Faint Printing On One Side of Paper [Laser]

Appletax

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Brother HL-L2380DW | 2100 Pages Printed TOTAL | 9800 Pages Left On Drum

The toner is a high-yield cartridge that should have a lot of toner left. It's a refurbished one from LD.

Example on left:

IMG_20170422_225618.jpg

I tried following Brother's "faint" troubleshooting section with no success:
  • The drum looks clean (the drum is not part of the remanufactured cartridge)
  • Shook the toner cartridge
  • Cleaned the corona wire
  • Cleaned the roller on the toner cartridge itself multiple times with a cloth and it still produces the same issue and has marks on the roller that looks like something is touching the roller and wiping off some of the toner.

See how the left side of the roller isn't coated with as much toner as the right side. It matches the look of the fainted side of the picture above.

IMG_20170422_225405.jpg
 
Last edited:
Probably a bad transfer roller, as just a guess....but it's been a long time since I worked on laser printers on a daily basis. That's why I never buy refurb laser supplies...no indication of how long they were used before being refurbished.
 
Yeah, and the Brother supplies aren't really that expensive, that's part of the reason I like recommending those printers for light- to medium-duty setups. (Caveat: at least on older ones and I suspect on current ones, they have a couple of parts that "wear out" at 100k pages and are not replaceable. Consider them as having a mandatory "maintenance kit" at 125-150k pages that's really just a new printer.)

This is easiest to check if they have another printer that uses the same supplies, just swap them around.
 
The toner is a high-yield cartridge that should have a lot of toner left. It's a refurbished one from LD.

See how the left side of the roller isn't coated with as much toner as the right side. It matches the look of the fainted side of the picture above.

Number one problem. Refurb toner cartridge.

The build up on the transfer roller could be a problem with the roller itself or could be a problem with the imaging drum. If the drum is spotless you might be able to get a few more pages by cleaning the transfer roller. Use a clean microfiber cloth only, no fluids. Anything else may leave lint will cause image issues.
 
Open the printer top. Locate the closed door sensor and defeat it. With the door open and a sheet of paper inserted above the toner cartridges run a one page print job. Observe the scan head beam. You will want to be printing a solid color page for this. Should the beam appear to be solid across the paper then you can discount the scan head being the problem. Replace your consumables.
 
Brother HL-L2380DW | 2100 Pages Printed | 9800 Pages Left On Drum

Example on left:

View attachment 7322

I tried following Brother's "faint" troubleshooting section with no success:
  • The drum looks clean
  • Shook the toner cartridge
  • Cleaned the corona wire

The toner is a high-yield cartridge that should have a lot of toner left. It's a refurbished one from LD.

See how the left side of the roller isn't coated with as much toner as the right side. It matches the look of the fainted side of the picture above.

View attachment 7323
In the past I have worked on many laser-printing systems and even when something looks good, it usually isn't - esp. if it is a refurb / refilled / re-whatever. So it is always best to go with OEM supplies for laser printers. And many times for ink-jet too!
 
If it's a 2380dw, it's a $100 printer or pretty close to it. At only 2100 pages, they went through the starter toner then put in a refurb toner immediately and started to have problems, probably within the first couple hundred pages. Don't start thinking about disassembly or anything like that unless you're only charging them $20/hour, it's not worth it.

Trash that cartridge and tell the customer to suck it up and pay the $45 for a genuine high-yield cartridge or $30 for a standard cartridge, and if they're using Amazon DON'T get the "2-pack," "3-pack," "4-pack" ones that are designed to scam "subscription" customers (those multipacks are 2-4x as much per cartridge, probably hoping that subscribers won't notice the jacked up prices).
 
In the past I have worked on many laser-printing systems and even when something looks good, it usually isn't - esp. if it is a refurb / refilled / re-whatever. So it is always best to go with OEM supplies for laser printers. And many times for ink-jet too!

You're right. Shoulda went brand new. $45 or so for a high yield toner cartridge is not bad at all considering the high yield.

If it's a 2380dw, it's a $100 printer or pretty close to it. At only 2100 pages, they went through the starter toner then put in a refurb toner immediately and started to have problems, probably within the first couple hundred pages. Don't start thinking about disassembly or anything like that unless you're only charging them $20/hour, it's not worth it.

Trash that cartridge and tell the customer to suck it up and pay the $45 for a genuine high-yield cartridge or $30 for a standard cartridge, and if they're using Amazon DON'T get the "2-pack," "3-pack," "4-pack" ones that are designed to scam "subscription" customers (those multipacks are 2-4x as much per cartridge, probably hoping that subscribers won't notice the jacked up prices).

This printer issue is my own. I cleaned the roller on the toner cartridge itself multiple times with a cloth and it still produces the same issue and has marks on the roller that looks like something is touching the roller and wiping off some of the toner.

I am going to contact LD to see if they'll send me a new cartridge.
 
New message from: ldp_outlet (19,189)

Thank you for the quick reply.

I have arranged for a replacement item to be shipped free of charge. Included with the order will be a prepaid label that you can use to return the faulty cartridge. Please write the following information on the outside of the returning package: SRO-00463944

Once the new order ships, you will receive a confirmation email with the tracking information. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help. I hope you are having a great day!


Thank you,

## — **Reyjet**



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