A960 Printing problem

Question

After installing a brand new black ink cartridge on my DELL A960 printer, it no longer able to print a readable page. What I got is a page full of black ink/stripes. When I tried to automatically align a print page via the Dell Printer Solution Center, I got the Automatic Alignment Problem message. It said the printer could not be automatically aligned and recommend the following actions:   - If the page is printed blank or with missing patterns, the protective tape may still be on the print cartridges. Remove the tape and try again   - If the page printed completely and the tape has been removed from both cartridges, use the Manual Alignment process instead. I double checked to ensure the protective tape has been removed on both the black and color cartridges but the printing problem still persisted. I then tried Manually Alignment process but unfortunately the printed out page for choosing the right arrow number is not readable. It just gave me bands of black stripes.   Any help in resolving this matter is greatly appreciated!

Printboy007 · Answer

I would try the following:   Remove the powerbrick from the rear or the unit and re-insert.  You might need to try this several times.   Remove and re-insert the new cartridges.   Attempt to reflash (or upgrade depending on your current version) the firmware of the A960.  You can find the latest version available for download here:   http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/format.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&SystemID=PRN_ALL_A960&os=WW1&osl=en&deviceid=5696&devlib=31&category=31&releaseid=R74710   It sounds like your A960 has a firmware 'hiccup' that is causing it to have incorrect print output.  Following the above steps could help clear it.  Hope this helps, let us know how it works out!

geek1 · Answer

try taking a clean damp cloth (no paper towls) and wiping the cart from front to back then go to the printer solution center and go to maintainace and click on clean to fix horizontal streaks if that dosent work you may have a bad cartridge

ssklc · Answer

Thanks for the prompt replies!

I tried unplugging and reinserting the powerbrick and the new cartridges but to no avail. Still got the black stripes across the printed page.

I also tried reflashing the firmware which installed successfully but the page still printed as black stripes.

I also tried the clean damp cloth approach but to no avail.

In fact, I have tried on two black cartridges, one brand new one that I purchased from DELL and the other is a refilled cartridges. Both exhibits the same behaviors and each line is printed as black stripe. My A960 printer is about 2 years old and I bought it from DELL. It hasn't been used much. Is there any other way that I can resolve this problem short of throwing the printer away? Thanks for all the help!

Printboy007 · Answer

It sounds as if you might have a problem with your A960 unit itself. :(  If you've tried two different cartridges in the same unit and you still have the same problem, I hate to say it, but it's probably a firmware/hardware problem with the A960.  If trying the steps I listed for you didn't seem to help, there isn't much left for you to try.  If you are still in warranty pursue a replacement, if not, you might want to look into a different printer.  Sorry!  Let us know how it all works out...

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A960 Printing problem

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