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Printer and Photocopier Troubleshooting and Repair Collection : HP 600 series DeskJet printer smears eve..  
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HP 600 series DeskJet printer smears even with new cartridge

(From: Bill Rothanburg (william.rothanburg@worldnet.att.net).)

I had a similar problem with a HP 693C. The problem was the spacing between the paper and the carriage. A suggestion: if you're not mechanically adept, don't tackle this, get someone who works on printers to lend a hand.

I have not taken my 600C apart, and will not do so unless it fails, so the following information is based on the 693C, a similar printer.

The top cover is held in place by some latches, and a couple of screws under the paper tray. Be careful while tipping the printer, there is a catch-basin for the ink, and if this spills you will have ink dripping inside the printer. Remove the upper cover. Be careful with the thin cable to the electronics board. At this point you should be able to check for any gobs of ink that have turned to paste. Clean the dried ink off of everything, especially the bottom of the carriage, and print a test page. If it still smears, it's time to try adjusting the carriage height.

On the 693C the carriage slides on a rod that runs the width of the printer. The anchors consist of a screw through a slotted hole. On the one I fixed, the screws had obviously been loosened (they're torx screws, and it was obvious that something such as a jeweler's screwdriver had been used on them). Anyway, loosen the screw at one end, lift the rod slightly, and retighten. Print a test page, and repeat if it still smears. Of course, if it now smears only at the other end, it's time to switch ends.

I'm sure at the factory they use a gauge to adjust this to within a micron but the empirical approach worked for me.