Hi good Pals,
I'm working on an HP Deskjet 1280 printer the problem with
it is, after initializing, it I can (in most case) print a test page
from the printer but after the first print the cartridge will move to
the far right corner and make some rocking noise after which the first
two lights(the power and paper lights-green & amber light
respectively) will start blinking in unison. I have changed the two
cartridges but the problem is still there. When I try printing from
the PC I have the same problem with a "cartridge jam" message.
I have cleaned all the excess ink in the printer. Thanks.

Hi!

Your printer is most likely suffering from a belt that is slipping. There is
a tensioning spring that holds the belt tight, and after several years, it
tends to back off and allow the driving motor to skip a few teeth. This
throws the mechanism just far enough out of whack for the printer's own
onboard controller or the driver software to say "what?" and shut things
down. The blinking lights indicate this fault.

Sometimes, you might find that the sensing stripe (the piece of plastic
running along behind the carriage) is dirty. It can cause similar problems,
so make sure there is not a blob of ink on it. Be GENTLE when cleaning it.

And don't forget to check for any foreign objects that may really be
blocking the path of the carriage. Stuff happens...

William

On Sat, 24 Jul 2010 06:43:21 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

I'm working on an HP Deskjet 1280 printer the problem with
it is, after initializing, it I can (in most case) print a test page
from the printer but after the first print the cartridge will move to
the far right corner and make some rocking noise after which the first
two lights(the power and paper lights-green & amber light
respectively) will start blinking in unison. I have changed the two
cartridges but the problem is still there. When I try printing from
the PC I have the same problem with a "cartridge jam" message.
I have cleaned all the excess ink in the printer. Thanks.

Look inside the printer. Just above the head guide bar is a suspended
strip of plastic film. If you look carefully, it has plenty of thin
black lines. That's the optical encoder strip that the printer uses
to locate the head position. If it gets dirty, splashed with ink,
smudged with dirty fingers, or otherwise mangled, you'll have problems
similar to what you describe. You can also have problems with a dirty
photo emitter/detector assembly inside the head traveller. Clean the
strip and it might work.

Also see:
http://www.fixyourownprinter.com
--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558