Tony said:
Only if it's in this newsgroup.
That was supposed to be my sig, but it accidentally ended up at the top
of the posting. There are a number of blog commentaries I have written
there regarding the nature of the printing manufacturers and how to
avoid some of their very costly business model. So no, it is not "in
this newsgroup". It's on Microsoft's Spaces Live blog site.
HP are trying to make money on the sale of additional toner cartridges. Well, I can
assure the readers that it will be some other manufacturer who will be making money
off the toner cartridges.
I'm guessing that the splotch is toner leakage from the magenta
cartridge, since it is only showing up after numerous pages. It seems
like some toner is building up somewhere and then being dumped onto the
paper. This is usually due to a seal failing, or a waste toner storage
area having become overfilled. However, the lines (your sample shows a
cyan line and a magenta) are another issue, and I would agree with Tony
(thebengaltiger) that it is likely a defect with the transfer belt, or
paper slippage due to a gear slipping a tooth, either way, under a
non-warranty situation, probably costly.
The drum that is failing is part of the cartridge.
Yes, I am aware of the fact that HP has used integrated toner cartridges
and drums for probably 25 years now and I own several HP printers (both
black and white and color), however, you mentioned the printer was
relatively new, and it was the original toner cartridge which came with
the printer. Since it was not empty, and it seems to have failed, I
would consider that a fairly premature failure, since the drum unit
should at least last the full use of the cartridge, if not several
refillings.
Although I recognize that the amount of toner being used per copy
determines when the toner will run out of any specific color cartridge,
and therefore also how many pages go through the printer, it seems to me
it would not be unreasonable to expect the drum unit to outlast the
toner fill.
HP online support have stated that it's out of warranty.
Would you mind letting us know how old is the printer, and how many
pages went through it. I think this type of information can be helpful
for people considering purchases. Hp was known as making some of the
best laser printers for years, but their reputation and reliability
seems to be slipping, and one of the values of public forums such as
this is to inform people of hands on experiences which may help others
to make better buying decisions.
I don;t know how far out of warranty the unit is, but you can sometimes
reason with customer service on these types of issues. I do recognize
that the cost of shipping may be a consideration as well.
Lastly, if all else fails, HP has a "takeback" program in the US where
they will take their own products back for recycling, usually at no or
minimal cost, if you wish to reduce the impact of discarding your printer.
Art
