[PLUG] HP Laserjet Problems

[Michael Barnes]

On Mon, Feb 17, 2020 at 9:02 PM Ben Koenig <techkoenig at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Mon, Feb 17, 2020 at 8:38 PM Michael Barnes <barnmichael at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > I have an HP Laserjet 2600n printer. This unit is about 14 years old. I
> > just put a new set of  HP toner cartridges in not too long ago. It has
> been
> > printing streaks on the left side of the page and ghost images on various
> > parts of the page for some time now. I thought it was related to low
> toner,
> > as a couple were empty. The new toner cartridges helped with the
> crispness,
> > but not the streaks. Now, everything is printing out light green instead
> of
> > black.  The left side is kind of a darker forest green that blends to a
> > kind of yellow green in the middle of the page, and back to a darker
> green
> > on the right side of the page.
> >
> > For most of what I print, it's not really a big deal, but somethings
> really
> > do matter if the colors are right.
> >
> > Still playing around, I just discovered it is a computer issue. My
> desktop
> > running Linux Mint exhibits the problem, however, my Windows 10 laptop
> > prints just fine (well, it still has streaks and ghosts, but the color is
> > proper).
> >
> > Now I'm really confused. The only thing that has changed lately is my
> > network router, and all IP addresses have changed. Otherwise everything
> has
> > been the same for months.
> >
> > Ideas appreciated.
> >
> > Michael
> >
>
>
> sounds like you have multiple different problems. If the colors were off
> when using linux mint, then that's a driver configuration problem.
> Streaking and banding on the other hand is often due to foreign material
> getting stuck inside the printer. You might have some dust on either the
> feed or exit rollers  (probably the feed rollers) that deposits dust/dirt
> onto the paper as it moves, creating a strip of discoloration.
>

I find it interesting that the driver configuration would be an issue. I
haven't changed anything in two years other than the IP address of the
printer after a router change. Not discounting the possibility, just
curious about it. Of course I sadly have no idea what to do about it. Ideas
welcome.

As for the streaking/ghosting (not sure the proper term), I don't think it
is foreign material, as it is more like the print faintly repeating down
the page. Especially something dense like a graphic or big bold print. It
will repeat down the page. Kind of like the toner keeps the image on a
roller and re-printing it on the next rotation. I print a lot of documents
in landscape and bold titles seem to repeat causing more of a streak down
the page. That happens regardless of which computer is printing, so I
imagine it is a printer issue. I've done various cleaning routines with no
change.

Thanks for all the help.

Michael