V505 Alignment Problem

kurtnews,

Take out the Dell Series Cartridges. Shake them and then reseat them. Sometimes it jars the sensor into working. I got a false reading on on one of my cartridges and shaking it seemed to work.

Rick

I am having the same problem.  Printer "prints" but no ink to paper.  As far as I can tell, there is ink.  I have re-seated the cartridges several times.  

backstory: haven't used this printer in 6-8 months.  First thing I did was clean the printheads on the cartridges.  The printer ink status says black is ok, color low.  Even if there was a tiny bit of ink, I should see something but the paper comes out completely clean and free of smudges or anything.

I unplugged, removed the power brink for a minute or 2, still get the alignment error and no ink on page.

I'm doing all of this from the printer menu, the printer is not plugged in to computer or wireless.

I'll try a firmware update which I see is available.

Any other thoughts out there?

Thanks!

markvb76,

You can unplug the printer from the wall. The remove the power brick from the back if the printer for 60 seconds. This will reset any error messages the printer is getting.

I would tro taking each cartridge out and shake them, the  reseat them. My suspicions are that the cartridges have dried up and/or the sensor is getting a false reading. You'll probably have to replace the Dell ink cartridges, since they have been sitting for over 6 months.

Rick

Rick -

Thanks for the prompt reply and the advice.

I tried unplugging and removing the power brick several times, but the alignment error still occurs.  The test page doesn't indicate an alignment problem (fold on dotted line, dot lines up in center of circle) so at this point the error is just an annoyance to me.  An annoyance I can live with to not buy a new printer.

All-in-all, I have not much good to say about this printer.  I have never had a smooth time with it and I have only once in 2 years been able to use it via wireless.  I've given up trying that, for now.  However, the scanner is good and I actually used the fax feature twice.  I have an extremely reliable 7 year old HP mono laser, so the V505 is only for the occasional photo and some graphics proofs.

Anyway, I will first try cheap ink refills then I will try a black Dell brand cartridge.

I will try to remember to follow up.

thanks again Rick "pudgyone"

Mark

Mark,

Just thinking that maybe this print job is stuck in the queue. Try running Delete Print Jobs and see if it removes it.

Rick

Rick: This is my first visit to the forum. I also have been having a problem with error messages on cartridge alignment and removing the "tape."  Put in new cartridge and same error message. Just tried your suggestion to shake the cartridge and it appears for now that it solved the problem. Thanks for the suggestion. Dunmoore

Rick,

I'm having this exact issue with my printer only nothing is working to correct it. My black ink was low so I replaced it and now keep getting the alignment/tape on cartridge error message. I've unplugged it, reset everything, shook the cartridges.... I'm ready to throw it out the window. Any other trouble shooting suggestions?

Thank you-

Nicole

Nicole,

Are you using the Dell Series Ink cartridges? If yes, then it can be a bad sensor in the cartridge. Take to the place of purchase for a replacement,

Rick

Rick,

I put in a different Dell Series Ink cartridge and get the same error.

Nicole

Nicole,

See if this works.

If you unplug the printer from the wall and remove the power brick for 60 seconds, this will reset any error messages the printer has. I would then plug everything back in.

Power on the printer. 

Open the printer(with the power on) and take out the Dell black cartridge and then reseat it. I would then take out the color Dell ink cartridge and reseat it. Now close the printer and it will print an alignment page.

Any error messages?

black cartridge = black side(left side)          color cartridge = color side(right side)

photo cartridge = black side(left side)          color cartridge = color side(right side)

Dell ink cartridges have a sensor in them that cannot be reset. Article on refilling Dell ink cartridges.

Dell ink cartridges can be purchased at Staples, Walmart or Dell's Website.

It's possible to get a Dell ink cartridge with a bad sensor. I would take these back to the place of purchase for a replacement or a refund.

Rick

Nicole,

Glad you got it working! :emotion-21: Thanks for posting back. Usually it prints only one alignment page. I'm thinking that there were stuck print jobs in the queue. I have people run Delete Print Jobs to remove any stuck print jobs in the queue.

Take care,

Rick

Rick,

I think my printer was trying to annoy me. I did all of the things you suggested and it still didn't work so I unplugged it and left it alone for a while. I came back, reattached the power cord, plugged it in and it started to print the alignment page (it's printed about 17 so far today, grrr) but I paused the printer in the middle of the print, opened the top, closed it and it started to finish the print job. I cancelled it, it said 'print job cancelled' on the screen and the error message disappeared. I quickly went to my computer to print something and it worked! I don't know what happened but I'm not touching or moving that thing again!

Thanks for your time, tips and ideas!

Nicole

Rick, thanks for all your tips.  I tried them all and nothing seemed to work. After printing about 3 dozen alignment pages, it suddenly stopped printing them.  When it came time to replace the cartridges, I ordered new ones from Dell.  And - it's begun printing alignment pages again.  No matter what I do the printer says there's an alignment problem.  Is there anything else anyone can think of to eliminate this problem?  It wants to print an alignment page for every print job I do.  Ugh!  Please help!

kurtnews,

These are always alignment pages, correct? If not, try running Delete Print Jobs on your computers to make sure to remove any print jobs pending.

Rick