Freakin' Printer?

[Balgram]

I'm just a little bit frustrated at the moment, I hope my seething rage doesn't show through too much on this post.

If anyone can direct me to a manual for my printer, I would greatly appreciate it. Heck, any advice is welcome too.

THE PROBLEM
My HP 1220 se printer refuses to print. It states "Error - Printing" and won't print any document from any source, including the Internet. All three lights are on all the time, and the printer will not print a test document. It won't do anything.

WHAT I DID RIGHT BEFORE AND AFTER
-I printed my grades from my college's website. File went through fine.
-I then copied sections of my grade report to Open Office. Attempting to print the Open Office document began the first error.
-Checked the printer. No jamming, no cables loose, paper is included. I do not know what all three lights shining means, and I can't find a reference guide (searching led me here).
-Ran through the troubleshooting guide. Did all the restarting and test printing, no luck. The printer is ignoring me. It is hooked directly to my computer.

I realize that this printer is old and no longer supported by HP, but I don't know what to do. I ran through the Troubleshooter already and it didn't fix the problem. Looking for the manual online led me here. I'll keep looking, but if nothing else I'd like to know what
all three lights on" on a HP 1220 se printer means! (Ideally I'd like to get my printer working)
=I should note this is an old family printer. It's been hooked up to my computer for a while now (at least 6 months) without any problems. No significant changes in hardware, it just went from happy in one print job to seething annoyance for another. Could the problem be Open Office related? It's the first time in a while I used Open Office, and I have had a couple problems in the past, but nothing like this.

I have Windows XP, btw.

[lordlundar]

Gah! I can't find a free service manual for the printer, so I don't know.

Sorry, I did try.:(

You are going to need someone who has access to the service manual for help.

[Balgram]

Well, thank you verra' much for trying. If anyone happens to have access to that manual, I may have to provide an offering of delicious homemade cookies, but otherwise...

Hey, maybe sleeping on it will fix the problem. :D

[Pedersen]

All three lights on doesn't mean a thing to me, but here's the steps I would take to try to resolve this.

First, let's eliminate the computer. Disconnect the computer from the printer physically. Disconnect power from the printer. Make sure the power switch is turned off. Wait one minute (60 seconds).

While waiting, open up every panel on the printer you can access without using a screwdriver. Check to see if any papers are jammed inside of it. If so, remove them, but make sure that if you have to pull any paper through that you pull in the direction the paper is meant to go. Going backwards can strip some of the gears. Re-close all panels.

60 seconds should be up by now.

Reconnect power. While holding down the online/ready/go button, flip the power switch, and wait for a moment. If the printer is physically okay, you should get a printer self-test page now.

If so, then you're in okay shape. Hardware is fine, it's just printing software that's fubar'ed. If this doesn't work, either your printer doesn't do this (unusual) or it's fubar'ed and needs replacement.

If the above works, go into Windows, Control Panel, Printers. Open the printer icon for your printer. Remove any and all print jobs. Close this section. Right-click My Computer, go to Manage. Open the event logs, and clear them out.

Shut down the computer. Shut down the printer. Reconnect printer and computer. Turn on printer, wait 30 seconds. Turn on computer. Print Windows printer test page. If this succeeds, go to OpenOffice, and resume your printing. If it failed, right-click on my computer, go through all event logs, and look for errors. The error codes there can be plugged into Google to give you answers as to why the printing is failing.

Really, though, that's about it that I know of to try to fix this. Hope it helps!

[SteeleDragon78]

sadly when our hp 1200s did this same thing we had to junk them and replace them. the repair guy said that the boards had finaly bit it. cant say that this is your issue. i rescind my last statement, and though it may not be the se version i found a 1220 c printer manual service manual (http://www.eserviceinfo.com/downloadsm/8923/HP_DeskJet%201220C.html) and user manual pdf (http://www.physik.fu-berlin.de/de/zedv/support/manuals/printer/HP1220C_Manual_Englisch_bpd07920.pdf)

[lordlundar]

Thank you Steele. The good news is that the error codes are usually identical in the series range.

The bad news, if restarting doesn't resolve the issue, the printer is having a problem that a technician is required to diagnose and repair. If you can't find one that's willing to or if it's too expensive to do so, you'll have to replace it.

I wish I had better news, but I'm afraid I don't.

[CorDarei]

is it a laserjet 1220se all-in-one?

Found the manual on HP's website here: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DocumentIndex.jsp?contentType=SupportManual&lang=en&cc=us&docIndexId=64179&taskId=101&prodTypeId=18972&prodSeriesId=295945

if that doesn't work,


goto hp.com
click on the support and troubleshooting link
type in the full model name (laserjet xxxx, or officejet xxxxx, etc)
Click on the link that is your model...
click on the link that says Manuals.

voila

edit to add

All lights are on.
----
Fatal error
Turn the printer off and then back on.
Unplug the printer for 5 minutes, and
then plug it back in.
If the printer still has an error, contact
HP Support. See Service and support.

that's what the manual says.

[SteeleDragon78]

edit to add

All lights are on.
----
Fatal error
Turn the printer off and then back on.
Unplug the printer for 5 minutes, and
then plug it back in.
If the printer still has an error, beat
with blunt object until pulverized.

that's what the manual says.

edited for my amusement

[lordlundar]

You and your blunt object solution. I mean, It's great for stress relief and all, but where's the challenge?:p

[Geek King]

You and your blunt object solution. I mean, It's great for stress relief and all, but where's the challenge?:p

Well, you could toss it in the air and hit it on the way down. Go for the distance record!

[Gurndigarn]

Hey, maybe sleeping on it will fix the problem. :D

Wellllll... if that's what floats your boat, sure, but sleeping in a bed is better for your back.

[Balgram]

Thank you EVERYONE for your suggestions. I fear my printer bit the bucket, although I sincerely hope not...

I just got back from vacation and I'll try your suggestions tonight. Fingers will be crossed, except when I'm using them to work on my printer.

On the plus side, if my printer bit the dust I can finally take it apart to see what makes it tick. I've always wondered how laser printers work.

And no, for the record, it's not all-in-one. It's just the printer.

[RichS]

I see you already posted on www.fixyourownprinter.com. I'd go with whatever they recommend - they helped me find what the problem was and fix an HP LaserJet IIP Plus, and it works like new.

[lordlundar]

Well, you could toss it in the air and hit it on the way down. Go for the distance record!

meh, .50-cal is more fun. Makes them bounce too.:devil:

[SteeleDragon78]

You and your blunt object solution. I mean, It's great for stress relief and all, but where's the challenge?:p

sorry, that was how i did non rma defective returns. get a cart full and a 20lb sledge and a pair of safety glasses and destress from a week

[Balgram]

Hey guys! Just a quick update.

I did post on fixyourprinter.com or whatever that site is, although the help you gave me was immensely more useful. I finally managed to actually sit down and take the printer apart, rather than just fiddle with the buttons and plugs.

I took it apart, couldn't find any problems, then put it back together. It works!

I blame lose wiring (I tightened that sucker up) and possibly dust. I am probably wrong about these accusations, but I don't care. It's printed 20 pages and seems to have returned to its normal state, which means I can use it as my school machine again.

Thank you for all your help guys!