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Why? Hp Latex 365 Strikes in Print

OneUpTenn

New Member
Please Help!!! I am desperate.

Why does it only do it in this 2-3" area all the way down the print.
It does it on every print no matter what file or what color I am printing.

I have done the following:
Replaced every printhead
Replaced the ink cartridge
Even put in a new maintenance cartridge (even though it still had 60% life left)
Run diagnostics directly from the printer.

I just got a new computer and had to reinstall the software and hook everything back up. I can't imagine that this would have anything to do with it but asking for any help at all.
 

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BigNate

New Member
this may seem a little off, but we had a similar mark show up on our 700w prints... one of the tubes that feeds the heads had come a little loose and could form a loop that would slap the freshly printed media - and oddly in about the same location - like you see in your prints. The transfer if ink looked very much like your pics - granted there was a little more smearing on ours. but it looks close enough you may want to check. when the carriage was at either end the tube was well back in the track, but not clipped in, so the next pass is was free to make a very quick slap on the image area again....
 

BigNate

New Member
in looking at your pics again, and comparing to our 700w - the 2-3" marked area is in the same area (left to right) that ours was.

good luck!
 

Geneva Olson

Expert Storyteller
is the media buckled in that area? It looks like it's hitting the printer heads as it prints. I have some print runs that I have to sit and babysit the print because it will buckle up and hit the printheads. Not enough to jam it, but enough to graze the vinyl. If it's not what BigNate says, then you might need to increase the vacuum.

I have a HP315. There are some prints I have to babysit because (I THINK) theres not enough ink laying down on the vinyl and so it's lighter and lifts slightly to hit the print head and smear the ink.
It looks like you might have a different problem (like Big Nate is suggesting), but you might want to check to see if the vinyl is lifting as it's going through the printer.
 

Geneva Olson

Expert Storyteller
The trailing cable is the cable that sends the data from the lower parts of the printer to the board on the carriage. The OP's cable failed and as the cable is bent in the failed spot it causes communication issues to the carriage board and that causes the print heads to fire. The heads are not actually hitting the material.
wow. thanks for the info. What causes it to fail?
 

chrisphilipps

Merchant Member
It is part of the umbilical in the printer that also has the ink lines. As the umbilical moves back and forth with the carriage it rubes against the ink lines and the clips that hold it all together causing the outside shielding to wear out. Once that happens the electrical wires within the shielding start to get damaged. I will post photos if I can find them.
 

chrisphilipps

Merchant Member
Attached is a picture I found of a failed trailing cable from a 3rd Gen HP Latex printer.
 

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BigNate

New Member
A failed trailing cable that has the intermittent motion activated when the carriage moves sounds like a good place to look.... the tube slapping the media looked very similar, but mine definitely had more smearing... those streaks look like the printheads firing, but in a tight line... similar trigger for both fails - the carriage moving through a specific area of its motion.

good luck..
 

MikePro

New Member
yeah, after reading the replies about the cable it makes much more sense. headstrikes have a smear to them, but that definitely looks like a singular firing of the printheads at that moment of the motion.
 

BigNate

New Member
yeah, after reading the replies about the cable it makes much more sense. headstrikes have a smear to them, but that definitely looks like a singular firing of the printheads at that moment of the motion.
...but the ink tubes slapping can be very controlled and give almost a pad printed artifact (and it was 'step-and-repeated') - it was not obvious at first what was happening on our prints until the second clip let go.
 

OneUpTenn

New Member
I am still working on it. I am going to try Big Nate's idea first since it seems to be the easiest and work from there.
I also think it is very coincidental that it just started when I got the new computer.
I am also going to try to uninstall everything and start from scratch. I located the cable (only from the carraige end) and it seems to be in there very tight (as far as the other end...who knows until I get in there).
The printer is only a little over a year old but it prints constantly.
I will def update in case someone else needs to refer back to this one day.
 

balstestrat

Problem Solver
I am still working on it. I am going to try Big Nate's idea first since it seems to be the easiest and work from there.
I also think it is very coincidental that it just started when I got the new computer.
I am also going to try to uninstall everything and start from scratch. I located the cable (only from the carraige end) and it seems to be in there very tight (as far as the other end...who knows until I get in there).
The printer is only a little over a year old but it prints constantly.
I will def update in case someone else needs to refer back to this one day.
They are right it's the data cable that's broken. It's like the school book example that you are showing.

Don't waste more time, just replace the cable. Only ~$150 and you are back printing as usual.
 
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OneUpTenn

New Member
I wanted to update in case someone ever had this problem. Hopefully it will save them some time.
It was most def the trailing cable. Luckily my printer was still under warranty and they had a tech come and install it.
It did NOT look easy so unless you are real familiar or real comfortable taking apart your machine, I would hire someone to do it. It took him several hours to do it and he does it every day.
Here is a picture of what it looked like when he removed it. Exactly as someone stated above. No clue as to why it happened to a printer less than a year old. You could not see these places while the cord was still in the printer, only when it was removed.

20240425_141204.jpg
 

balstestrat

Problem Solver
Bad luck. Usually it takes years and million cycles.

It should take two hours (if no other problems) for someone who works on them daily.
 
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