Hi
Like the PCR, wiper blades can also be replaces. One does need to get
some padding power to keep from damaging the optical drum.
I still wonder how many times the wiper has been blamed for a PCR
failure.
The simptoms are similar. As I stated, there is normally a thin layer
of toner on the drum. Many think this is a wiper failure when this is
actually normal and helps to lubricate the wiper when the padding
powder is gone.
Of course, the wiper could warp or get bent and then fail.
Still, Like I said, these can be replaced and are even cheaper
than the PCR is.
As for inkjets, I prefer them for photo work but these are worse
for low usage than lasers are.
Dwight
Dwight
I seriously doubt that a wiper blade and PCR failure can be easily mistaken for
each other. In my experience a PCR failure nearly always shows repetitive
defects which are separated by a distance equal to the PCR circumference, on
rare occasions they may be scored by a foreign object. Wiper blade failures are
normally characterised by vertical defects that usually affect a portion of the
page from top to bottom. Most PCR failures are damage by something that got
into the cartridge (a speck of plastic or whatever) or a slight swelling of a
portion of the PCR (when they get old, you can usually see these when you hold
the PCR up to a strong light). I have also seen PCR's fail due to the overuse
of padding powder, this can usually be cleaned off but not always and the
average user would be unable to get at the PCR to clean it.
As you say, it is normal for a drum to have a line of toner along its length,
this is left by the wiper blade during the cleaning process and will be removed
as soon as the drum rotates.
Inkjets are, as you also say, traditionally more expensive to run than a laser
printer. That model is changing; some entry level lasers are just as expensive
as inkjets on a per page basis and some newer inkjets are competing well with
lasers for per page costs (the example I posted is one of those). So if you
choose the inkjet printer carefully, having regard to whether the printheads
are replaceable and whether they have a good warranty cover (like some HP
separate printhead inkjets), you may well find you have the best of both
worlds. In other words photo printing as well as a fast and cheap to run
monochrome printer - some manufacturers are going that way for very good
reason, the cheapness of modern lasers and the improvement in their image
reproduction is tempting many away from inkjets, so the inkjet manufacturers
are fighting back. Just my opinion.
Tony
