LaserJet 4100 Smudgy Printouts

ThemeOne

I have an old HP LaserJet 4100 which is currently producing very smudgy prints, particularly on the left side of each page.

Last time something similar happened, I changed the toner and it was back to normal, but this time that hasn't worked.

I've gone through the Cleaning Page process a few times, and it seems there's a very slight improvement after each.

I've also tried cleaning anything obvious inside the printer with a cloth, but don't really know what I'm looking for.

Any pointers would be much appreciated.

John_Gray

You are looking for rubber rollers and flat/slightly rounded surfaces along the paper path which might have had toner deposited on them, especially on the left-hand side. Open up the plastic covers and metal guides wherever you see them.

Also take a look at the toner cartridge itself by (carefully!) opening up the cover to see the cear/slightly green roller - it may be that some toner has got deposited there.

There will be a different pattern between these two - the first will have toner deposits on the page all the way down; the second will have 'blodges' every three inches or so, as the roller rotates.

closed

toner burnt onto the fuser drum unit (not toner cartridge) is the usual cause, they get very hot, so dismantle when cool and have a look, it can sometimes be cleaned off with a soft wooden implement, eg lollipop stick, but be very careful as any slight damage to the roller will show up on prints, scrape too hard and it could make it worse.

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=bpl10271

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZMGvjbjhVk

you may need to insert the fuser back in and out a few times and shut the back cover to get at every bit of burnt toner (drum spins)

ThemeOne

To be honest I can't see anything that looks particularly dirty on the paper path.

The green roller on the cartridge has a few marks on it - a slight grey line down both sides - this is present even on the new toner.

closed

see fuser unit as above

ThemeOne

I've taken out and replaced the fuser unit, and looked inside the cavity but didn't see anything that looked amiss or particularly dirty.

closed

did you look at the fuser roller (or sheet), around the whole circumference

ThemeOne

Just an update - I managed to damage the fuser unit (entirely my own fault) and had to replace it - in the process discovering they're not cheap!

All now seems to be fine.

bluesnake

ThemeOne wrote: »

Just an update - I managed to damage the fuser unit (entirely my own fault) and had to replace it - in the process discovering they're not cheap!

All now seems to be fine.

often you can just buy the teflon coated cylinder, or bulb and replace that as ir ich much cheaper than a £200-ish compete unit