my printer did something weird today

[gabagoo]

Today was pretty busy and I stayed late to get some printing done for a rush job due tomorrow. I set up this small job and sent it out. I heard the printer start up and sat at the computer setting up the next job. The printer finished printing and sat idle and I ran downstairs did some laminating and came back up.

I then went to the printer to cut the job off that I had printed. I looked and didnt see anything. I thought to myself, I am losing it and must have cut it off and looked around the room as to where I put it.
I was a bit tired and realized I never took the graphics out of the printer, but where were they? I heard the head going back and forth so I know it printed.

I decided to run a test print to see and sure as %^%$ it tried to print the test strip but nothing appeared. I felt pure adrenayline run through my body and feared I have ruined my printer!!!

I decided to turn the machine off and then back on....ran the test and it printed.... so WTH happened? I have no idea, but did run 2 or 3 jobs during the day with no problems.

 

[iSign]

last month I ran 3 or 4 jobs from the same file, & on the 2nd or 3rd one... it ran a different job that I had done 6 or 8 months earlier... and that job not only wasn't in the .fs file i was outputting from, it wasn't even holding in production manager still... very freakin strange... seems something similar happened one other time, but i wasn't right there doing the job, so the second event didn't stand out as much in my memory... freakin ghosts... very funny!!

 

[Edserv]

Did you check the art sent? We've had situations with various programs where the artwork (because it was in the wrong file format, or outside the page setup) simply didn't send the data, but did make the machine print. This can make the wide-format printer run some blank or weird prints.
Hope this helps,
Chris

 

[MikePro]

i once had that happen to me... found out a couple days later that the cause was the metal cap from the capping station had stuck to the print head and musta re-logged itself back into place to mess with me.
At least I deduced that from the fact that, the second time it happened, the cap stayed stuck on the print head.

just a random occurrance to remind you who's in charge... the gremlin inside the printer.

 

[gabagoo]

Did you check the art sent? We've had situations with various programs where the artwork (because it was in the wrong file format, or outside the page setup) simply didn't send the data, but did make the machine print. This can make the wide-format printer run some blank or weird prints.
Hope this helps,
Chris

I ran the test print function which has nothing to do with the software that runs the machine and nothing appeared. Seems like the printer wanted to print but whatever controls ink flow had shut down I guess. Turning it off and then back on brought everything back to normal.

 

[daveb]

just a random occurrance to remind you who's in charge... the gremlin inside the printer.

Same thing has happened to us. How many here have had to unplug their modem or router.... plug it back in and it works, power supplies on message center radio units.... unplug them, plug them back in and it works. Computers freeze up and have to be rebooted. Why shouldn't the same thing happen with a printer?
Just sayin'

 

[Jet Fast Printing]

Well the printer is a computer if you think about it, how many times do you reboot your computer each day? Heck, I even have to reboot my Blackberry once or twice a day.

I would just thank the gremlins for not hurting the printer and forget about it.