I'm slight loathe to replace the toner as this cartridge is still about 2/3 full - but is that likely the only solution? And if there's cleaning involved, I'm going to need some beginners' baby steps to follow. Thanks for your thoughts!
Streaky Laser Printer
Streaky Laser Printer
Howdy. I have a Samsung Xpress M2835DW B&W laser printer which can prints light and patchy (but still readable) text. Anything else is very messy, streaky and duplicated (as the attached scan illustrates).
I'm slight loathe to replace the toner as this cartridge is still about 2/3 full - but is that likely the only solution? And if there's cleaning involved, I'm going to need some beginners' baby steps to follow. Thanks for your thoughts!
I'm slight loathe to replace the toner as this cartridge is still about 2/3 full - but is that likely the only solution? And if there's cleaning involved, I'm going to need some beginners' baby steps to follow. Thanks for your thoughts!
Re: Streaky Laser Printer
It's difficult to say TBH, there are many moving parts in lasers, and from experience, the last time I saw a print like this is was a dirty rotating mirror.
Poor design meant that the mirror was open to the interior of the printer and picked up dust and toner while in use. This prevented the laser from imaging correctly on the drum leading to poor print quality. One mirror clean later and all was back to normal.
Of course if it uses LEDs instead, then you might just need to dust them off, but often with lasers it could be anything from spilled toner to a faulty drum or fuser.
My first instinct would be to look for spilled toner and clean it up, but be aware it is awful stuff to clean up. At one point I had a special toner vacuum for when I needed to do spillages. You can use canned air to blow out the toner, but do it outside and with a mask on to avoid inhaling the toner particles.
I'd check the paper path from tray to exit looking for dirty areas.
If you find that the toner wipes off the paper, then that could indicate the fuser isn't working well.
Poor design meant that the mirror was open to the interior of the printer and picked up dust and toner while in use. This prevented the laser from imaging correctly on the drum leading to poor print quality. One mirror clean later and all was back to normal.
Of course if it uses LEDs instead, then you might just need to dust them off, but often with lasers it could be anything from spilled toner to a faulty drum or fuser.
My first instinct would be to look for spilled toner and clean it up, but be aware it is awful stuff to clean up. At one point I had a special toner vacuum for when I needed to do spillages. You can use canned air to blow out the toner, but do it outside and with a mask on to avoid inhaling the toner particles.
I'd check the paper path from tray to exit looking for dirty areas.
If you find that the toner wipes off the paper, then that could indicate the fuser isn't working well.
Re: Streaky Laser Printer
From the ghosting on the image it looks like the printer is not discharging/ charging the drum properly before the next image lines are drawn on the drum. I had a look on the HP website, which is where a google search sent me. The troubleshooting guide was not much help. As ronin47 says a good clean may help, as well as a gentle side to side shake of the toner cartridge to distribute the toner evenly along it.
Re: Streaky Laser Printer
I've found a service manual for it and am going to attempt to take the covers off tomorrow to see what I can see.
If that doesn't help, I'll need to replace it.
If I break it, I'll need to replace it.
If that doesn't help, I'll need to replace it.
If I break it, I'll need to replace it.