laser ink smearing

  • Thread starter Thread starter JP
  • Start date Start date
J

JP

I was hoping someone could tell me how to correct the smearing I'm getting
down the length of my printed pages.

There is now a two inch band of black running the full length of the page on
every sheet.

I can think of no changes I've made since the last time when it printed
perfectly.

I'm baffled.

It's a Lexmark Optra R if that makes any difference.

Thanks for any help.
 
I was hoping someone could tell me how to correct the smearing I'm getting
down the length of my printed pages.

There is now a two inch band of black running the full length of the page on
every sheet.
Click to expand...

Isn't this covered in the trouble shooting pages of the manual?
 
Since posting I've pulled the toner cartridge and cleaned what I could of
the drum but I'm still getting ghosting intermittently and I'm also worried
that the problem will resume if I don't know what's causing it.
 
Having just read my last response to you, I'm now curious as to what you
meant by your question.

If it was meant to be helpful . . . fair enough.

I don't know why anyone on this newsgroup would assume that all posters have
manuals.
In fact, a careful reading of postings here might find perhaps only 50% do.

Now there's a topic for a poll.
 
Having just read my last response to you, I'm now curious as to what you
meant by your question.

If it was meant to be helpful . . . fair enough.

I don't know why anyone on this newsgroup would assume that all posters have
manuals.
In fact, a careful reading of postings here might find perhaps only 50% do.

Now there's a topic for a poll.
Click to expand...

I meant the manual which comes with the printer, not the service manual.
 
JP said:
I was hoping someone could tell me how to correct the smearing I'm getting
down the length of my printed pages.

There is now a two inch band of black running the full length of the page on
every sheet.

I can think of no changes I've made since the last time when it printed
perfectly.

I'm baffled.

It's a Lexmark Optra R if that makes any difference.

Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...

Laser printers don't have "INK".


They have toner.

If you do a search at:

http://www.google.com

and use the keywords "laser printer defects",

the first hit you find is a long list of the common printing defects,
and some remarks on what causes them.
 
jbuch said:
Laser printers don't have "INK".


They have toner.

If you do a search at:

http://www.google.com

and use the keywords "laser printer defects",

the first hit you find is a long list of the common printing defects, and
some remarks on what causes them.
Click to expand...



I stand corrected on the issuue of "ink vs toner" jbuch. :-)

Hey.!..That was amazing .!! . I just clicked my mouse on that purple
ggogle thing up above and I was instantly transported to a web page that
answers everything.

You guys are truly helpful.

By the way, prior to reading your post I had tried . . .

(lexmark r laser smearing) . . . .
(laser smear) . . . .
and
(laser smearing) . . . .

But . . .
None of the hits I got were very helpful so your suggestion was better.
:-)

I did get the following however . ..!

The Cervical Smear Test
.... The gynaecologist inserts a speculum, just as for a smear and wipes the
cervix with ...
clinic, it is likely that this will be done either using the laser or a ...

Now that was interesting.!!

You are probably aware that the Lexmark cartridge is slightly different from
HP's so it was not that helpful for me to visit that page.

ah well . . . never mind.

I think I'll resign myself to using a Q-tip on it and hoping it doesn't
happen too often.
 
pete said:
I meant the manual which comes with the printer, not the service manual.
Click to expand...


Yes. somehow I assumed that's what you meant.
Sometimes people buy printers from EBay and oddly enough they don't come
with either user manuals or service manuals.

And since Lexmark's support for the older lasers such as I have is scant and
difficult to find, I thought I might try the helpful people in this group.

but thanks
 
JP said:
I was hoping someone could tell me how to correct the smearing I'm getting
down the length of my printed pages.
There is now a two inch band of black running the full length of the page on
every sheet.
I can think of no changes I've made since the last time when it printed
perfectly.
I'm baffled.
It's a Lexmark Optra R if that makes any difference.
Thanks for any help.
Click to expand...

Have you searched for a manual for it?
Have you tried working your way through the menus on the printer to see
if there is a trouble-shooting, section?
 
Not owning a Lexmark laser, I don't know exactly how their printers are
designed. By that, I mean I don't know if they have a separate toner
cartridge, developer cartridge and drum, or some combination thereof.

The problem you describe is often caused by some foreign matter getting
stuck between the drum and the toner wiper, or a damaged or deformed wiper.

Most laser printers have a silicone rubber "squeegee" that runs the
length of the drum, and removes excess toner after the print is made.
This toner is usually discarded into a waste chamber or waste bottle.

If the edge of this wiper becomes warped, distorted or is lifted by some
paper dust or contaminant, it can get lifted and a whole area of the
drum does get cleaned off. Over time, toner builds up and ends up on
the prints.

I don't know enough about the Lexmark cartridge design to know the best
fix for this. On some of my laser printers I was able to take a
business card and very gently run it across the drum and under that
wiper and remove or dislodge the foreign matter or get the wiper into
proper position once again. On some cartridges, you cannot easily get
access to the wiper, however.

There are other possible causes for this smearing, including a fouled or
damaged fuser roller, or the corona wire being dirty in one area, or
excess toner spilling during the printing process onto the paper in that
locale, but the wiper would be my first guess.

Art
 
Arthur thank you,

You've cleared it up for me.
Indeed it was the wiper I believe. The Lexmark cartridges for this model do
contain much of what normally would be handled by the printer including the
drum. ( hence their high price).

Having not had to fool around with a printer for a while I've forgotten many
of the component names but there was a rubber squeegee thingamajig that I
cleaned with a Q tip.
Successive prints are gradually improving, so though I didn't notice any
foreign matter, I must have unwittingly removed it.

Your posting has cleared up any concerns I had about the problem returning
and thank you for that.

jim.
 
Thanks Ykes,
A great resource.
I'd forgotten about them.
They've been around for a long time as I recall and I probably haven't
visited that page for four or five years.
They disappeared from my bookmarks I guess.

Anyways my problem seems gone now and Arthur from up the thread a couple of
posts verified the cause for me.

Thanks for the link.

jim
 
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