Re: LaserJet 4100n problem
Well... Last night I took the fuser out... Didn't see a single wire running the length of the thing? Did I miss something? But there were four or five sets (4 each) of thin feeler type wires sticking up, where they'd touch the paper. Many seemed to have bits of schmutz stuck on their ends. I cleaned that off then carefully cleaned the dust/crud out of every place I could reach. It seems to have made a big difference! The light bar is now narrower and less light, barely noticeable. Going to run a few more cleaning cycles to see if that helps more. - Dan. -- - Psychoceramic Emeritus; South Jersey, USA, Earth. -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: LaserJet 4100n problem
Good reason There ain't one. The 'fuser' is a HOT surface to 'fuse' (melt the toner [finely ground plastic] into the surface of the paper. The 'charging wires' are next to the 'imaging drum' --- [photoactive surface that receives toner to form image] [NO fingers on drum surface please] Photo-drum surface may be cleaned gently with alcohol and a soft cloth. Chuck Davis On Dec 7, 2009, at 11:08 AM, Dan wrote: Well... Last night I took the fuser out... Didn't see a single wire running the length of the thing? Did I miss something? But there were four or five sets (4 each) of thin feeler type wires sticking up, where they'd touch the paper. Many seemed to have bits of schmutz stuck on their ends. I cleaned that off then carefully cleaned the dust/crud out of every place I could reach. It seems to have made a big difference! The light bar is now narrower and less light, barely noticeable. Going to run a few more cleaning cycles to see if that helps more. - Dan. -- - Psychoceramic Emeritus; South Jersey, USA, Earth. -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: LaserJet 4100n problem
On Dec 3, 10:50 am, Bruce Johnson john...@pharmacy.arizona.edu wrote: The problem with cheap color laser printers is that you pretty much buy the thing all over again (and then some) every time you replace the toner; and they ship with low capacity starter cartridges. Then I priced the frakking toner: $465 to replace all 4 colors with hi capacity cartridges (2.5K pages). It was $265 to replace 'em with normal capacity cartridges (rated at 0.5K pages...yep 500 pages. The cartridges were about the size of a baseball.). Supplies are definitely an issue to consider, as well as duty cycle (which Len mentioned in a later post). The Kyocera, which I purchased, comes with half-full toner cartridges which are rated for 2000 pages (3000 for black) each. The retail cartridges, which cost about $80 each, are rated for 4000 pages for color and 6000 pages for the black. So, yes, it would cost more than the printer to replace all four toners ($320 vs. $200) but the printer as shipped comes with plenty of toner capacity and the price for replacements is in the ballpark. $80 for 6000 pages for black is pricier than one would pay for an after-market cartridge for a popular printer model, but not a lot more. And compared to common inkjet printers the supplies are wildly less expensive. However, with the additional information Dan provided, it was not a helpful suggestion. He's clearly got a printer for each job. My suggestion was more geared to the typical home user who wants one printer to do everything. For me, the Kyocera is great because we print very little color. Inkjets clog up when ignored for months at a time and sometimes months go by without color printing in our household. So laser color is great for the infrequent color user. Of course, with the lower supply costs, laser color is great for the frequent color user too. :-) Jeff Walther -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: LaserJet 4100n problem
On Dec 2, 3:13 pm, Lawrence David Eden lde...@comcast.net wrote: I had similar issues with an Apple LaserSelect 360. I tried several new toner cartridges/ I cleaned everything.twice, but no joy. I hated to part with my faithful servant after so many good years, but I gave in and bought a Lexmark Laser printer. If I learned anything from this episode it was that printers are not worth the time and trouble to fix. In the long run, it would have been far easier and much less expensive to just buy a new printer. Last year about this time three or four models of Color Laser Printer were available from $200 - $300 with free shipping, and ethernet and postscript built in. The most difficult thing was deciding which model was the best choice... For me it came down to choosing between the Xerox Phaser 6180N (or was that 6280N) and the Kyocera EPS C170N. There was also a Brother model available. What finally decided me was that the Kyocera was $50 cheaper and has AppleTalk protocol support (AppleTalk over Ethernet, not LocalTalk media), whereas the Xerox printer only listed TCP/IP. I had some reason to suspect that the Xerox had AppleTalk support and just forgot to list it on the datasheet, but I don't remember the reason for that suspicion. Perhaps similar deals will be available this year. Of course, if you're pleased with a black laser printer, even better deals are often available. The tricky part is making sure you're getting the connectivity and protocol support that you want. Sellers are often cavalier about listing such details and a trip to the manufacturer's website becomes necessary. Jeff Walther -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: LaserJet 4100n problem
At 2:02 PM -0600 12/2/2009, Ralph Green wrote: It sure sounds like a dirty fuser. On a different model Laserjet, I solved a similar problem by cleaning the fuser wire. Is your fuser wire exposed, so you can run a cotton cloth down it? They are pretty fragile, so you want to do that with a light touch. Dirty fuser seems to be the consensus (incl private replies). I'm poking around now for directions on how to get to it. Should be interesting; I've never been in a laser printer's guts before. This could be fun and/or messy. (Hopefully I'll have no leftover parts!) At 8:02 AM -0800 12/3/2009, t...@io.com wrote: On Dec 2, 3:13 pm, Lawrence David Eden wrote: If I learned anything from this episode it was that printers are not worth the time and trouble to fix. In the long run, it would have been far easier and much less expensive to just buy a new printer. Last year about this time three or four models of Color Laser Printer were available from $200 - $300 with free shipping, and ethernet and postscript built in. Trying to avoid buying a new printer right now. It's already been a very expensive season - rv repairs, car repairs, cat repairs, giant price hikes on meds, ... We also have two other printers on our house network: A (dying) Epson inkjet and the Evil Smelly Crayon Pooper (a Xerox Phaser 8400DP wax printer). So if I can't fix the LaserJet, there's no big rush to replace it. sigh I'm not a big fan of printer shopping. Cost of a new fuser vs economy of a newer printer. blech. What finally decided me was that the Kyocera was $50 cheaper and has AppleTalk protocol support (AppleTalk over Ethernet, not LocalTalk media), whereas the Xerox printer only listed TCP/IP. We do both TCP/IP and AppleTalk. Just using the AT for older Macs (non OS X) now. - Dan. -- - Psychoceramic Emeritus; South Jersey, USA, Earth. -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: LaserJet 4100n problem
On Dec 3, 2009, at 9:02 AM, t...@io.com wrote: Last year about this time three or four models of Color Laser Printer were available from $200 - $300 with free shipping, and ethernet and postscript built in. The problem with cheap color laser printers is that you pretty much buy the thing all over again (and then some) every time you replace the toner; and they ship with low capacity starter cartridges. A couple of years ago I contemplated a Xerox printer that a professor here got for $189 on a super deal. Really sweet sharp output, it was small, quiet, fast... Then I priced the frakking toner: $465 to replace all 4 colors with hi capacity cartridges (2.5K pages). It was $265 to replace 'em with normal capacity cartridges (rated at 0.5K pages...yep 500 pages. The cartridges were about the size of a baseball.). Ironically, one of the cheapest printers (in terms of output per consumables) we have gotten has been our $12K HP large format inkjet. 1200 DPI up to 53 wide and as long as the paper roll lasts (they use printers like these to print billboards), but when we first got it we ordered a second set of ink tanks because, well, it was an INKJET, duh, and we would crank through ink at inkjet rates. Those ended up being nearly a two year supply, printing hundreds of posters... -- Bruce Johnson University of Arizona College of Pharmacy Information Technology Group Institutions do not have opinions, merely customs -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: LaserJet 4100n problem
At 11:38 AM -0500 12/3/2009, Dan wrote: At 2:02 PM -0600 12/2/2009, Ralph Green wrote: It sure sounds like a dirty fuser. On a different model Laserjet, I solved a similar problem by cleaning the fuser wire. Is your fuser wire exposed, so you can run a cotton cloth down it? They are pretty fragile, so you want to do that with a light touch. Dirty fuser seems to be the consensus (incl private replies). I'm poking around now for directions on how to get to it. Should be interesting; I've never been in a laser printer's guts before. This could be fun and/or messy. (Hopefully I'll have no leftover parts!) I found this http://www.printertechs.com/tech/mkinst/mk-4100-2fuser.php which has step by step and pictures. Looks MUCH easier than I expected! - Dan. -- - Psychoceramic Emeritus; South Jersey, USA, Earth. -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: LaserJet 4100n problem
On Dec 3, 2009, at 11:38 AM, Dan wrote: Dirty fuser seems to be the consensus (incl private replies). I'm poking around now for directions on how to get to it. Should be interesting; I've never been in a laser printer's guts before. This could be fun and/or messy. (Hopefully I'll have no leftover parts!) Fuser wires normally are pretty easy to get to. Basically if you open it up enough places for a paper jam and look hard enough you will eventually see the fuser wire. Last year about this time three or four models of Color Laser Printer were available from $200 - $300 with free shipping, and ethernet and postscript built in. The difference is that a 4100 (or any HP 4xxx series) is a heavy duty workhorse workgroup printer compared to the entry level color or HP 1xxx series. So besides the consumable issue, there is the duty cycle. That 4100 will crank through 10,000 pages a month with no problem, where that $200 color laser may get 1,000 pages per month. Len -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
LaserJet 4100n problem
Hi, Hoping someone can point me here... Our LaserJet 4100n is having some print problems -- light areas on the pages, schmutzy dots, some light vertical bars. M'housemate thought it was a toner cartridge issue, so he tried two others (not new) - didn't fix. I grabbed the original toner cart (real HP), tipped it a bit, and put it back in. That made the pages print evenly (yea, the toner level is low), but still with some schmutz and several vertical light bars. Then I followed the directions in the manual... Printed the cleaning page, used the cleaning page, printed a test. Immediately schmutz went away! Five more cleaning pages later, and all the light bars except one have gone away. That remaining bar is about 1/8 wide, 3 3/4 from the right edge of the paper; light but annoying. It's quality has not changed at all, during the last couple of cleanings. What should I try next? Is this a fuser problem? Or is this a roller problem? Or? If it's a roller, how do I figure out which one? How do I get in there to clean? I've been looking for some sort of doc online that shows the internal guts of the thing, but so far nada. According to the printer's web interface, the maintenance kit is at 67% and the HP toner cart is at 4%. Thanks, - Dan. -- - Psychoceramic Emeritus; South Jersey, USA, Earth. -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: LaserJet 4100n problem
Howdy, It sure sounds like a dirty fuser. On a different model Laserjet, I solved a similar problem by cleaning the fuser wire. Is your fuser wire exposed, so you can run a cotton cloth down it? They are pretty fragile, so you want to do that with a light touch. Good luck, Ralph On Wed, 2009-12-02 at 14:50 -0500, Dan wrote: Hi, Hoping someone can point me here... Our LaserJet 4100n is having some print problems -- light areas on the pages, schmutzy dots, some light vertical bars. ... That remaining bar is about 1/8 wide, 3 3/4 from the right edge of the paper; light but annoying. It's quality has not changed at all, during the last couple of cleanings. What should I try next? Is this a fuser problem? -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: LaserJet 4100n problem
On Dec 2, 2009, at 11:50 AM, Dan wrote: Our LaserJet 4100n is having some print problems -- light areas on the pages, schmutzy dots, some light vertical bars. M'housemate thought it was a toner cartridge issue, so he tried two others (not new) - didn't fix. I grabbed the original toner cart (real HP), tipped it a bit, and put it back in. That made the pages print evenly (yea, the toner level is low), but still with some schmutz and several vertical light bars. Then I followed the directions in the manual... Printed the cleaning page, used the cleaning page, printed a test. Immediately schmutz went away! Five more cleaning pages later, and all the light bars except one have gone away. That remaining bar is about 1/8 wide, 3 3/4 from the right edge of the paper; light but annoying. It's quality has not changed at all, during the last couple of cleanings. What should I try next? Is this a fuser problem? Or is this a roller problem? Or? If it's a roller, how do I figure out which one? How do I get in there to clean? I've been looking for some sort of doc online that shows the internal guts of the thing, but so far nada. This is a known problem for the LaserJet 4100. Take a look at the following, and possibly buy their self-repair kit: http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/kits/HP/K77 -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
Re: LaserJet 4100n problem
I had similar issues with an Apple LaserSelect 360. I tried several new toner cartridges/ I cleaned everything.twice, but no joy. I hated to part with my faithful servant after so many good years, but I gave in and bought a Lexmark Laser printer. If I learned anything from this episode it was that printers are not worth the time and trouble to fix. In the long run, it would have been far easier and much less expensive to just buy a new printer. FWIW, the Lexmark E120 that I bought, is better in every way than my beloved 360. Your mileage may vary Larry Hi, Hoping someone can point me here... Our LaserJet 4100n is having some print problems -- light areas on the pages, schmutzy dots, some light vertical bars. M'housemate thought it was a toner cartridge issue, so he tried two others (not new) - didn't fix. I grabbed the original toner cart (real HP), tipped it a bit, and put it back in. That made the pages print evenly (yea, the toner level is low), but still with some schmutz and several vertical light bars. Then I followed the directions in the manual... Printed the cleaning page, used the cleaning page, printed a test. Immediately schmutz went away! Five more cleaning pages later, and all the light bars except one have gone away. That remaining bar is about 1/8 wide, 3 3/4 from the right edge of the paper; light but annoying. It's quality has not changed at all, during the last couple of cleanings. What should I try next? Is this a fuser problem? Or is this a roller problem? Or? If it's a roller, how do I figure out which one? How do I get in there to clean? I've been looking for some sort of doc online that shows the internal guts of the thing, but so far nada. According to the printer's web interface, the maintenance kit is at 67% and the HP toner cart is at 4%. Thanks, - Dan. -- - Psychoceramic Emeritus; South Jersey, USA, Earth. -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
