Ink smears on a out-of-a-box printer

[andi]

Hello everybody!

I just recently bought my first InkJet printer. Up until now I have worked only with laser printers. The device I bought is HP All-in-one OfficeJet Pro L7580. The problem I am experiencing is black ink smears after rubbing the printed text with my finger or paper tissue. And it happens regardless of the time I give it to dry (the same after one hour or one day). Of course, I use only original Vivera inks and printing heads that came in the box with the printer. I also tried using different kinds of paper which all had InkJet compliance label on them. As I don't have any previous experience with InkJets I would like to know is this normal behaviour and something I have to learn to live with or is this not supposed to happen? Is this a problem with the paper (maybe I have to buy a special kind of paper), the ink (I doubt that since it is original Vivera ink for HP printers that came in the box) or maybe some other hardware malfunction in the printer. Device is new so should I collect my warranty and send it to repair?

Thanks for all your help.

 

[ghwellsjr]

I don't know much about HP printers but this symptom of black smearing on photo paper is generally caused by using a pigment based ink on a glossy paper that was not designed for pigment ink. Most photo papers absorb the dye ink into them to make the image permanent even if it gets wet. But dye inks tend to smear on plain paper when they get wet. Pigment inks don't smear on plain paper when they get wet.

So, what happens if you print something in black on plain paper? Does it dry correctly and not smear when you rub it? Does it smear when you run water across it?

I have some questions: I notice that this printer uses separate cartridges for each color--do they all have built-in print heads or are they just tanks? Did you buy your cartridges already filled from a reliable source like a store as opposed to eBay? I'm curious why you emphasize that you are using Vivera inks--don't all cartridge for this printer from HP use Vivera ink? Have you tried the recommended HP paper?

If you are using only the original cartridges that came with the printer and if you are printing on the recommended paper and you have this smearing problem, I would take the printer back to where you bought it and get a refund. This is not supposed to happen.

[EDIT] I stopped in at a local OfficeMax to check out the L7580. It has two print heads for two colors each and tubes like in a Continuous Ink System to four ink tanks located in the lower left corner of the printer. Do a search on this forum for L7580 to see a discussion of the use of this printer as a CIS.