On Sun, 14 Jan 2007 05:18:18 GMT, Arthur Entlich wrote:
Arthur...thanks for the extensive reply! Please see imbedded comments.
There is a slim possibility that if you changed the printer driver
(software) or software program you are printing through, that some
adjustments within the driver may need to be changed to optimize the
print quality this time around. However, there are also potential
hardware issues to consider.
Not recently...at least not that I recall since having gotten good quality
prints.
Although some brands and types of laser printers were made with separate
image drums, toner and developer units, the HP Laserjet line, to my
knowledge, never did so. That means that the same cartridge that is
replaced when the toner runs out also contains the drum.
Understand...same point as made in reply by Tony. Interesting...I didn't
know that, but with your metion of the fuser drum in a later paragraph, it
is possible that in my ignorance, I was confusing the toner drum with the
fuser drum. I'll comment on that below.
When you speak about having used this printer for a large number of
prints, do you mean that you have been using (and refilling) the same
toner cartridge over and over again? That would certainly explain the
problem, as there is a limit to how many copies one drum will produce
before requiring replacement. However, if you have been replacing the
toner cartridge fairly regularly with a new one, or even with a rebuilt
one, that should not be the problem.
I almost always replace with a new as they run out of toner. I send the
empty cartridge back to HP per their recycle program. I have just recenly
been considering using refilled cartridges. Thus, since I have been using
new HP cartridges, I've cut some of your following paragraphs as not
relevant.
As mentioned an old, heavily light exposed, or over used drum. (If you
are buying rebuilt or refilled cartridges, this open may just have a bad
drum in it)
I haven't noticed and image degradation until now witih one exception, but
have honestly not been doing any jobs that were critical enough to examine
as carefully as this one. The exception - and it's a big one - is that the
previous printing of this job - it was actually a couple of years ago and
so might well have been with a previous toner cartridge - was having a
problem with toner not sticking. On regular paper, it seemed OK, but with
the 90 lb cover stock, it was not sticking, and got worse as the printer
warmed up witih multiple consecutive printings. This then, relates to your
following paragraph.
The fuser drum (the heated drum that melts the toner onto the paper) is
a part that remains within the printer. If it is not working well, the
toner may not adhere properly or may blur or other side degrade the image.
It is possible the laser itself is failing, or the mirrors or ports have
become dirty, so the drum is not being written to correctly. A careful
cleaning of the interior of the printer (with the cartridge removed) may
help.
I can try cleaning. We live in an area that has significant spring and fall
winds, and a location where thoe winds can kick up a lot of dust. So, while
I open up my computer and dust a couple or three tiems a year, I haven't
done that with my printers. Iwill try a cleaning.
If you have a previous cartridge around, that has even a small amount of
toner within it, try rocking it back and forth to make sure the toner is
well distributed, and install that cartridge in the printer, and try to
print a copy of the file and see if the image is improved. If is is,
then you probably just have a bad cartridge. Many cartridge
manufacturers and remanufacturers will exchange a bad cartridge free of
charge.
As mentioned above, this cartridge ahs been in for some time and has been
working - though uncertain of graphics. The low print density is uniform in
graphics. To the eye, I don't see a decrease in density of characters even
under a 7X magnifier. And, the failure is not at all similar to what I've
observed when previous cartridges were running low on toner.
Thanks again for teh detailed and extensive reply. There are a few things I
can check, but it's looking more and more like I have a hardware problem of
some kind. That Brother HL-5240 that I mentioned in my reply to M.H. is
looking pretty good!
Optiker
