Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Laser printer problem

This is topic Laser printer problem in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=002690

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 11-11-2003, 08:34 PM:

Anyone know of a good way to clean a laser printer so it won't pull multiple pages of blank paper through it's feeder as it prints?

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 11-11-2003, 09:08 PM:

I'm having that problem with a couple of HP "all-in-one" boxes. Yours wouldn't happen to be that brand, would it?

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 11-11-2003, 09:17 PM:

Yup, HP Laserjet 3100. Fax/printer/scanner/copier

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 11-11-2003, 09:25 PM:

Buy thicker paper. Seriously, most laser printers feed recycled paper, or anything below 20lbs like [bs]

.

Some HP models have an 'upgrade kit' to fix this problem. Basically it's a piece of cardboard with a piece of sticky plastic that you stick in the paper feed. The 1100 series LaserJet's had this problem (and available upgrade), along with a few others if I'm not mistaken. Any HP authorized dealer should be able to order you this, usually free, upgrade if they don't already have it in stock.

http://h20015.www2.hp.com/hub_search/document.jhtml?lc=en&docName=bpl06042

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 11-11-2003, 09:30 PM:

I've been using 20 and 22lb paper for the 4-5 years I've owned this machine. It's never been an issue until just recently. Heck, I'm even using genuine HP paper!

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 11-11-2003, 09:33 PM:

I found that even thin paper stolen from the office works fine in my HP printer. Try stealing your paper and you will probably find that it works for you. Your printer won't screw up anything that you didn't pay for. Trust me, it knows!

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 11-11-2003, 09:37 PM:

Try putting you paper in the freezer for an hour.

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 11-12-2003, 12:48 AM:

4 or 5 years? Buy a new printer you cheap ass! It's worn out!

BTW Joe, I stole a whole bunch of Brad's HP paper while at the Halloween gathering...it's been working great in my LaserJet.

>>> Phil

Posted by Sean M. Grimes (Member # 445) on 11-12-2003, 03:21 AM:

If I remember correctly, on my old hp 5l there was a cork piece that would wear out every few years that would "take moisture away" before the searing effect of the printer head. There definitely was a kit available... I will search around for the part number and get back to ya.

I had the exact same problem though, I believe. Sometimes one piece, sometimes twelve. Over 20lbs.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 11-12-2003, 07:17 AM:

I think it's a heat and wear issue, too. I had an HP deskjet that was on the verge of becoming obsolete back in the late '90s. The time was coming to print out my PhD thesis for submission (5 copies of a 450-page document). Plan A was to print out one and get the others photocopied, but then I spotted a pile of ink cartridges in Dixons which they had knocked down to a fiver in order to get rid of. A quick sum revealed that printing the lot out would be about half the cost, and as money was tight at the time I went for it.

Boy, was printing out 2,000 sheets on an ancient inkjet which takes about three minutes per sheet exciting! As the job progressed it did start sucking in multiple sheets at a time, especially after a few hours when the thing had got pretty hot. I think the rubber pinch roller which fed the paper through just got a bit sticky as it heated up. In the end I couldn't really leave it running for more than 3-4 hours at a time or else it would suck in a whole pile and totally jam.

In the end a cartridge caught fire about half way through the last copy and that was the end of the printer! Given that it was a very old printer and the cheapest of the range even when new, I'm surprised it lasted that long.

Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 11-12-2003, 10:40 AM:

I have had this issue with HP laser printers in the past, the problem was not cleanliness but wear. The part in question was a "separator pad" which somehow governs how many sheets get drawn into the works, as it wears out too many sheets feed at once (this was a notorious problem on HP printers in which the paper is fed in vertically, like the model 6L). The fix was about $80 at a local independent computer store. The a-holes at CompUSA gave me a quote of $325 and suggested I buy a new printer instead, when I demurred they tried to charge me $100 for the 'estimate'. They didn't get it (I paid by check, after which I went home and stopped payment on it. Schmucks! [evil]

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 11-12-2003, 03:12 PM:

quote:
Yup, HP Laserjet 3100. Fax/printer/scanner/copier

That's the one(s) I have [Mad]

On the "wear" issue... I brought the second printer over from my office after the first one started doing this. The replacement had (maybe) 100 pages on it and was on its original toner cartridge. It started doing the same thing before the cartridge ran out.

NONE of the other printers I have (or had) have done this.

[ 11-12-2003, 04:20 PM: Message edited by: Jack Ondracek ]

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 11-12-2003, 06:05 PM:

Our Lazerjet 3100 from HP does that too. But not often enough to worry about.

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 11-12-2003, 06:38 PM:

The HP site blames it on everything but the machine. I've used 4 different brands of paper, different weights, fanned it, didn't fan it, did their recommended "U" bend... cripes... I've never seen so much garbage about what paper to feed a printer. This thing sometimes pulls 8 sheets into it... sometimes actually making it through... othertimes jamming with much obnoxious beeping and squawking.

My 5L was nowhere near the trouble... nor was my old Epson... nor are either of the Brothers that I have.

A few weeks ago, I called a local printer repair/supply business about this problem. They didn't return my calls. Hmmmmmmmmm...

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 11-13-2003, 12:07 AM:

I have worked 27 years for a company that serviced office equiment. If that machine has printed the equivalent of 20 pages a week, you have far exceeded the reasonable life expectancy. Besides, any repair would be more costly than replacement. HP does make commercial machines that will serve much better than the home use crap sold in stores, it is more expensive and sold only thru serviceing dealers though. Throw It Away.

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 11-13-2003, 12:41 AM:

Rubber roller resurfacing kits are available. They tend to wear with time and produce less friction so become less grabby.

--jhawk

Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 11-13-2003, 08:08 AM:

Bill:
That's a shocking statement. If Brad (or anyone) printed 20 pages a week for 5 years, that's just over 5000 pages. If you are saying that is overuse, then that's pretty piss poor performance, even for a consumer product. I mean, HP rates it's home office/personal machines at between 1,000 to 5,000 pages per month. The machine should have plenty of life left in it.

I looked up the HP3100. Not to belabor this, but HP printers of late 90's vintage that fed the paper in vertically, like this machine does, had a problem with a poorly designed separator pad assembly. We repaired a bunch of them within the last few years. They just recently upgraded the part to a better designed one. It should only cost about one hour bench rate plus about $35 for the part.

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 11-13-2003, 01:35 PM:

quote:
It should only cost about one hour bench rate plus about $35 for the part.

Through whom, Mark?

Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 11-13-2003, 02:33 PM:

Referring to my post of Wednesday, through any reputable computer/business machine repair center. I found a pleasant fellow in NJ who did the job quickly and honestly three times. I most emphatically do not recommend CompUSA, a large chain store who wildly inflated the repair estimate in an effort to get me to buy new printers. Here is the part. It should take only about an hour bench time to install it. This was my experience with the machines we had that exhibited the problem.

Posted by Joe Smith (Member # 190) on 11-14-2003, 04:22 PM:

Here's a link to a reliable website that sells kits for very common problems such as this. The link below is the repair kit (parts AND a video that shows how to install them) specific to the 3100 paper feed problem. The kit is about $30.

http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/kkk0.html

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 11-14-2003, 05:43 PM:

I bought the item from the last post above. I will report how it goes. This printer/fax/scanner/copier has been damn reliable for me up until this sheet feeding problem, so hopefully it just needs the new part. [Smile]

Thanks to everyone.

Posted by Danny Hart (Member # 659) on 11-18-2003, 10:05 AM:

My previous printer was a HP Laserwriter (can't remember the model) and it developed the same problem, taking in 2 or more sheets. I started getting into the habit of "fanning" the paper between my fingers before loading the paper (as the manual suggested) and the problem went away. Hurrah!

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-20-2003, 02:50 PM:

Just to report back on this, the kit I bought from www.fixyourownprinter.com works flawlessly. The machine is literally just like new now.

The enclosed VHS tape from a production standpoint is just about the most thrown together and unprofessional thing I've ever seen, but amazingly enough it is VERY clear and the procedure is VERY well documented! The tapes runs 30 minutes of non-stop watching and listening to "Moe" fixing the machine and you are to follow along. Of course by the time you keep stopping the tape to take out the next screw it will take you a solid hour...but really, for anyone who isn't a printer tech, the $30 to fix an otherwise excellent machine and an hour of your time is well worth it. I would safely say that pretty much anyone with at least a dozen IQ points can follow along on the tape and perform the repair yourself. It is very rare when I have had such a satisfying experience. Moe and his staff deserve a big [thumbsup]

!

BTW - the website shipped immediately, it was me who hasn't had the time to install it until yesterday.

Posted by Joe Schmidt (Member # 822) on 12-20-2003, 05:02 PM:

[Cool]

Happy to hear Brad's printer is working again. At home, I've been using a HP LaserJet-4 over many years, purchased new when they first came out. An excellent printer, and quite a workhorse, can grind out 1000s of pages a month without straining. They can be found reconditioned at quite reasonable prices these days. If your city has a good laser printer servicing store which will back up its printers, you might be able to do quite well.

At one of the businesses we have a pair of high-speed 20-ppm HP printers, and whenever I want to print out a manual I do that there.

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 12-21-2003, 02:25 AM:

I have a 6L and it's the oldest piece of hardware I have in service. It had the paper pulling issue, too. HP's web site offered a free DIY fix which consisted of an adhesive pad to stick way down in the paper feed area and an elaborate cardboard applicator--push this down there, pull this, push there, pull that....bingo; you're done.