Print Quality issues caused by supplies

Issue description

A leaking toner cartridge or a damaged photoconductor drum on the cartridge generally cause print quality issues. These issues may appear on the page front or on both sides, especially if toner has contaminated parts inside the printer.

The images below illustrate typical print quality issues that a leaking or damaged toner cartridge can cause.

Solution

Step	Action
1	Power off the printer and remove the toner cartridge. Click here to see Instructions in Removing the Cartridge. Inspect the printer for toner build-up from a potentially leaking toner cartridge. The images below illustrate typical issues that a leaking toner cartridge can cause. Note:  Click on images below to enlarge.
2	Use one of the methods detailed below to install another toner cartridge. Note:  If the surface inside the printer is dirty, take a clean dry cloth and clean off any toner and dust before installing another cartridge. Try another brand-new toner cartridge, if available. If this is a newly installed toner cartridge, reinstall the old cartridge removed when you installed the new one. Install a working toner cartridge from another Lexmark printer of the same model.
3	Power on the printer again. Print 20 to 30 test pages to give the spots/streaks a chance to clear up. Did a different toner cartridge correct the issue? Yes: Inspect the first cartridge for signs of damage or defects and continue in contacting Lexmark Technical Support to inquire about the eligibility of replacing the cartridge. No: Continue with the steps below.
4	If the test pages still have unwanted toner marks, select an appropriate scenario below: Check the charge rollers – if the issue occurs on the front side of the page. Check the transfer roller – if the issue occurs at the back of the page.

Check the charge roll assembly

Step	Action	Click Image to Enlarge
1	Power off the printer and remove the toner cartridge.
2	Look for the charge roller assembly. This is the twin set of small gray rollers located in the upper area of the printer where the cartridge had been seated. NOTE: Please see the encircled portion of the right-hand image.
3	If the roller surface appears dirty, take a clean, dry cloth and remove any toner on the surface. CAUTION! Try not to touch the charge rollers with your bare hands. The surface is susceptible to contamination, and a permanent mark could remain on the rollers.	No Image
4	Inspect the charge rollers for any signs of damage. If any part is damaged, or if you are unable to remove the surface toner, continue to contacting Lexmark Technical Support.	No Image

Check the Transfer roll assembly

Step	Action	Click Image to Enlarge
1	Power off the printer and remove the toner cartridge.
2	Look for the transfer roller. This is the black, spongy roller located at the base inside the printer where the cartridge had previously been seated. NOTE: Please see the encircled portion of the right-hand image.
3	Check the transfer roller for any signs of damage or defects. Also, using a clean, dry cloth, wipe the surface of the transfer roller. See if the cloth will accumulate toner. If the cloth accumulates toner, then the transfer roller is contaminated and needs to be replaced. Continue to contacting Lexmark Technical Support.	No Image

Check the type of paper

Before calling Technical Support, confirm that you are printing on plain, white copy paper.

If not, try printing on such paper before seeking service to the printer. Please try this even if the specialty media you are using has worked in the past. This tests will eliminate specialty media as partial cause of the issue. Specialty papers (i.e., letterhead stock, textured paper, label stock, and card stock) can lead to print quality issues such as this.

For more information on recommended print media, see the chapter entitled 'Understanding paper and specialty media guidelines' in the printer's User's Guide.

Environmental Factors

If the printer is situated in a hot environment such as a Warehouse or Distribution center; its constant operation may cause overheating of the cartridge. This will cause the toner to leak.

For a printer working in the type of condition mentioned above, the solution is to reduce the speed of the printer. This can be done by setting the Paper Type into Vinyl label. To do this:

On a Lexmark T650/T652/T654

Step	Action
1	Press the Menu button.
2	Select “Paper Menu” by pressing .
3	Press until appears next to “Paper Size/Type” then press .
4	Select “Tray 1 Size/Type” by pressing .
5	The screen should show the current Tray 1 Size, press to enter the options for Tray 1 Type.
6	Use the or arrow buttons to look for “Vinyl Labels”, and then press to submit the changes.
7	Press back button 3 times to set the printer back to Ready mode.

On a Lexmark T656/X65x

Step	Action
1	Press Menu.
2	Press the next to “Paper Menu”
3	Press the next to “Paper Size/Type”
4	For Tray 1 Type, press or to look for “Vinyl Labels”
5	Press to apply the changes.
6	Press the Home icon to set the printer back to Ready mode.

Service action

Diagnosis tips

• Confirm that this issue happens with more than one toner cartridge before replacing any parts on the printer. Most print quality issues are caused by the toner cartridge.
• Try printing on plain, white copy paper, if not already doing so. This will eliminate any specialty print media as (partial) cause of the problem.
• If the spots/streaks on the page appear to repeat at regular intervals, print out the Print Defects Guide. This page displays the distances that correspond to the circumferences of various rollers within the printer. To find the Print Defects page, go into the menus on the printer. Select the Help menu, then find and select Print Defects. Click here to download a copy of this page.
• If the printer appears to be the cause of the issue, see the instructions below to run a Developed Image Test to narrow the source of the problem further. Your objective in this test is to stop the printer abruptly while it is in the middle of the printing process, resulting in a partially printed sample not yet fused to the paper. See the instructions below.
• Identify the location of the printer and how it is being utilized. If the printer is being used in continuous operation such as manufacturing, courier or label printing, and the environment is slightly hot (e.g. Warehouse or Distribution centers); this can cause overheating of the cartridge resulting in toner leakage. To reduce Thermal Impact on the cartridge, try setting the “Paper Type” to “Vinyl Label”. (See customer-level section: Environmental Factors). If the customer already tried this option, access the printers Diagnostic Menu and adjust the Engine Settings 4 to a value corresponding to the Tray number being used. See the list below:
  • If Tray 1 is being used, set the Engine Settings to 20.
  • If Tray 2 is being used, set the Engine Settings to 36.
  • If Tray 3 is being used, set the Engine Settings to 52.

NOTE: The Engine Setting values listed above will slow down the printer to 35ppm. However, this should not impact the throughput required by the customer.

How to do a Developed Image Test

Step	Action
1	Print the Menu Settings Page or any test print job with multiple pages.
2	As soon as the first page begins to exit the printer, either open the upper-front cover or power off the printer. This will stop the printer in mid-print.
3	Remove the toner cartridge. You should still see the second page in the printer underneath where the toner cartridge had been. The print on this area of the page has passed under the toner cartridge, but not yet through the fuser unit. Click here to see an example.
4	Examine the back of the first and second page. See if you can find any spots or streaks. CAUTION! Exercise care as the toner on the front of the page will easily rub off. If the back of the second page has no spots or streaks, yet these appear at the back of the first page, the Fuser unit is the probable cause of the issue. If the spots/streaks do appear on the back of the second page, you can eliminate the fuser as a possible cause. The most probable causes are the Transfer roller or the Toner cartridge.
5	Once you have completed this test, remove all paper jammed in the printer. Again, use caution when removing the pages that did not feed through the fuser unit because the toner will come off.