mju@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us (Marc Unangst) (10/28/89)
I've had this Star NX-10 printer for about 3 years, and in that time, it's worked great. Unfortunately, I'm now having a problem that I can't explain. The print quality has slowly deteriorated. It used to be that I would get nice, black print in draft mode, and nice, almost-typewriter quality (you can only see the difference if you look real close) print in NLQ mode. However, now, even with a new ribbon, draft is very gray, and NLQ looks *almost* okay if you doublestrike each character. I've tried replacing the printhead, I've tried replacing the ribbon (with a genuine Star ribbon, not a no-name brand one), but nothing has worked. The platen doesn't appear to be worn. The lever that adjusts the printhead's distance from the platen is all the way in (i.e., as close to the platen as possible). What's wrong with my printer? Can it be fixed? Am I going to have to replace it? -- Marc Unangst Internet: mju@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us UUCP : ...!uunet!sharkey!mudos!mju Fidonet : Marc Unangst of 1:120/129.0 BBS : The Starship Enterprise, 1200/2400 bps, +1 313-665-2832
aqm@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Steve Weinrich) (10/28/89)
In article <688.2548CE8F@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us> (Marc Unangst) writes: >replacing the printhead, I've tried replacing the ribbon (with a genuine ^^^^^^^^^ !! >Star ribbon, not a no-name brand one), but nothing has worked. The platen >doesn't appear to be worn. The lever that adjusts the printhead's distance ^^^^ Next guess... Replacing it is not a REAL good idea since you have already sunk a considerable amount of money into it. Now, you are probably going to laugh at me, but I had the *EXACT* same problem with my printer. (Star NX-10) early last year. I though it was that the pins on the prinhead were dirty. Cleaning did no good. I thought it was the platen, again, no proble there. I brought it to my friendly repair person and she said, "Steve, when did all this start happening?" I replied with "Oh, about 2 months ago... just about the time my first ribbon gave out. I thought that was the problem." She looked at me and said: "And first box of paper ran out too right?" I thought back, and sure enough, I had gone to a computer fair and bought a nice box of paper just as mine was running out. She then proceded to give me a quick lecture on ink disipation and moisture absorbtion in paper. Another factor she mentioned was that it was winter, and the moister content was WAY down. Therefore, the paper would absorb (soak up) my ink and make it look very light and pale. So, what all this means is that the perhaps the paper you were using a month ago was very high quality, and didn't have much rag content, but now, you might have some very absorbant paper, and a dry workplace. In combination, these items usualy combine to screw up your printer... Also, as a side note for all you ribbon fanatics, when a printer is bought new, and it has a ribbon included, beware that you do not assume the print quality will remain that good for long. Star (Epson also) includes special reibbons with their new printers. They are general low quantity pass ribbons, and they wear out quickly. They give off large amounts of ink, but only last a few hours of actual use. None the less, I think I hear biff calling me... bye for now... -Steve -- Steve Weinrich - Purdue University - Unix Group Support E-Mail: aqm@cc.purdue.edu
cssrajh@cc.brunel.ac.uk (Alan J Holmes) (11/01/89)
In article <688.2548CE8F@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us> mju@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us (Marc Unangst) writes: >I've had this Star NX-10 printer for about 3 years, and in that time, > >The print quality has slowly deteriorated. It used to be that I would More text..... >possible). What's wrong with my printer? Can it be fixed? Am I >going to have to replace it? It may be that the print head is gummed up with dried ink, when I have had that problem (and it seems fairly common with impact printers), I soak the head in either Isopropanal Alchohol or Methylated Spirits for a couple of hours, the alchohol wil disolve the dried ink and the origional print quality should return. Regards Alan Holmes
mju@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us (Marc Unangst) (11/07/89)
In article <1146@Terra.cc.brunel.ac.uk>, cssrajh@cc.brunel.ac.uk (Alan J Holmes) writes: >It may be that the print head is gummed up with dried ink, when I have This seems doubtful: I replaced the printhead with a brand-new one, and the print it still as grey as it was before. -- Marc Unangst Internet: mju@mudos.ann-arbor.mi.us UUCP : ...!uunet!sharkey!mudos!mju Fidonet : Marc Unangst of 1:120/129.0 BBS : The Starship Enterprise, 1200/2400 bps, +1 313-665-2832