HP 97 printhead not moving full distance

[Paul Berger (Canada)]

That sounds a lot like a problem I had with one of my 97s that turned out to be a flaky PIK chip, when cold print was compressed and when the paper feed button was pressed, it would not move far enough to print the paper, but once it had been on for a while it printed normally. I was able to get a PIK that came from a 91 and it prints normally however the character set is not the same as in a 97.

That said cleaning and lubrication can be an issue especially the lead screw and support rods. If the idler gear between the motor and lead screw has not been replaced, it is likely rotten and can lead to erratic movement of the head as it falls apart.

Paul.