Printhead Adjustment

Introduction 3-2
Tools Required 3-2
Calibrate the Printhead Adjustment Jig 3-3
Install the Printhead Adjustment Jigs in the Carriage 3-5
Set Printhead Voltage 3-9
Print the Printhead Adjustment Pattern 3-10
Perform Printhead Position Correction 3-11
Print the Check Printhead Pattern 3-14
Adjust the Printhead 3-15
Tip to Speed-Up the Printhead Adjustment 3-19

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Printhead Adjustment

Printhead Adjustment
Introduction
The mechanical adjustment of a Printhead must be done every time a
Printhead is removed or replaced. If the adjustment of the Printheads is not
done, you could get Print Quality problems like banding. The Printhead
Adjustment should be done in the following order:
1 Calibrate the Printhead Adjustment Jig.
2 Install the Printhead Adjustment Jigs in to the Carriage.
3 Set Printhead Voltage.
4 Print the Printhead Adjustment pattern.
5 Perform Printhead Position correction.
6 Print the Check Printhead pattern.
7 Mechanically adjust the Printhead.

Tools Required
The Tools required to perform the Printhead Adjustment procedure are shown
below. Without these tools, the Printhead Adjustment procedure cannot be
completed correctly.

Printhead Adjustment Jig 1

Printhead Adjustment Reference Plate

Printhead Positioning Pins

Small Flat-Head Screwdriver

Cross-Head Screwdriver

3-2

Printhead Adjustment Jig 2

Measuring Loupe

HP Designjet 9000s Series Printer Service Manual

Printhead Adjustment

Calibrate the Printhead Adjustment Jig

To speed up the Printhead Adjustment, you can follow the tip
on Page 3-19. If the tip is followed, then it is not necessary to
calibrate the Printhead Adjustment Jig.
Before installing the Printhead Adjustment Jig 1 in to the Carriage, it needs
to be calibrated as follows:
1 Retract the datum pins located in the Printhead Adjustment Jig 1 by turning
the Adjustment Screws counterclockwise using a small Flat-Head Screwdriver.
Adjustment Screws

Datum Pins
2 Place the Printhead Adjustment Jig 1 on top of the Printhead Adjustment
Reference Plate as shown:

3 Insert the two Printhead Positioning Pins in to the Printhead Adjustment Jig 1.

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Printhead Adjustment
4 Tighten the two fixing screws so that the Printhead Adjustment Jig 1 is
securely attached to the Printhead Adjustment Reference Plate.
Fixing Screws

5 Place the Printhead Adjustment Jig on a flat surface and without holding it,
gently turn the Adjustment Screws clockwise until the Printhead Adjustment
Jig begins to move. Check that the Datum Pins touch the walls of the
Printhead Adjustment Reference Plate. Do NOT force the Adjustment Screws
too much as this could damage the Datum Pins.

6 Once the Printhead Adjustment Jig 1 has been calibrated, you can loosen
the fixing screws, remove the Printhead Positioning Pins and remove the
Printhead Adjustment Reference Plate.

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Printhead Adjustment

Install the Printhead Adjustment Jigs in the Carriage

The next procedure will be to install the Printhead in to the Carriage and
install the Printhead Adjustment Jigs as follows:
Never touch the Printhead nozzles. They can be easily damaged or
clogged. For Printhead removal information, refer to Page 8-86.
1 Install the new Printhead in to the Carriage and secure it with two screws.
The screws should not be tightened too much, just enough so that the
Printhead does not move loosely.

Printhead

2 Install the Printhead Adjustment Jig 1 in to position against the Carriage Base
Plate. Make sure that the 2 datum pins touch the Printhead as shown.

Datum
Pins
Printhead Adjustment
Jig 1

3 Insert the two Printhead Positioning Pins into the Printhead Adjustment Jig 1.

Printhead
Positioning Pins

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Printhead Adjustment
4 Tighten the two fixing screws so that the Printhead Adjustment Jig 1 is
securely attached to the Carriage Base Plate.

Fixing Screws

5 Install the Printhead Adjustment Jig 2 in to position against the Carriage Base
Plate.

This corner of the

Printhead should
touch the Printhead
Adjustment Jig 2

Printhead

Make sure the Printhead

Adjustment Jig 2 is
located against this pin

Printhead Adjustment
Jig 2
6 Stretch the spring and hook the key over the top screw of the Printhead
Adjustment Jig 1 as shown.

Key
Screw
Spring

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Printhead Adjustment
7 The following drawing shows the overall position of the Printhead Adjustment
Jigs in relation to the Printhead (the tubes have been removed for clarity).

Printhead

Printhead Adjustment
Jig 2

Printhead Adjustment
Jig 1

8 Once the Printhead Adjustment Jigs are in place, tighten the front screw that
secures the Printhead to the Carriage Base Plate.

9 Remove the tube cap from the Printhead.

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Printhead Adjustment
10 Attach the Ink Tube to the Printhead and secure it tightly.

11 Attach the Printhead Connector Assembly to the Printhead and secure it with 2
screws.

12 Before moving to the next stage of the Printhead Adjustment procedure,

make sure that the Printhead Connector cables are safely secured with tape
so that they dont hit other parts of the Printer.
Secure with
tape

13 Enter into the Ink System Options submenu and select "Wash Printheads" in
order to charge the replaced Printhead with ink.
14 Print a Nozzle Check pattern in order to verify that ink has been charged
correctly into the Printhead. If any of the nozzles are not firing correctly, then
perform a Normal Printhead Recovery and then retry the nozzle Check pattern.

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HP Designjet 9000s Series Printer Service Manual

Printhead Adjustment

Set Printhead Voltage

Before the Printhead can be used to print correctly, you must set the
Printhead Voltage as follows:
Remember to set BOTH the left and right Printhead Voltage
values for each Printhead correctly.
You can find the Printhead Voltage values on each Printhead as shown:

Voltage
Values

1 Power On the Printer and enter in to the Maintenance Mode Page 4-7.
2 Press the

W key to enter in to the Printhead Adjustment menu.

SP. ADJ

Press the Left Arrow

Key to select

PH. MAINT

WPH. ADJ

3 In the Printhead Adjustment submenu, scroll to "PH Voltage" and press the
X key.
# PH VOLTAGE
# Lm (L)

4 In the PH Voltage submenu, select the color of the Printhead (either left or
right) for which you would like to set the Printhead Voltage and press the OK
key. If you would like to exit the PH Voltage submenu, press the W key.
# PH VOLTAGE
> Lm (L) >16.0 V

5 Use the S and T keys to change the digits and use the W and X keys to
select the digits. The value can be changed in a range of 12.0 to 20.0 V (in
increments of 0.1 V). Press the OK key once you have entered the new value.
# PH VOLTAGE
> Lm (L) >17.6 V

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Printhead Adjustment

Print the Printhead Adjustment Pattern

In order to correct the Printhead position, you must first print the Printhead
Adjustment pattern as follows:
1 Enter in to the Maintenance Mode Page 4-7.
2 Press the

W key to enter in to the Printhead Adjustment menu.

SP. ADJ

Press the Left Arrow

Key to select

PH. MAINT

WPH. ADJ

1 In the Printhead Adjustment submenu, scroll to "PH Adj Print" and press the
OK key.
# PH ADJ PRINTS
> NOZZLE CHECK

2 In the Printhead Adjustment Prints submenu, scroll to "Printhead Adj" and

press the OK key.
# PH ADJ PRINTS

* PRINTHEAD ADJ
3 You will need to confirm that you want to print the Printhead Adjustment
pattern by pressing the OK key.
# PH ADJ PRINTS

* PRINTHEAD ADJ

OK?

4 The Printer will start printing the Printhead Adjustment pattern and the
following message will appear on the Front Panel.
# PH ADJ PRINTS

* EXECUTING

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HP Designjet 9000s Series Printer Service Manual

Printhead Adjustment

Perform Printhead Position Correction

Once you have printed the Printhead Adjustment pattern, you can use it to
correct the position of the Printhead as follows:
1 Locate the Printhead Row pattern in the Printhead Adjustment pattern.

Printhead Row Pattern

2 Select the pattern that looks the best aligned and note down the value (either
a - value or a + value).

Lines not well aligned

Lines well aligned

3 In the Printhead Adjustment submenu, scroll to "PH Row Val" and press the
X key.
# PH ROW VAL
# Lm

4 In the PH Row Val submenu, select the color of the Printhead that you would
like to adjust and press the OK key. If you would like to exit the PH Row Val
submenu, press the W key.
# PH ROW VAL
> Lm >+00

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Printhead Adjustment
5 Use the S and T keys to change the digits and use the W and X keys to
select the digits. Enter the value that you noted down in step 2.
# PH ROW VAL
> Lm >+01

6 Press the OK key once you have entered the new value.
7 Locate the Printhead to Printhead pattern in the Printhead Adjustment pattern.

Printhead to Printhead Pattern

8 Select the pattern that looks the best aligned and note down the value (either
a - value or a + value).

Lines not well aligned

Lines well aligned

9 In the Printhead Adjustment submenu, scroll to "PH to PH Val" and press the
X key.
# PH TO PH VAL
# Lm

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HP Designjet 9000s Series Printer Service Manual

Printhead Adjustment
10 In the PH to PH Val submenu, select the color of the Printhead that you would
like to adjust and press the OK key. If you would like to exit the PH to PH Val
submenu, press the W key.
# PH TO PH VAL
> Lm >+00

11 Use the S and T keys to change the digits and use the W and X keys to
select the digits. Enter the value that you noted down in step 8.
# PH TO PH VAL
> Lm >+01

12 Press the OK key once you have entered the new value.

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Printhead Adjustment

Print the Check Printhead Pattern

In order to adjust the Printhead, you must first print the Check Printhead
pattern as follows:
1 Enter in to the Maintenance Mode Page 4-7.
2 Press the

W key to enter in to the Printhead Adjustment menu.

SP. ADJ

Press the Left Arrow

Key to select

PH. MAINT

WPH. ADJ

1 In the Printhead Adjustment submenu, scroll to "PH Adj Prints" and press the
OK key.
# PH ADJ PRINTS
> NOZZLE CHECK

2 In the Printhead Adjustment Prints submenu, scroll to "Check Printhead" and

press the OK key.
# PH ADJ PRINTS

* CHECK PRINTHEAD
3 You will need to confirm that you want to print the Check Printhead pattern by
pressing the OK key.
# PH ADJ PRINTS

* CHECK PRINTHEAD

OK?

4 The Printer will start printing the Check Printhead pattern and the following
message will appear on the Front Panel.
# PH ADJ PRINTS

* EXECUTING

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HP Designjet 9000s Series Printer Service Manual

Printhead Adjustment

Adjust the Printhead

Once you have printed the Check Printhead pattern, you can use it to adjust
the Printhead as follows:
1 Locate the mechanical adjustment pattern in the Check Printhead pattern.

2 Using a Measuring Loupe, you must first measure the deviation of the
Printhead in the vertical position.

Deviation

3 Loosen the front screw that secures the Printhead to the Carriage Base Plate.

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Printhead Adjustment
4 Using the measurement obtained in step 2, calculate how many scales you
will need to turn the Vertical Adjustment Screw to adjust the vertical position
of the Printhead.
1 Scale = 10 micromillimeters

1 Turn = 100 micromillimeters

Vertical Adjustment Screw

5 If for example, the deviation measured in step 2 was 240 micro-millimeters,

you would turn the Vertical Adjustment Screw 2 full turns and 4 scales.

6 Tighten the front screw that secures the Printhead to the Carriage Base Plate.

7 Reprint the Check Printhead pattern and measure again the deviation of the
Printhead in the vertical position. If there is still deviation, repeat the
instructions from step 3.

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Printhead Adjustment
8 If the deviation measured is 0, you will now measure the deviation of the
Printhead in the slant position.

Deviation

9 Loosen the front screw that secures the Printhead to the Carriage Base Plate.

10 Using the measurement obtained in step 8, calculate how many scales you
will need to turn the Slant Adjustment Screw to adjust the slant position of the
Printhead.
1 Scale = 10 micromillimeters

1 Turn = 100 micromillimeters

Slant Adjustment Screw

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Printhead Adjustment
11 If for example, the deviation measured in step 8 was 120 micro-millimeters,
you would turn the Slant Adjustment Screw 1 full turn and 2 scales.

12 Tighten the front screw that secures the Printhead to the Carriage Base Plate.

13 Reprint the Check Printhead pattern and measure again the deviation of the
Printhead in the slant position. If there is still deviation, repeat the instructions
from step 9.
14 If the deviation measured is 0, you can remove the Printhead Adjustment Jigs
from the Carriage.

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HP Designjet 9000s Series Printer Service Manual

Printhead Adjustment

Tip to Speed-Up the Printhead Adjustment

An alternative and faster way to adjust a new Printhead is as follows:
1 Before removing the old Printhead, install the Printhead Adjustment Jig 1 in
to position against the Carriage Base Plate.

Printhead
Adjustment Jig 1

2 Insert the two Printhead Positioning Pins into the Printhead Adjustment Jig 1.

Printhead
Positioning Pins

3 Tighten the two fixing screws so that the Printhead Adjustment Jig 1 is
securely attached to the Carriage Base Plate.

Fixing Screws

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Printhead Adjustment

Printhead

4 Turn both Adjustment Screws so that the 2 datum pins touch the Printhead as
shown. You must not force the Adjustment Screws too much as this could
damage the Datum Pins.

Datum
Pins
Adjustment Screw

5 Now that the Printhead Adjustment Jig 1 is calibrated to the old Printhead,
the Printhead can now be removed Page 8-86.

Printhead

6 Install a new Printhead in to the Carriage and position it against the

Printhead Adjustment Jig 1 as shown. Make sure that the 2 datum pins touch
the Printhead as shown.

Datum
Pins
Printhead Adjustment
Jig 1

7 Install the two screws to secure the Printhead. The screws should not be
tightened too much, just enough so that the Printhead does not move loosely.

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HP Designjet 9000s Series Printer Service Manual

Printhead Adjustment
8 Install the Printhead Adjustment Jig 2 in to position against the Carriage Base
Plate.

This corner of the

Printhead should
touch the Printhead
Adjustment Jig 2

Printhead

Make sure the Printhead

Adjustment Jig 2 is
located against this pin

Printhead Adjustment
Jig 2
9 Tighten the front screw that secures the Printhead to the Carriage Base Plate.

10 At this point the new Printhead should now be more or less in the same
position as the old Printhead.
11 Before continuing, you should connect the Ink Tube and Printhead Connector
Assembly to the Printhead.
12 You should now continue the Printhead Adjustment procedure from Page 3-9.

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HP Designjet 9000s Series Printer Service Manual