On. The following
illustration shows the effect of each setting.
Merge off (Default)

A subsequent line hides a
previous line where they
overlap.

Merge on

Overlapping lines and area
fills are merged.

You can set the merge setting from your software in some applications. Settings in your software override the
front-panel settings.

Printing Images in Grayscale
There are times when you may want to print a color image in grayscale because it is faster. Examples of this are:
• You want a draft where color is not important, for example to check that the image is not going to be clipped.
• You want a version for photocopying in black and white.
When you choose the Ink menu Color settings > Grayscale option, the printer renders colors as Grayscale rather.
If you only want to use black ink to print in grayscale, you should select the Ink menu Color settings > True black
option.

Print Speeds and Print Quality
The following table lists some Typical Printing Times (line drawings @ 20-25ºC and 30-60% relative humidity).
Typical Printing Times
ANSI-D size

ANSI-E size

Time (in secs)

Best
Normal
Draft
Best
Normal
Draft
Best

235
120
45
135
80
45
490

440
225
85
250
150
80
980

Normal
Draft
Best
Normal
Draft

120
85
325
135
45

225
160
625
250
80

Paper

Color/Grayscale

Quality

Bright White

Color

Grayscale

Coated
Paper

Color

Grayscale

More Printing Times

Typical Printing Times (continued)
Paper

Color/Grayscale

Quality

Heavy
Coated
Paper

Color

Best
Normal
Draft
Best
Normal
Draft
Best
Normal
Draft
Best
Normal
Draft

Grayscale

Glossy Paper

Color

Grayscale

ANSI-D size

ANSI-E size

Time (in secs)

490
120
85
435
135
45
630
435
325
630
435
325

980
225
160
870
250
80
1200
830
620
1200
830
620

Print Quality
You can set the overall print quality from the front panel (Set-Up > Print Quality).
In general choose:
• Fast for maximum productivity. Ideal for checking prints, when print quality is not the most important.
• Normal to get a good combination of print quality and productivity. Ideal for line drawings with good print
quality and at speed.
• Best to get the high image quality. You can increase the resolution of the Best setting with the Best Quality
Settings.
You can print images in different settings to see which gives the best combination of throughput and quality for
your application.
See Print Resolution for information on what resolution is used with each print quality setting.

Advanced Options
Your HP Designjet 500 Plus printer provides several advanced optimization and quality enhancement features to
allow you to obtain the printed results you require.
•

Improving Line Quality and Graphics Details

•

Best Quality Settings

Improving Line Quality and Graphics Details
The Set-up menu Optimize for option allows you the select the correct mode for the type of job you are printing.
Two modes are provided: Line drawings/text and Images.
Selecting the Line drawings/text option smooths the fine graduations along the angles and curves of the printed
image to refine the overall print quality. This enhancement produces:
• Crisper lines.
• Finer detail.
• Line drawings with a ‘sharp’ appearance.
The Line drawings/text option only affects prints that have color content.
Selecting Line drawings/text (the default setting) ensures you will always get the best quality color prints, except
when printing the following files:
• Mixed lines and scanned color images.
• Mixed lines and color photographs.
For these files it is recommended that you select Optimize for > Images.

Best Quality Settings
If you have selected the Best option as the Print Quality setting for you print session but require an even higher
resolution for your print job, you will need to change the Best quality setting.
The Best Print quality option provides 600×600 dpi resolution in normal mode and 1200×600 dpi in maximum
detail mode.
NOTE:

Using the maximum detail mode will improve resolution but will reduce printing speed and
increase memory requirements.

Print Management
These topics describe the best methods of managing the work that the printer is doing.
•

Cancelling a Page that is Printing
Shows you how to cancel a page that is currently being printed.

•

Cancelling the Drying Time
Shows you how release a page from the printer before the drying time has finished.

Cancelling a Page that is Printing
Use the following procedure to cancel a page that is currently being printed.
1. Press the Cancel key on the front panel.

Cancel Key

The printer advances the paper as though the print were finished. A multi-page job or a big file may take
longer to stop printing than other files.

Cancelling the Drying Time
CAUTION: Use caution when performing this procedure as an image which has had insufficient time to dry
could get damaged.

Use the following procedure to cancel the drying time for a job that is waiting for the end of drying time.
1. Press Cancel or Form Feed & Cut on the front panel.
Cancel Key

Form Feed & Cut Key

The printer will release the printer and it will fall into the paper bin.

Printer Configuration
These topics explain how to change the configuration of your printer.
•

Printer Information

•

Front Panel Setup

•

Altitude Setting

•

Graphics Language and Networks

•

Setting up the I/O Card

•

Controlling the Cutter

•

Upgrading Your Printer

•

Color Settings

•

Logs

Printer Information
Your HP Designjet 500 Plus printer provides an information display on the front panel that shows the current
configuration of the system. You can also print out this information directly on your printer.
Select Set-up > Printer information to view the information.
The printer information screen shows the following information about your printer:
•

Model Number

•

Scan Axis Usage

•

Serial Number

•

Paper Axis Usage

•

Service ID

•

Service Station Usage

•

Firmware Rev.

•

Spittoon Usage

•

Accessory Rev.

•

Pinch Lift Usage

•

Paper Used

•

Cutter usage

•

Ink used (C, M, Y, K)

•

Ink Usage

Front Panel Setup
You can configure the following parameters for the front panel:
•

Menu and Message Language

•

Alert Buzzer

•

Screen Contrast

Menu and Message Language
The following languages can be used for all menus and messages shown on the front panel of your HP Designjet
500 Plus printer:
• English
• German
• Spanish
• Catalan
• French
• Italian
• Japanese
• Portuguese
• Korean
• Simplified Chinese
• Traditional Chinese
To change the language:
1. Select the Front Panel > Language option from the Set-up menu.
2. To scroll to the language you require and press Enter.

Alert Buzzer
Your HP Designjet 500 Plus printer is equipped with an alert buzzer that is used to warn you when:
• A task has completed.
• An error has been detected.
• You change a parameter from the front panel.
To enable or disable the buzzer:
1. Select the Front Panel > Buzzer option from the Set-up menu.
2. Highlight Buzzer = On or Buzzer = Off (whichever is displayed) and press Enter.
3. Scroll to the option you require, On or Off, and press Enter.

Screen Contrast
You can adjust the screen contrast of the front panel to best suit the ambient lighting conditions at your location.
The contrast can be varied from 0% to 100% in 5% increments. The default setting is 50% and is suitable for most
situations.
To adjust the screen contrast:
1. Select the Front Panel > Contrast option from the Set-up menu.
NOTE:

Any value below 20% shows a blank screen and any value over 80% shows a black screen.

2. Scroll to the required value and press Enter.

Altitude Setting
Your HP Designjet 500 Plus printer contains a vacuum pump which is used to hold the media onto the platen.
The altitude of your location effects the efficiency of this pump so you need to specify the altitude to ensure the
pump operates correctly.
To set the altitude:
1. Select the Altitude option from the Set-up menu.
2. Scroll to the required value (0 - 1000m, 1000m to 2000m, or > 2000m) and press Enter.
The following table shows the corresponding altitude values in feet.
Meters

Feet

0 -1000

0 - 3300

1000 - 2000

3300 - 6600

> 2000

>6600

Graphics Language and Networks
For System Administrators
If you are using the printer with a network spooler, consider having your system administrator modify the spooler
to insert automatically the PJL language-switching commands at the beginning and end of each file. This allows
the printer to switch automatically into the correct graphics language for your current print and returns the printer
to the front-panel graphics language setting for subsequent prints.
For information on ordering PJL reference information, see Ordering Accessories.

Setting up the I/O Card
Network
With a network interface (such as the HP JetDirect Print Server), refer to your network interface documentation for
advice on any front-panel configuration. The front-panel menu is I/O Setup > Card Set-up.

To Change the I/O Time-out Setting
Some software applications do not write a file terminator at the end of a file. In this case, the printer does not know
when the file is complete and will wait for more data until the end of the “I/O Time-out” period. By default, this
period is 30 minutes. You can change the time-out setting in the front-panel menu
(Set-Up > I/O setup > I/O Timeout) to as little as 30 seconds.

Controlling the Cutter
With roll media loaded, when any print job you have send to the printer completes, the roll is automatically cut and
the print job falls into the media bin. There may be a delay before the roll is cut due to the drying time you have
programmed or the printer has automatically selected.
In some situations you may not wish to cut the roll after each print job. Use the following procedure to control the
cutter. The front panel menu selections are:
Select (using the

keys)

Then Press:

1. Paper menu

Enter

2. Cutter

Enter

3. ON or OFF

Enter

Upgrading Your Printer
System Software
“System Software” is the name given to a type of software which runs the functions in your printer.
System Software downloading
From time to time there will be system software upgrades available from Hewlett-Packard. System software
upgrades increase your printers functionality and enhances the features that your printer already possesses.
System software can be downloaded from the Internet.
For the latest upgrades, go to http//www.hp.com/go/designjet. Follow the on-screen directions.

Color Settings
Your printer can emulate the color behavior of offset printing presses, allowing you to use your printer for color
proofing. To get accurate colors for your proof, select the color emulation mode that matches your offset printing
standards from the Ink menu Color settings option. The selections are:

Color/monochrome
Refer to Printing Images in Grayscale for further details
• Color—the printer prints in color
• Grayscale—the printer prints the color image in grey shades.
• True black—the printer prints the color image in grey shades using black ink only.

RGB
•
•

Native/Device RGB—No ink emulation
sRGB—Standard RGB

Rendering Intent
•
•
•

Perceptual
Saturation
Colorimetric

Logs
Your HP Designjet 500 Plus printer keeps a log for the printheads and an error log. These logs are normally used
by service engineers.

Printhead Log
The printhead log contains a list of the last five printheads of each color along with information about the usage of
the printhead.

Error Log
Lists the last errors detected the printer has detected along with the date the error occurred and a unique error
code for the type of error detected.

Other
The Other tab provides miscellaneous procedures and information that may be required to ensure your printer
remains in a fully operational condition at all times.
The Other tab contains these sections:
•

Care of the Printer

•

Installing Expansion Cards

•

Specifications

•

Ordering Accessories

•

Glossary

Care of the Printer
This section contains information on general maintenance of the printer.
•

Cleaning the Printer
Instructions for cleaning the exterior of your printer.

•

Storing and Moving Your Printer
Instructions on how to move and store your printer.

Cleaning the Printer
WARNING: To avoid an electric shock, make sure that the printer is switched OFF and disconnected from
the mains supply before you clean it. Do not let water get inside the printer.
CAUTION: Do not use abrasive cleaners on the printer.

NOTE:

Any maintenance or repairs beyond those described in this chapter should be done by a
qualified service technician.

Cleaning the Printer Exterior
Clean the outside of the printer as required with a damp sponge or a soft cloth and a mild household cleaner such
as non-abrasive liquid soap.

Storing and Moving Your Printer
If you need to move your printer or store it for an extended period of time, you need to prepare your printer
properly to avoid possible damage to the printer. To prepare your printer, follow the instructions given below:
CAUTION: It is important that you do not remove the Ink Cartridges and Printheads before moving or
storing the printer.

1. Switch the power off at the On/Off power switch on the front of the printer.
2. Disconnect any cables connected to the printer; parallel interface, LAN connection.
3. Repack the printer in its original packaging. Refer to Assembly/Repacking Instructions available on the HP
Web site (www.hp.com/go/designjet) for details.
4. If you have to move your printer you will need the original packaging. If necessary you can order a kit of the
packaging materials. Contact HP support and they will supply it to you. If necessary they will repackage the
printer for you.

Installing Expansion Cards
The following options are available for your HP Designjet 500 Plus printer:
•

Network Card Installation

Network Card Installation
HP JetDirect Network Card Installation

1. Before installing a card, switch off the
printer and unplug it from the mains electricity supply.

2. Carefully remove the plastic cover from the
left-hand back of the printer by unclipping it.
This cover gives access to the two slots for
an Accessory card and a LAN card.
• Press in the thumb-tab on the side furthest from the edge that has the cablehole.
• Ease the cover out in the direction of
the embossed arrow, pivoting it by the
hinge clips on the side that has the
edge cable-hole.
Continued …

HP JetDirect Network Card Installation (Continued)

3. Remove the cover completely Inside the
compartment there are two slots for a LAN
card or an Accessory card.
You can use either slot for either card, but
we recommend putting a LAN card on the
left (nearer to the front of the printer) and an
Accessory card on the right. In this way the
cable from the LAN card can easily pass
through the slot in the door.
4. To insert a LAN card (or an Accessory
card), remove the metal cover from the
appropriate slot by unscrewing its two
screws. You can use a screwdriver or do it
manually.
5. When you have inserted the card, screw it
into place, using its two screws (at the top
and bottom of the card). Again, this can be
done with a screwdriver or manually.

Previous …

Continued …

HP JetDirect Network Card Installation (Continued)

6. Insert the LAN cable into the LAN card. It is
simply pushed into place and clicks when
locked.

7. Carefully replace the plastic cover by
clipping it back into place:
• Put the two hinge clips on the side that
has the edge cable-hole into their slots.
• Swivel the cover in the direction opposite to the embossed arrow and clip the
other two tabs on the opposite side into
their slots. Ensure that the LAN cable
passes correctly through the edge
cable-hole (shown by the yellow arrow).
• Take care to carefully route the LAN
cable so it does not interfere with the
spindle or roll.
8. Once you have completed the physical installation of the card you will have to configure
it for you LAN, see Setting up the I/O Card.
Previous …

Specifications
•

Functional Specifications

•

Memory Specifications

•

Printer Power Specifications

•

Ecological Specifications

•

Enviromental Specifications

•

Acoustic Specifications

•

Connection Specifications

Functional Specifications
HP Designjet 500 Plus Functional Specifications
Functional Specifications
Four colors: cyan, magenta, yellow and black.
Printheads:
HP Ink
Supplies
Supplies

600 dpi,

36 kHz (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow).
36 kHz (Black).

Cyan
Ink Cartridges contents:

Magenta
Yellow

69 ml

Black
Paper sizes

Width (carriage axis)

Length (paper axis)

Minimum

625 mm
25 inches

Roll - D/A1 size
printer
Roll - A0+/
E+ size printer
Sheet -D/
A1 size printer
Sheet -A0+/
E+ size printer

Maximum

140 mm
5.5 inches

1071.8 mm
42.2 inches
625 mm
25 inches
1071.8 mm
42.2 inches

Maximum

1000 mm
40 inches

100 mm
4 inches
roll external
diameter

140 mm
5.5 inches

1897 mm
74.7 inches
More …

HP Designjet 500 Plus Functional Specifications (Continued)
Functional Specifications
HP Supported Mediaa
HP Bright White Inkjet Paper (Bond)
HP Vellum
HP Natural Tracing Paper
HP Coated Paper
HP Heavyweight Coated Paper
HP Matte film
HP High-Gloss Photo Paper
HP Semi-Gloss Photo Paper
HP Paper-Based Semi-Gloss
HP Clear film
HP Translucent bond
HP Studio Canvas
HP Satin Poster Paper
HP Banners with Tyvek®
HP Colorfast Adhesive Vinyl
Previous …

More …

HP Designjet 500 Plus Functional Specifications (Continued)
Functional Specifications
Resolution

Print Mode

Line drawing/text

Image

Render

300×300dpi

150×150 dpi

Halftone

600×300 dpi

Render

600×600 dpi

300×300 dpi

Halftone

600×600 dpi

600×300 dpi

Render

600×600 dpi

Halftone

600×600 dpi

Best
Render
(maximum detail) Halftone

600×600 dpi

1200×600 dpi

Fast
Normal
Best (default)

Previous …

More …

HP Designjet 500 Plus Functional Specifications (Continued)
Functional Specifications
Margins

Roll and sheet (normal)
Side Margins 5 mm
Leading Edge Margin 17 mm
Trailing Edge Margin 17 mm

Roll (small)
All Margins 5 mm

Graphics
languages
supported

HP-GL/2
HP-RTL
CALRASTER

Accuracy

0.2% of the specified vector length at 23º (73ºF), 50-60% Relative Humidity, on
HP special polyester film.

Previous …
a. From time to time, new paper types may become available. For up-to-date information, please
contact your HP dealer or our Web site www.hp.com/go/designjet.

Physical Specifications
Physical Specifications
Type

Weight

Width

Depth

Height

D/A1 size printer

38.5 kg
85 lb

1253 mm
49 inches

470 mm
19 inches

349 mm
14 inches

A0+/E+ size
printer

45 kg
99 lb

1690 mm
67 inches

674 mm
27 inches

1100 mm
43 inches

Memory Specifications
Memory Specifications
Internal RAM

32 MB

Can be upgraded to:

96MB or 160MB

Printer Power Specifications
Printer Power Specifications
Source

100-240 V AC ±10% auto-ranging

Frequency

50/60 Hz

Current

3 amp maximum

Consumption

150 watts maximum

Ecological Specifications
Ecological Specifications
Energy efficiency

Compliant with Energy Star Program EPA (US).

Manufacturing
process

Free of ozone-depleting chemicals (Montreal Protocol).

Plastics

Free of brominated flame retardants (PBB and PBDE).
All housing parts made of the same material: ABS.
Parts marked according to ISO 11469 standard.

Metals

Enclosures made of electro-galvanized steel sheet.

Packaging

Cardboard (non-chlorine-bleached) and foam are 100%
recyclable.
Inks used for printing do not contain heavy metals.

User
Documentation

Majority provided in Adobe Acrobat PDF format on CD-ROM

Batteries

Not used.

Recyclablility

Modular construction, screws easy to find and disassembly done
using universal tools.

Enviromental Specifications
Environmental Specifications
Operating Ranges Printing:
Optimal print quality for HP
glossy media:

15°C to 35°C (59° F to 95° F) RH 20% to
70%.
15°C to 30°C (59° F to 86° F) RH 20% to
80%.

Optimal print quality for other 15°C to 35°C (59° F to 95° F) RH 20% to
HP media:
70%.
Non Operating
Ranges

NOTE:

Printer:

-40°C to 70°C (-40° F to 158° F)

Packed consumable items
and system:

-40°C to 60°C (-40° F to 140° F)

At altitudes greater then 3000m the printer may have operational problems.

Acoustic Specifications
Acoustic Specifications
Operating sound pressure

54 dB (From a one-meter bystander position)

Idle sound pressure

<30dB (A) (From a one-meter bystander
position)

Operating sound power

6.5 Bels (A)

Idle sound power

<4.3 Bels (A)

Connection Specifications
•

Cable Specification

•

Recommended Cables

Cable Specification
The connector on the printer is 36-pin female connector. Most existing parallel cables support IEEE-1284
compatible communication, but for use with this printer, the cable must meet the specifications in the following
table:
Parallel (IEEE-1284 compatible/Centronics) Interface
Pin

Wire/Signal Name

Source

Strobe

computer

2…9

D0 … D7 (data lines)

both

Ack

printer

Busy

printer

PError

printer

Select (SelectOut)

printer

AutoFd

computer

GND

19 … 30

GND

Init

computer

Fault

printer

SelectIn

computer

Recommended Cables
The following cable is recommended for optimum performance and electromagnetic compatibility:
Recommended Cable
Interface type (Computer)

HP part number

Cable length

Connector type at
computer end of
cable

IEEE compatible/Centronics
Interface (All)

C2951A

3.0 m

25-pin male

USB

C2392A

5.0 m

USB plug

Ordering Accessories
You can order supplies and accessories in any of the following ways:
• Call your local authorized HP dealer.
• Contact your local HP Sales and Support office.
• Refer to the Hewlett-Packard Support / Services booklet that was supplied with your printer.
•

Hardware

•

Consumable Items

Hardware
Item
Memory Modules

HP Part Number
64 MB

C2387A

128 MB

C2388A

All memory expansion modules are: SODIMM 168pin x 64 EDO 50 nanoseconds,
3.3V
JetDirect EIO Network Cards

Spindle
Stand 610 mm - 24 inch

10Base-T

J3110A

10 Base2, 10-T

J3111A

LocalTalk

J3112A

Token Ring
10/100Base-TX

J4169A

610 mm - 24 inch

C2388A

1067 mm - 42 inch

C2389A

C7781A

Consumable Items
Item

Color

Ink
Cartridges

Black

Cyan
Yellow

Printheads

HP Supply No. HP Part Number
C4844A
C4911A

C4913A

Magenta

C4912A

Black

C4810A

Cyan
Yellow
Magenta

C4811A
C4813A
C4812A

To achieve the best performance from your printer, we recommend you only use genuine Hewlett-Packard
accessories and supplies, whose reliability and performance have been thoroughly tested to give trouble-free
performance.

Glossary
Term

Meaning

ANSI paper

An American standard paper size; e.g. D, E.

Architectural
paper

The Architectural paper sizing system.

application

The software you use to create your drawings.

Centronics

A standard for the parallel interface between computer and device.

clipping

Losing part of a drawing at the edges.

CMP

Complementary Media Program that helps HP customers grow their
businesses by referencing third-party printing material choices to ensure
maximum HP Designjet printer flexibility and printing solutions.

CMYK

Cyan, magenta, yellow and black. The colors of the printer’s four inks, and
also a standard color model.

Coated
paper

Paper coated on one side for inkjet printing.

default

A value or condition that is assumed if no other value or condition is
specified.

device

An external item connected to the computer: printer, tape drive, etc. Your HP
Designjet is a device.

dpi

Dots per inch, a measure of print resolution.

drivers

Software that controls the communication between a computer and a device.

front panel

The control panel on the front right of the printer.
For More Terms, click on the Next Page Icon

Term

Meaning

front panel
menus

The structure of options in the front-panel display.

graphics
language

A programming language telling a print device how to output graphic data.

grayscale

Shades of gray to represent colors.

high-gloss
photo

A glossy, opaque photographic paper.

HP-GL/2

One of Hewlett-Packard’s standard graphics languages for plotters and
printers. Produces vector data.

I/O Input/
output

The transmission of data between a computer and a device.

IEEE-1284

A standard issued by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE) as the Standard Signaling Method for a Bi-directional Parallel
Peripheral Interface for Personal Computers

ink cartridge

The part of the HP Ink Supplies which contains all the ink used in the printer.
They are installed into the printer on the right side.

inked area

The smallest rectangle that contains all the content of the drawing, while
maintaining its relative dimensions.

ISO paper

An international standard paper size; e.g. A1, A2, etc.

JIS

A Japanese standard paper size.

LAN

Local area network.
For More Terms, click on the Next Page Icon

Term

Meaning

long-axis
printing

Printing a page when the length is longer than a standard page size.

margin

The space around the page added by the printer to separate one page from
another and to avoid printing right to the edge of the paper.

Nesting

Placing two or more pages side-by-side on roll paper to avoid waste.

nozzles

Located underneath the printhead. The nozzles direct the ink onto the page.

palette

A set of logical pens defined by color and width.

PJL

Printer Job Language. A programming language that controls jobs going to a
printer.

parallel
interface

A type of interface between computer and device. Generally faster than a
serial interface.

PANTONE

The PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM® is an international standard for color
communication in the graphics art industry.

pen

Even though the printer has no physical pens, the lines it draws match the
attributes of a pen.

platen

The exterior part of the printer on which the paper rests before going into the
printer.

printhead

The printhead is installed into the carriage assembly. It is the part which
prints the ink onto the paper.

printing area

Page size minus margins.
For More Terms, click on the Next Page Icon

Term

Meaning

PostScript

Adobe PostScript is a computer language that describes the appearance of a
page, including elements such as text, graphics, and scanned images, to a
printer or other output device.

queueing

Placing each print received by the device into memory for processing with
other prints.

raster

A method for defining an image, in terms of dots rather than lines. Raster
data typically needs more memory than vector data.

Rendering
Intent

Rendering intent is a concept defined by ICC Spec ICC.1:1998-09, “File
Format for Color Profiles”.
From the specification: “Rendering intent specifies the style of reproduction
to be used during the evaluation of this profile in a sequence of profiles. It
applies specifically to that profile in the sequence and not to the entire
sequence. Typically, the user or application will set the rendering intent
dynamically at runtime or embedding time.”

RGB

Red, green and blue. A standard color model.

RIP

Raster Image Processor.

RTL

Raster Transfer Language is one of Hewlett-Packard’s standard graphics
languages for plotters and printers. Produces raster data.
For More Terms, click on the Next Page Icon

Term

Meaning

spindle

The rod which holds the roll of paper.

paper-axis

The vertical axis, as you look at the printer from the front in which the paper
feed moves.

scan-axis

The horizontal axis, as you look at the printer from the front in which the print
carriage moves.

service
station

The part of the printer which services the printheads. It keeps the printheads
clean and stops them from drying out.

USB

Universal Serial Bus.

Index
A
acoustic specifications ☞
Action Keys ☞
adjusting page size ☞
non-PostScript files ☞
Adusting the Page Size in the Front Panel ☞
Advanced Calibration ☞
Aligning Printhead ☞
ANSI Paper ☞
Architectural Paper ☞

Back Key ☞
Banding ☞
Best ☞
Print Resolution ☞
Blurred Lines ☞
bright white inkjet paper ☞

cable specifications ☞
cables
interface ☞
parallel ☞
Calibration ☞
Cancel Key ☞
Cancel Print ☞
Cancelling Drying Time ☞
cancelling the drying time ☞
canvas ☞
choosing media ☞

clear film ☞
Clearing Media Jam ☞
Clipped Images ☞
clipped images ☞
coated paper ☞
Color Accuracy
Configuration ☞
Additional Information ☞
Settings ☞
Media ☞
Color Alignment Problems ☞
Color Consistency Problems ☞
color settings ☞
colors
internal palettes ☞
Communications Problems ☞
Component Identification ☞
connection secifications ☞
Correcting the Printer Configuration ☞
Cutter Replacement ☞

Display Screen ☞
Dots per inch
Fast ☞
Down Key ☞
drivers ☞
Drying Time ☞
Cancelling ☞
Procedure ☞
Settings
Automatic ☞
Manual ☞

None ☞
Typical ☞

ecological specifications ☞
Enter Key ☞
environmental specifications ☞

Fast
Print Resolution ☞
Finding the Source of a Problem ☞
Form Feed & Cut Key ☞
Front Panel
Action Keys ☞
Display Screen ☞
Introduction ☞
Menu Structure ☞
Navigation Keys ☞
Page Size Setting ☞
functional specifications ☞

graphics language and networks ☞

Handling Media ☞
heavy coated paper ☞
high-gloss photo ☞
HP Ink Supplies ☞
HP No 10 ☞
HP No 11 ☞
HP No 82 ☞
Ink cartridges ☞
ink cartridges ☞

Printheads ☞
printheads ☞

I/O time-out setting
changing ☞
Identifying Components ☞
Image Appearance ☞
Image Clipping ☞
Image Error
Image is Clipped ☞
Long-Axis Image is Clipped ☞
Output Contains Only a Partial Print ☞
Image is Clipped ☞
Image is Unexpectedly Rotated ☞
Image Quality
Problems ☞
Image Rotation ☞
Page Size ☞
What is Rotated ☞
Incomplete Lines Problems ☞
Information
Roll Media ☞
Sheet Media ☞
Ink ☞
System
Precautions ☞
Ink Bleeds ☞
Ink Cartridge
Problem Inserting ☞
Replacement ☞
Statistics ☞
Ink cartridges

HP Ink Supplies ☞
ink cartridges
HP Ink Supplies ☞
ink emulation mode
selecting ☞
Ink Menu ☞
Ink Supplies. See HP Ink Supplies
Ink Supply Problems ☞
Ink System
Cartridge
Replacement ☞
Statistics ☞
Drying Time ☞
Automatic ☞
Manual ☞
None ☞
Printhead
Alignment ☞
Replacement ☞
Statistics ☞
Inked Area ☞
inked area ☞
Installing
Roll Media ☞
interface cables ☞
interfaces
Fast Ethernet 10/100 base TX ☞
parallel ☞
USB ☞
internal palettes ☞
ISO Paper ☞

J
Job Management Menu ☞

Keys
Action ☞
Cancel ☞
Form Feed & Cut ☞
Navigation ☞
Back ☞
Down ☞
Enter ☞
Menu ☞
Up ☞

Loading
Roll Media ☞
Sheet Media ☞
Loading Roll Media Problems ☞
Loading Sheet Media Problems ☞
Long-Axis Image is Clipped ☞

Margins ☞
margins ☞
margins specifications ☞
Marks or Scratches on Glossy Paper ☞
matte film ☞
Media
Cutter ☞
Handling ☞
Media Types
Additional Information ☞

Combinations ☞
Print Quality Selection ☞
Roll
Installing ☞
Loading ☞
Removing from Printer ☞
Removing from Spindle ☞
Unloading ☞
Sheet
Loading ☞
Unloading ☞
Which Edge First ☞
Which Side Up ☞
media ☞
choice ☞
media types
bright white inkjet paper ☞
canvas ☞
clear film ☞
coated paper ☞
heavy coated paper ☞
high-gloss photo ☞
matte film ☞
natural tracing paper ☞
plain paper ☞
poster paper ☞
supported ☞
translucent bond ☞
vellum ☞
Media Problems
Blurred Lines ☞
Clearing Jam ☞

General Rules ☞
Ink Bleeds ☞
Loading
Roll Media ☞
Sheetl Media ☞
Marks or Scratches ☞
Output ☞
Warped Lines ☞
media sizes specifications ☞
media types ☞
Memory ☞
memory ☞
memory specifications ☞
Menu
Ink ☞
Job Mananagement ☞
Paper ☞
Menu Key ☞
Menu Set-up ☞
Menu Structure ☞
merge ☞
Mirror Image ☞

natural tracing paper ☞
Navigating the Menu System ☞
Navigation
Example ☞
Navigation Keys ☞
network interface
changing settings ☞
networks and graphics language ☞
non-PostScript files

adjusting page size ☞
Normal ☞
Print Resolution ☞

viewing current settings ☞
paper
important points ☞
Paper
Menu ☞
O
parallel
(Bi-Tronics/Centronics) interface specifications ☞
Obtaining Roll Media Information ☞
☞
parallel
interface
Obtaining Sheet Media Information ☞
pen
widths
One Image Overlays Another on Same Sheet ☞
Other Sources of Information for Incorrect Printed Image ☞ changing ☞
Pens ☞
Output Contains Only a Partial Print ☞
physical specifications ☞
overlapping lines
plain
paper ☞
changing treatment of ☞
Pocket
Guide ☞
P
☞
poster
paper
Page Description ☞
☞
PostScript
Upgrade
Page Format
☞
power
specifications
Inked Area ☞
print
appearance
Margins ☞
controlling ☞
Printing Area ☞
Print
Cancel ☞
Size ☞
Print
Distorted or Unintelligible ☞
page format
Print
Quality ☞
inked area ☞
print
quality
margins ☞
printing speeds and print quality ☞
page size ☞
☞
settings
Page Size ☞
Print
Resolution
page size ☞
Best ☞
adjusting ☞
Fast ☞
and clipped images ☞
☞
Normal
Palette ☞
☞
print
resolution
palettes
Printable
Area
changing colors ☞
ArchitecturaI Paper ☞
changing pen width ☞
ISO Paper ☞
internal ☞
Printed Image Incorrect

Image is in One Portion of the Printing Area ☞
Image is Unexpectedly Rotated ☞
One Image Overlays Another on Same Sheet ☞
Other Sources of Information ☞
Print Distorted or Unintelligible ☞
Printer does not Print ☞
Printer Seems Too Slow ☞
Printhead
Alignment ☞
Problem Inserting ☞
Problems after replacement ☞
Replacement ☞
Statistics ☞
Printheads
HP Ink Supplies ☞
printheads
HP Ink Supplies ☞
Printing Area ☞
printing area ☞
Problems
Banding ☞
Color Alignment ☞
Color Consistency ☞
Configuration Correction ☞
Finding the Source ☞
Image Quality ☞
Incomplete Lines ☞
Ink Supply
After replacement of Printhead ☞
Inserting the Ink Cartridge ☞
Inserting the Printhead ☞
Solutions ☞

Solving ☞
Stepped Lines ☞
Troubleshooting ☞

Removing
Roll Media
from Printer ☞
from Spindle ☞
Replacing
Cutter ☞
Ink Cartridge ☞
Printhead ☞
resolution specifications ☞
resolution. See print resolution
Roll Media
Information ☞
Installing ☞
Loading ☞
Removing from Printer ☞
Removing from Spindle ☞
Unloading ☞
Rotating an Image ☞

Set-up Menu ☞
Setup Poster ☞
Sheet Media
Information ☞
Loading ☞
Unloading ☞
Which Edge First ☞
Which Side Up ☞

software applications ☞
Solutions to Problems ☞
specifications
accuracy ☞
acoustic ☞
cables ☞
connection ☞
ecological ☞
environmental ☞
functional ☞
graphics languages supported ☞
margins ☞
media sizes ☞
memory ☞
parallel (Bi-Tronics/Centronics) interface ☞
physical ☞
power ☞
resolution ☞
Speed and Print Quality ☞
Stepped Lines Problems ☞
supported media types ☞
system software upgrades ☞

translucent bond ☞
Troubleshooting
Procedure ☞
types of media ☞
Typical Drying Times ☞
Typical Printing Times ☞

Universal Serial Bus ☞

Unloading
Roll Media ☞
Sheet Media ☞
Up Key ☞
upgrading system software ☞
USB ☞
user interface ☞
User’s Reference Guide ☞

vellum ☞

Warped Lines ☞
Web Page ☞

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HP Hydra Designjet 500Plus Printer User's Guide C00749371

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