Probable Printer Cartridge Problem, Red HP Color LaserJet 1600 printer cartridge at fault? Options

[Florin]

Hey guys! I don't specialise too much in fixing printers and I've been having this problem for a while now (~3 months) with my LaserJet Color printer right after moving it from the upstairs office to my computer room downstairs so that all wireless laptops around the house can print wirelessly through the network, going through my desktop computer now connected to it downstairs.

So, I thought it'd be easier for everyone wanting to print something to print through the network rather than having to go upstairs, connect the USB wire to their laptops and print, so I moved the chunky ol' printer downstairs. I don't know what I did, I didn't bump it or anything.. Ever since we moved it downstairs, its red cartridge doesn't stop playing up and shows a red streak vertically down the page. I tried wiping the plastic drum (?) but I guess the line would have appeared on the back of the page if the drum was dirty.

At times all the other colors (black too) play up as well and show four thick horizontal lines of each color. Unfortunately, I don't have screenshots of that because I keep throwing pages away if that happens and it hasn't happened in around a month now so I cannot reproduce the symptom and I don't know what made that happen and what made it stop. But I do have a picture of the thin, vertical red line.


I have not tried replacing the red cartridge yet; toner is expensive. The fact that the other colors played up too before doesn't encourage me either.

Has anyone had this problem before and have any sort of advice or fact about the situation? Will it serve better if I just invest in a new printer altogether maybe? Or is the printer not at fault but the cartridge is? How about refilling cartridges in the UK? Any good, or is that what is causing my problem?

PS. For those British people out there, I used "color" instead of "colour" to keep it consistent with the name of the printer!

[MaD_cOw]

PS. For those British people out there, I used "color" instead of "colour" to keep it consistent with the name of the printer!

Haha, I don't have to be British to notice that alternate spelling

Well maybe running the diagnostic software that came in your printer's printing suit might re-align the heads, but that would only be for an inkjet printer.

Since yours is a laser, I am at a loss to what caused this.
Anyhow, you seem to be in the clear since it hasn't happened since.
I suggest you don't move the printer again.

-Craig

[Florin]

Haha, I don't have to be British to notice that alternate spelling

Well maybe running the diagnostic software that came in your printer's printing suit might re-align the heads, but that would only be for an inkjet printer.

Since yours is a laser, I am at a loss to what caused this.
Anyhow, you seem to be in the clear since it hasn't happened since.
I suggest you don't move the printer again.

-Craig

No, it hasn't stopped happening! The multi-colored horizontal lines have stopped but the red vertical line is still doing it which is annoying! The line shown in the picture attached in post #1! I've tried to "Calibrate Color" in system settings on the printer and it does that but never affects the vertical line. It would help, in the past, to get rid of the horizontal lines for a while, and right at the beginning, even the vertical one. But now that does nothing and I have a permanently-moved-in streak that adapts itself to every page that comes out of its printing mouth! Annoying, once again!

Thanks for the reply, though! It looks like this whole forum is dormant! I'm subcribed to a topic and rarely does anyone ever post any threads anymore!

PS. Wow! I've had to significantly reduce the amount of emoticons because apparently this board doesn't allow too many emoticons in messages..

[bobhome]

No, it hasn't stopped happening! The multi-colored horizontal lines have stopped but the red vertical line is still doing it which is annoying! The line shown in the picture attached in post #1! I've tried to "Calibrate Color" in system settings on the printer and it does that but never affects the vertical line. It would help, in the past, to get rid of the horizontal lines for a while, and right at the beginning, even the vertical one. But now that does nothing and I have a permanently-moved-in streak that adapts itself to every page that comes out of its printing mouth! Annoying, once again!

Thanks for the reply, though! It looks like this whole forum is dormant! I'm subcribed to a topic and rarely does anyone ever post any threads anymore!

PS. Wow! I've had to significantly reduce the amount of emoticons because apparently this board doesn't allow too many emoticons in messages..

Hi,
Try resetting to factory conditions Look Here I think it works for the 1600 as well.
I had a similar problem with my hp c7280 photosmart, it was because I had unplugged it while it was switched on. the cold reset cured all my problems.

This post has been edited by bobhome: Apr 7 2010, 03:51 PM

[Florin]

Hi,
Try resetting to factory conditions Look Here I think it works for the 1600 as well.
I had a similar problem with my hp c7280 photosmart, it was because I had unplugged it while it was switched on. the cold reset cured all my problems.

That doesn't work. It's not the printer but the cartridge. Yesterday I came across this while searching google on how to disassemble a toner cartridge:
https://www.oddparts.com/ink/hp-4.htm
According to this, my OPC Drum and PCR roller (in the cartridge itself) have grown old and need replacing.

The OPC Drum has a typical life of 10,000 to 15,000 pages. As the OPC Drum grows old, it begins to show two signs of aging:

• It doesn't hold a charge well. This causes the printed pages to be light, even when plenty of toner is present.
• A distinctive mark appears on every printed page at intervals of about 3 to 4 inches. (The exact distance is the same every time for a given printer, and is the circumference of the OPC Drum).

If either of these conditions becomes annoying, it is time to change the OPC Drum.

...

If the PCR is bad, the most common problem is that the printed page will have a regular mark every 1 to 1 and 1/2 inches (4 to 6 mm). The exact distance depends on the circumference of the PCR.

The PCR roller is smaller in circumference than the OPC drum so that's why the distances of the distinctive marks are closer together.
I have the OPC's first symptom. The red print on the left side of the page is a bit fainter than the rest.
Before the solid line started appearing on pages, I used to just get distinctive marks every inch and a bit right down the page. Now that obviously turned into a solid line for some reason or another, but I'm quite convinced that this line problem is because of faulty (or aging) cartridge. It also makes sense because that's the only one that's been refilled at Cartridge World; it has their sticker on it. The rest are originals.

If I'm right, then the next time we replace (not refill) this cartridge, the problem should vanish! We'll see if it does. I'll let you guys know if it does. (I'm pasting a link to this thread on my desktop so I won't forget!)

[Florin]

Alright, my mom just found out we had a new red cartridge laying around so I broke the seal to that and replaced it and after it did all its duties of calibrating and all after a new cartridge is inserted, I printed out a test page and the line wasn't there anymore! Woohoo!!

Ok, the line (or distinctive marks) were because of the PCR roller and OPC drum in the red toner cartridge.

Now, when I printed my test page, the magenta was kind of faded and I read somewhere that you have to print out a few pages of the color to start it off. So in Word I made a rough magenta-colored rectangle and sent it to the printer and found out that it's printing like 60-70% opacity and the left side gradually gets more and more faded. I hope these are just the symptoms of newly installed cartridges.

If you guys know anything about these symptoms, please elaborate here. Thank you!