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Laser printers were designed for easy maintenance and reliable, high-quality
output. By occasionally taking a few minutes to care for your printer, you can
extend its life, reduce service calls and ensure optimum, trouble-free operation
for many thousands of copies.
Keep Your Printer Clean.
Most damage done to printers comes from an accumulation of debris. Even
electronic failures can begin with a dirty printer. Only trained service
personnel should access contact surfaces to remove critical accumulations, but
you can help by keeping the machine clean, preventing toner and dust from
building up at the key points. Clean the interior of your machine each time you
change the toner cartridge. Use a damp cloth to remove dust and debris, and a
damp Q-Tip to access cavities. Take particular care to clean all the rubber
rollers you can reach. Dust that’s left on the rollers bonds to the rubber as it
oxidizes and makes the rollers slick and dysfunctional. NEVER use alcohol or
commercial cleaners on rubber rollers. Use platen cleaner, if you have any on
hand. Don’t neglect the outside. The entire area around and under the printer is
inclined to accumulate dust and debris, converting it to charged particles that
are potentially dangerous to the machine. Remove exterior dust and debris at
least every two to three months. The printer’s plastic case can be cleaned with
commercial cleaners such as Mr. Clean or Formula 409. Be careful, however, not
to let the cleaner penetrate the interior of the machine. If debris are the
primary cause of failures, toner is the primary cause of debris. All toner
cartridges will release a small amount of toner into the machine. This is why
it’s important to clean the machine when you change the cartridge. It’s also
important that the density control of the machine be properly set to prevent the
machine from pulling too much toner into itself. We all like dark print, but too
dark is extremely dangerous for both cartridge and machine. If you need help
determining how to properly adjust your printer, our customer service
representatives can guide you. If you find it useful to monitor toner
consumption, use the log provided on the last page of this booklet. Toner
consumption should be relatively consistent if the machine is adjusted properly.
Record All Persistent Service Problems.
Service technicians will record their visits in the log provided, but
their may be occasions where you will need to chronicle service problems as
well. For instance, should you have persistent temporary errors or miscellaneous
errors that you are able to clear, record them so that our techs will have an
objective review of the machine’s history. (For example, 41 is a temporary error
and 79 is a misc. error. Both may have a suffix, such as 41.3, or 79.05). The Si
series of printers keeps a log of all error messages, so you will only need to
record image and communications failures if your printer demonstrates them. If
you need more logs, just give us a call. Although you can do a lot for your
printer, every machine eventually needs the attention of a professional
technician. Making the right decision will improve office performance and save
you money in the long run.
Change The Toner Cartridge First.
Unless the toner cartridge has damaged the machine or is dumping toner into
the machine, you can deal with toner cartridge problems yourself. One simple
rule: Always have a spare toner cartridge! Without a spare, you can’t properly
diagnose a printer problem. Nor can you keep printing if all you have is a
defective cartridge.
If The Printer Can't Receive Data,
It's Likely To Be A Communications Problem.
Test the printer’s interface and formatter by entering data directly through
the parallel port from a laptop or other non-networked machine. Make sure you
have selected the correct printer, and that your drivers aren’t corrupted. If
you are using a simple print-sharer device, it may be causing the problem. Less
than one in twenty communications failures is caused by a defective printer.
Printers are simple machines that do the same thing over and over. All of their
software is hard-wired. Your computer and its network, on the other hand, change
a lot every day. Chances are that one of those changes inadvertently altered the
environment and prevented data from being properly formatted and interfaced with
the printer. If you are able to print at other printers, physically move the
object printer to that network address and switch the network cards. Only after
you have exhausted every alternative should you presume that the printer is at
fault.
When You Have Persistent Jams, They May Be Caused By A Dirty Machine.
It may just mean that you have done all you can do. Persistent jams usually
require the attention of a professional. You may get by with a preventive
maintenance cleaning, or you may need to have a mechanical assembly replaced.
Don't Panic When Your Encounter An Unfamiliar Noise Or Smell.
Most noises are benign. They signify little or nothing. When left alone, they
frequently will go away or fade into the background noise. For example, a new
cartridge may squeak until it’s broken in by 200 prints or so. Some noises are
symptomatic of serious problems, or are indicative of imminent failure. Having
annual preventive maintenance done on your printer will minimize anything that
can cause noise. Otherwise, call for service when your printer produces a noise
or a smell that’s out of the ordinary.
An Error Message Isn't Always A Major Malfunction.
There are all sorts of messages that the printer can send you. There are
condition statements such as READY or ONLINE, prompts such as PAPER OUT and
PRINTER OPEN, reset able errors such as 13 PAPER JAM and 51 SERVICE (beam detect
error), and fatal errors like 50 SERVICE or 55 SERVICE. ·Write down the message
exactly! Frequently, customers tell us that their printer displayed an error
message, but that they don’t know what it said. Without this information, we may
not know which part or parts to bring on-site to effect a repair. The first step
is always to record the exact error message. ·If the message just asks you to do
something, do it and see if the message clears. Sometimes, messages are constant
because the sensors are failed or dirty, but usually they will clear. ·Many
error messages can be reset. With jam messages, most machines will reset after
you open the machine, clear the jam, then close it again. Other problems may
require you to press a
button. ·Finally, if no other action reactivates the machine, power
cycle and start over. Turn the machine off, wait a few seconds, then turn it on
again. ·If you had a 50 SERVICE error, wait ten minutes or so before turning the
machine back on. ·Confronted with a persistent error, call us for prompt
professional service.
When You Call For Service
By the time you get around to calling for service, you may be pulling your
hair out in frustration. However, the quality of the information you give will have a direct impact on how quickly you back up and running.
Relax. The machine will soon be fixed as good as new.
What Is The Main Problem?
You may have a lot of information to offer about what the machine is doing.
However, the most important fact you can tell is the primary problem that’s
preventing you from getting your work done. In other words, what isn’t happening
that should be happening? Try to remember whether anything changed or happened
just prior to the first incidence of the problem. There are six different types
of problems that might prompt you to call: ·Power problems-turn the machine
on and nothing happens. ·Communications Problems-send a file to the printer and
it doesn’t print. ·Jams-paper isn’t feeding through the machine properly.
·Image-what is on the paper isn’t what was on your screen (see some of the
examples in this book). ·Noises-the machine is making a noise serious enough to
interrupt the work-flow. ·Error Message-the machine’s operation has been
interrupted by an error message.
Fill In The Blanks.
You can help us a great deal by giving us as much information as possible
about how your printer is acting up. For instance, a paper jam will generate an
error message. Where in the machine did the leading edge of the paper stop? What
was the exact error message? Is the error predictable, or does it occur only
every so often? If it’s an image problem, please save copies of the bad image.
If the paper is coming out deformed, keeping samples of it. The more our
technician has to work with, the faster he’ll be able to get the machine back up
and running.
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