I suggest you create your own Printer Help Folder.
Do it when you are not having any problems, so you will not be frantic if problems do occur.

My example is for my own printer the HP 697C.
You may notice that some pages say 600 series or other 690 printers, the 697C _is_ a 690C with a different number added on, the diagnostic test shows that.

Lets start with wtv information.

The help page has tips, common sense help, and the links to the manufacturer's more specialized help.

Wtv help pages

Now this is a good start, but there is more information available to us at the main HP site.

http://www.hp.com

Hp's site is huge, they have many products and they have documents for _everyting_ and they put tons of illustrations, charts, and even screen shots to explain things completely.

This is the reason the pages load so slowly.

Now, click Support from the very top tabs to start your journey, you will find six categories of help documents when you actually get to your printers home page.

Set up and Maintain had 99 documents.

Solve a Problem had 86 documents.

Use your Product had 54 documents.

Frequently Asked Questions had 5 documents.

Features and Specifications had 28 documents.

Supplies and Accesories had 18 documents.

Adding in my head, thats 290 documents!!

Whew, but do any pertain to a wtv user?

Four documents have wtv in the title.

So, the other 286 documents are really for pc users?

Yes, but a few have info we can use. I found 31 that I saved to favorites, now I will use the links add from favorites feature of our built in pagebuilder system. I will also add some other links from my printed copy of the old hp support pages.

After you've moved your favorites to the pagebuilder you can delete those folders. I use upper case symbols as folder names to keep them right at the top for easy saving, discarding.

These are the four sites that were made just for wtv users. Hp actually made a new one about which HP printers will work with which wtv unit. But keep in mind some printers require you to have accepted an upgrade. So dish users who have not received an upgrade are shut out from using the newer printers. As HP suggests, use the wtv corporate site listing of printers, it is more up to date.

Webtv specific pages at HP's main site.

More than likely you will only need to use your "knowledge base" when you have problems. The 697C is a tank which accepts almost any thickness of paper, but here are the media handling specifications:

Media Specifications

Paper: 16 to 36 lb
Envelopes: 20 to 24 lb
Cards: up to 110 lb max

In Tray: up to 100 sheets of paper.

Out tray capacity: up to 50 sheets of paper.

Paper Handling

Print Quality using glossy paper

Paper will not load

Paper Jams

Paper Feed Problems

Paper will not load, Grinding Noises, Carriage stall

HP Ink Cartridges for the 697C

Black Ink
Large 40 ml size is the HP 51629A
Small 20 ml size is the HP 51629G

Color Ink
Large 22.8 ml size is the HP 51649A
Small 11 ml size is the HP 51649G

I do not refill, even if you do you still have to buy HP cartridges every 4th or 5th time as the contact points will wear out. Ink _is_ a perishable product how long will your refill inks stay good? For that matter always check the expiration date on your cartridges, longer coded boxes might behind the ones in front, if the store rotates their stock properly.

Mostly this folder should contain using, cleaning, and maintenance info that may not be, or to supplement the info at the HP-wtv help site listed above.

Here is an odd thing I found through reading those 290 pages, if you push the banner/paper selector to banner, and do the demo test, you get a multi-lingual print out in text only, if you do not want to use color ink, just to see if the printer works.

Cleaning the Print Cartridge

HP 51649A Inkjet Print Cartridge - error message to replace

Output only black and white (no color)

Printer does not recognize one or both carts

Color cartridge prints wrong color

Ink Smearing

White lines in text or images

HP Ink Cartridge refill statement

Will Ink Fade

Ink Health risks

Cleaning Ink Stains

Does HP recycle carts?

Beginning steps

Setting up printer


Functions of the lights and buttons


Replacing Missing or Damaged parts.

Accessories and user replaceable parts.

One thing most users complain about is: Why the Printer Cable Is not in the box.

A common question is why the image on your tv does not print out as you see it. Why the printed color does not match the screen

Printing Internet Pages



Trouble shooting the problem.



A step by step guide

Troubleshooting Tree

Perform a Quick Check

Troubleshooting hp deskjet 697c printers

If your printer can print one of these demo or test pages, the problem is not the printer. It could be a wtv glitch or your connection cable. Hopefully you spent the extra 5 or 10 dollars and got the correct bi-directional cable as listed on the Printer page of this site.

Here are some tips from HP:

Some things to check on, about bad connections

(Un plug power sources first!)
Disconnect and reconnect the cable at both ends. Try a different cable, IEEE-1284, if possible.
Make sure that the cable is not longer than ten feet.
Make sure that the cable is not coiled up, draped over any other electrical devices, or located near any other source of electromagnetic interference.

Common items that can cause electromagnetic interference in poorly shielded cables include exceedingly noisy or faulty fluorescent lights, incandescent lights that are on dimmer switches, speakers in proximity to the cable, etc.
How to print a demo page

How to Print Internal Tests

As I ponted out a long time ago, the 697C gives you an audible indication, that it is working :) but..........
Printer Making Strange Noises

Cleaning Info

Clean your HP DeskJet/ The cleaning kit

Using the kit more than once

Cleaning the printer inside and out

Cleaning the Encoder Strip to reduce noise

Cleaning the Drive Roller to fix paper pick problems

Cleaning the cover

HP Help forums, Audio Help, Contact Info

Most "discontinued" printer's like the 697C cannot use a free 1-800 number to contact HP, so here is what is listed.

hp user support forums

HP Customer Care Audio Tips

WebTV - How to Send Messages to HP from WebTV