Can anyone suggest what causes these lines across the page?
Is a new toner cartridge likely to fix this?
Edit: Line separation is 62.5mm
Edit 2: Thank you to everyone who replied. I’ve ordered a new toner cartridge and will update this if that solves the problem 🫡
Final update: A new toner cartridge fixed it. It’s now printing perfectly! Thank you.
I think your fuser roller may be dirty or damaged. Try printing several pages that are blank or nearly blank. If it’s dirty, the lines should get progressively lighter. If not you may need a new fuser.
You can buy a fuser repair kit for your printer model online. They are usually only slightly more complicated than changing out the toner cartridge. Just be sure to lay down several sheets of printer paper to cover your work area to catch any toner dust.
And a word to the wise for anyone attempting home laser printer repairs. Do not use a vacuum cleaner to suck up any spilled toner. Wipe it up with a damp paper towel or something instead.
Printer toner is so fine that it will sail right through the bag or filters in your vacuum cleaner and then get dispersed forcibly into the air. You know how microplastics are a big deal nowadays? That’s what printer toner is. With a vengence.
Toner rated vacuum cleaners do exist but they’re expensive, and nobody not doing printer repairs commercially will want to spend the money on one.
⚠️ Thank you for that warning (and explanation). I would definitely have used a vacuum if it happened before reading this 😅
after the second or third NOS toner spewing its contents inside a printer, I splurged and purchased a toner vacuum. Cheaper than having the printer tech come out and clean up the mess for me.
as the printer tech explained to me, those NOS toners (at least HP ones) have a plastic piece that wears out when sitting in the box.
What I do is the redneck method, which is take the stupid thing outside, don a respirator, and blast it with the air compressor. Your solution is probably significantly more environmentally friendly, though.
The lines haven’t become any lighter. Is this a problem I will be able to see if I take the printer apart? Thank you for replying 🙂
You might be able to see it on the fuser roller but it probably won’t be the sort of thing you can wipe off without making it worse.
From the model number shown on your test page (Samsung ML-1660) it looks like a replacement fuser kit is about $30 - $50 dollars depending on the seller. I would encourage you to either replace the fuser or look for a new printer.
According to others it is likely the toner cartridge anyway but where do you find the fuser kits if I decide I need one? I looked on eBay and there are none for sale (in my country anyway).
Swapping the toner cartridge is worth a try. I guess I assumed you had already tried that.
I’m in the US so that is where I looked.
Here’s a link to a replacement fuser on AliExpress: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32961756487.html They might ship to where you are.
I didn’t think to look on Ali. You even removed the tracking part from the link too 😉 If it turns out to be that, I’ll buy one and replace it. Thank you