Unknown Printer

How to Identify and Fix Common Problems ?

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Dots are typically caused by foreign material inside the machine (for example paper dust, glue from labels or envelopes, paper clips, staples) sticking to or damaging the surface of the drum. Toner builds up on or sticks to these areas on the drum and creates black dots on the printed pages.
Gently wipe to clean the spot on the developer roller (use soft cotton cloth or tissue paper to clear the foreign particle only the affected spot) and then put back the toner and print a supply test page. You will not the see the dots on page.
A Machine Identification Code (MIC), also known as printer steganography, yellow dots, tracking dots or secret dots, is a digital watermark which certain color laser printers and copiers leave on every printed page, allowing identification of the device which was used to print a document and giving clues to the …
Toner Sensor

These sensors are covered with toner when the cartridge is full, then become exposed over time as you print pages and the toner level declines. When the cartridge reaches a level set by the manufacturer, your low-toner indicator will light.

Usually a quick paper setting adjustment will clear up a ghosting issue right away. Run a cleaning – Most printers have a cleaning function built into the machine. Run this a couple of times to attempt to clear up the printing issue. Inspect the drum – Sometimes excess toner powder can stick to the drum.
A printer printing lines on the page are normally caused by a blocked, dirty, or damaged print head. Blocked ink cartridge nozzles, or not removing protective seals correctly when you installed a new ink cartridge can also cause missing lines of print.
For cleaning, HP recommends using HP Equipment Cleaning Wipes, but you can use an HP-approved lint-free wipe and deionized or distilled water. Note: If dark spots appear on back side of prints, clean drum screen. Note: If minilab prints more than 2000 prints each day, clean drum screen up to twice daily.
Ghost prints happen when the drum or fuser unit within your printer become faulty. Because a fault with this element won`t heat the particles of the toner to a high enough temperature, the marks being made on the paper are much lighter in colour and appear more faded than typical documents.
Optical toner sensing. The printer directs a light beam into the toner hopper through a window (light guide). If unblocked by toner, the light exits through an opposite window and is detected by a receiver. When the optical receiver detects light a high percent- age of the time, the printer concludes that toner is low.
The most obvious sign of low toner cartridge is poor print quality. Streaking, lines or missed prints are all possible signs that cartridge replacement is imminent. If you have tried rocking the toner cartridge and are still getting poor prints, it is likely time to replace your cartridge.
A ghost printer is a deleted printer that keeps appearing and reappearing even though you`ve tried to delete it and then done a server reboot.
Shadow printing is a printing technique that creates a lighter shade of the text off centered to make the text appear to have a shadow beneath it.
Dots are typically caused by foreign material inside the machine (for example, paper dust, glue from labels or envelopes, paper clips, staples) sticking to or damaging the surface of the drum. Toner builds up on or sticks to these areas on the drum and creates black dots on the printed pages. 2.
Although dot etching can be performed in a variety of ways, dry dot etching specifically refers to the photographic overexposure of positive or negative contact films made from the halftone separation films, a procedure which enlarges or reduces the dots as desired.
A dot matrix printer (DMP) is a type of printer which uses pins impacting an ink ribbon to print. Dot matrix printers are one of the most early printers which came to the consumer market. A dot matrix printer is also known as an impact matrix printer.
Use an activated toner cloth, stretched tautly, and carefully wipe down the drum exterior to remove loose toner. Then use a cotton ball saturated with 99% pure isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. Clean any patches of stubborn toner still attached to the drum. Use toner cloth or lint-free microfiber to clean the print rollers.
Why is it important to clean a laser printer? Printing is vital to all businesses so ensuring your laser printer is thoroughly cleaned is crucial as it allows your machine to continue working efficiently. Cleaning a laser printer is easy with the correct equipment, however they are prone to dust and debris.
You can refresh the drum to improve print quality if streaks or white spots appear on printed images. Consult your service representative before using this function. Do no printing operations while the drum is being refreshed.
During the printing process, paper, toner and dust particles can accumulate inside the printer. Over time, this buildup can cause print-quality problems such as toner specks or smearing. This printer has a cleaning mode that can correct and prevent these types of problems.
A Bad Toner Cartridge

Usually associated with compatible or re-filled cartridges, a leaky cartridge deposits toner inside your printer and onto your paper in places that it`s not intended, resulting in black spots.

Paper Jams

This is a common laser printer problem. Primary causes include grime, dust, worn rollers, or incorrect paper weight. The most basic way to prevent paper jams is simply through regular cleaning of your printer. Also, replace parts as needed.

Turn off the printer and remove the toner cartridge. Look inside the printer in the area below where the cartridge goes. The toner sensor is on the right-hand side.
What is printer calibration? Calibrating a printer ensures that the inkjet cartridge nozzles and printer paper are properly aligned to each other. This process ensures that colours stay rich, clear and the finished result is of the highest quality.
Instead of liquid ink, they use solid toner, and that can have magnetic particles embedded in it with no problem. In fact, all laser printer toner is slightly magnetic – that`s how the laser directs it to the right spot on the page. It is even possible to buy MICR toner cartridges specifically for check printing.

Relevant Questions and Answers :

the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue

Toner dots fused to drum
ANSWER : You can try alcohol on a cotton pad to remove the toner. Wipe dry afterwards. If the drum does not have nicks in the coating, it should be OK.

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HP 2600n LaserJet leaking toner?
ANSWER : yes, the refill toners are about 3 times more lonely to cause quality issues.

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Expired Toner and Suggestions for Source of Toner
ANSWER : Hi Frank, I had a very similar question two weeks ago, but my “old beloved workhorse” is an HP Laserjet 4L. From the good old days! I too had made bad investments in “new but old truly HP” toner cartridges, hoping to coax more life from my printer. I ended up choosing to try a remanufactured cartridge from www.4inkjets.com. It was a gamble, but the website said they had a 100% satisfaction guarantee. And I can tell you they have lighting fast service. I’ve now printed 50 pages without a flaw. JOY! While the cartridges and technology are different, I suggest you try the same place. And good luck!

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Magenta toner smeared all over printouts
ANSWER : Forgot to add, I have a spare Fuser kit I can install but I’m guessing that won’t fix problems with magenta toner spilled all through the guts of the machine. Is it worth installing?

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How to copy a card slot in HP laserjet 4250N
ANSWER : None that I know of, using a computer is likely your best option but I never attempted it.

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What repair needs to be done for a "50 needs repair" message on an HP Laserjet IIIP?
ANSWER : I don’t know what you mean by good toner cartridges. They haven’t been built in about 10 years, so if they are new OEMs in the box, they are guaranteed to fail. The 50 error on that printer is mostly a burned out fuser lamp. This site was sold, so as you can see, there are no more kits available.

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HP Laserjet 4250 – RFU LOAD ERROR
ANSWER : Italiano:

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HP Laserjet 4200 50.2 Fuser error
ANSWER : if you are using a good fuser the next part to try would be low voltage power supply

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