HP Scanjet 6250c

  • Thread starter Thread starter Satellite Man
  • Start date Start date
S

Satellite Man

Morning,
I've scanned this group for a week and I don't find my answer yet. I have
uninstalled my scanner. Unplugged it took it apart and cleaned it. The
mirrors looked fine. The circuit boards looked fine. The carriage is in the
right position. I cleaned the glass sufficiently. When I put it back
together and install the original drivers it does the same things. It takes
10 minutes to initiate a scan regardless of power management settings. I
have a rainbow effect down the left side of the finished scan of a photo. To
scan a text document into word I get mumbojumbo. To copy a doc takes 10
minutes. I have PSPro, Caere Pagekeeper Standard 3.0. This is the software
that shipped with the machine. Yes, I always wanted for a better suite of
software but at least it worked...and then it started acting funny. The
light seems to be bright enough but the time it takes is unreal. Your help
appreciated.

TIA,
DTV
 
Satellite Man said:
Morning,
I've scanned this group for a week and I don't find my answer yet. I have
uninstalled my scanner. Unplugged it took it apart and cleaned it. The
mirrors looked fine. The circuit boards looked fine. The carriage is in
the
right position. I cleaned the glass sufficiently. When I put it back
together and install the original drivers it does the same things. It
takes
10 minutes to initiate a scan regardless of power management settings. I
have a rainbow effect down the left side of the finished scan of a photo.
To
scan a text document into word I get mumbojumbo. To copy a doc takes 10
minutes. I have PSPro, Caere Pagekeeper Standard 3.0. This is the software
that shipped with the machine. Yes, I always wanted for a better suite of
software but at least it worked...and then it started acting funny. The
light seems to be bright enough but the time it takes is unreal. Your help
appreciated.

TIA,
DTV
Click to expand...

Sounds as if the scanner needs to be sent for repair.

Contact HP support and ask. (USA)
http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/contact_us.html
 
Thanks for your assessment.

Satellite Man said:
Morning,
I've scanned this group for a week and I don't find my answer yet. I have
uninstalled my scanner. Unplugged it took it apart and cleaned it. The
mirrors looked fine. The circuit boards looked fine. The carriage is in
the
right position. I cleaned the glass sufficiently. When I put it back
together and install the original drivers it does the same things. It
takes
10 minutes to initiate a scan regardless of power management settings. I
have a rainbow effect down the left side of the finished scan of a photo.
To
scan a text document into word I get mumbojumbo. To copy a doc takes 10
minutes. I have PSPro, Caere Pagekeeper Standard 3.0. This is the software
that shipped with the machine. Yes, I always wanted for a better suite of
software but at least it worked...and then it started acting funny. The
light seems to be bright enough but the time it takes is unreal. Your help
appreciated.

TIA,
DTV
Click to expand...

Sounds as if the scanner needs to be sent for repair.

Contact HP support and ask. (USA)
http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/contact_us.html
 
Satellite Man said:
Morning,
I've scanned this group for a week and I don't find my answer yet. I have
uninstalled my scanner. Unplugged it took it apart and cleaned it. The
mirrors looked fine. The circuit boards looked fine. The carriage is in
the
right position. I cleaned the glass sufficiently. When I put it back
together and install the original drivers it does the same things. It
takes
10 minutes to initiate a scan regardless of power management settings. I
have a rainbow effect down the left side of the finished scan of a photo.
To
scan a text document into word I get mumbojumbo. To copy a doc takes 10
minutes. I have PSPro, Caere Pagekeeper Standard 3.0. This is the software
that shipped with the machine. Yes, I always wanted for a better suite of
software but at least it worked...and then it started acting funny. The
light seems to be bright enough but the time it takes is unreal. Your help
appreciated.

TIA,
DTV
Click to expand...

I have the 6250 scanner with sheet feeder and have had the same problems as
you and many others - banding down one side, long warm up and eventually no
scans at all. I have had similar problems with other HP scanners.
The symptoms you describe indicate dirty mirrors and possibly a dirty CCD.
Other possibilities are a weak lamp or a lamp that is discolored at one end.
I worked for a certain company servicing digital scanners for over 10 years
and dirty optics were the main cause of problems with their scanners.
You said the mirrors "looked" fine. The scanner has 3 mirrors. Did you take
each one out and inspect them?
When you cleaned the glass, did you notice a "film" of dirt on the underside
of the glass? If that much dirt is on the glass, you can bet it is also on
the mirrors. In order to see the "film" on the mirrors you have to look at
them from the right angle.

Mack
 
I really appreciate the solid information Mack. I'll go back and clean the
mirrors now because yes, there was a black film on the underside of the
glass. You have indicated 3 issues. The mirrors, the CCD, and the light. Are
the light and the CCD serviceable? And if so will those three items cause a
slow scan speed. It seems unlikely however I have no experience in this area
of hardware. Can you direct me to some informative reading? The HP website
is obviously the bastion of non-information. Again, I appreciate your
assistance.

HAGD,
DTV

Satellite Man said:
Morning,
I've scanned this group for a week and I don't find my answer yet. I have
uninstalled my scanner. Unplugged it took it apart and cleaned it. The
mirrors looked fine. The circuit boards looked fine. The carriage is in
the
right position. I cleaned the glass sufficiently. When I put it back
together and install the original drivers it does the same things. It
takes
10 minutes to initiate a scan regardless of power management settings. I
have a rainbow effect down the left side of the finished scan of a photo.
To
scan a text document into word I get mumbojumbo. To copy a doc takes 10
minutes. I have PSPro, Caere Pagekeeper Standard 3.0. This is the software
that shipped with the machine. Yes, I always wanted for a better suite of
software but at least it worked...and then it started acting funny. The
light seems to be bright enough but the time it takes is unreal. Your help
appreciated.

TIA,
DTV
Click to expand...

I have the 6250 scanner with sheet feeder and have had the same problems as
you and many others - banding down one side, long warm up and eventually no
scans at all. I have had similar problems with other HP scanners.
The symptoms you describe indicate dirty mirrors and possibly a dirty CCD.
Other possibilities are a weak lamp or a lamp that is discolored at one end.
I worked for a certain company servicing digital scanners for over 10 years
and dirty optics were the main cause of problems with their scanners.
You said the mirrors "looked" fine. The scanner has 3 mirrors. Did you take
each one out and inspect them?
When you cleaned the glass, did you notice a "film" of dirt on the underside
of the glass? If that much dirt is on the glass, you can bet it is also on
the mirrors. In order to see the "film" on the mirrors you have to look at
them from the right angle.

Mack
 
Satellite Man said:
I really appreciate the solid information Mack. I'll go back and clean the
mirrors now because yes, there was a black film on the underside of the
glass. You have indicated 3 issues. The mirrors, the CCD, and the light.
Are
the light and the CCD serviceable? And if so will those three items cause
a
slow scan speed. It seems unlikely however I have no experience in this
area
of hardware. Can you direct me to some informative reading? The HP website
is obviously the bastion of non-information. Again, I appreciate your
assistance.

HAGD,
DTV
Click to expand...

Parts such as the CCD and lamp will only be available to HP service centers.
Even finding a part number without a parts manual will be difficult.
The cost of replacing those parts will probably be worth as much as a new
scanner.
The HP website lists a scan lamp assembly but it is not availble to buy -
http://partsurfer.hp.com/cgi-bin/sp...d=&callingsite=&strsrch=&keysel=Lamp&catsel=?

Anyways, it is not very likely that the lamp or CCD are defective. The most
likely cause is dirty mirrors. They seem to attract particulates from the
air. Don't smoke around your scanner.

One option is to take it to an authorized dealer to get it cleaned, at
approx $75 / hour.

The other option is to have a go at cleaning the mirrios yourself, if you
are confident of your DIY skills.
You might want to take a few digital photos as you disassemble to help you
remember how it all goes back together!

The lamp is very delicate and I would leave it alone. Certainly don't put
any pressure on it that would bend it or it will probably snap into many
little pieces. A light wipe with a soft artists paint brush along the lamp
and the reflector underneath and a few squirts of air to blow any dust
away. Possibly one very gentle swipe along the top of the lamp with a moist
cloth and another gentle swipe to remove any water streaks.

The first step is to remove the whole scanner assembly from the rails. A
positioning block/slider will need to be removed.
There is a tensioning spring attached to the scaner drive belt that needs to
be romoved..
Leave the flat data cable connected, unless you want to take the metal
housing off of the circuit board. Static is a problem if you do this and you
could zap the circuit board or the CCD. I have done that a few times :(

There are 3 mirrors in my 6250 - one long one and two short ones. To clean
the long one, the lamp assembly has to be carefully removed and moved to one
side. Careful with the wires to the lamp as twisting them could snap the
lamp.

Then the mirrors need to be removed. They are held in place by little metal
clips which are hard to get off and even harder to get back on while keeping
the mirrors in the right position and not breaking them or getting a
fingerprint on them.
You will need some sort of long thin hook or tiny screwdriver to release
them.
If you are really careful, you might be able to clean the long mirror while
it is still attached. This will likely be the one that is most dirty. You
could possibly stop there and reassemble the scanner and try it out, as you
will definitely have to remove the 2 small mirrors to clean them, but since
they are more shielded by the scanner housing, there is less chance that
they are very dirty.
On my scanner, the long mirror had oil at one end which had come from the
scanner rail, and was obviously the main cause of my problems. The other
mirrors were slightly contaminated with a smokey film.

Cleaning the mirrors is also delicate. You do not want to scratch the front
reflecting surface. Use very soft lint free cleaning wipes, such as for eye
glases. Ammonia (windex) or isopropol alcohol based cleaners will leave a
film on the mirrors which you don't want. If the mirrors are 'greasy', eg
tobacco smoke or oil, you will initially have to use those types of cleaner
to get the contamination off. Follow that with a wipe with plain or
distilled water to remove residue from the first cleaning. A final dry wipe
to remove any film that remains. Blow off any dust before reassembly.

The CCD is also well protected by the housing making it hard to clean, but
also less likely that it is dirty. I would leave it alone unless all else
fails. It can easily be zapped by static.

I have just found a website that may be useful to you. It has pictures and
instructions for cleaning an HP 5p. The scanner head on that model is
arranged differently than a 6250, but otherwise there is some good advice
there.
http://willshak.com/scanner/

Good luck!
Mack
 
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