All colors are showing up in print much lighter than what they did when I replaced cartridges in Nov

[plaurits]

Hi 

I have been looking around on web, but so far I did not find solution for below issue with my HP CM1312MFP.

I have checked service manual and made case with HP support also, but no luck with either.

So may be you can advice on troubleshooting?

Issue:

All colors are showing up in print much lighter than what they did when I replaced cartridges in Nov. 2017.

Only issue is this inability to print dark colors (e.g. orange, dark blue and black), everything else works fine.

Description:

I noticed during printing of documents that all colors are showing up in print much lighter than what they did when I replaced cartridges in Nov. 2017.

In particular:

1. dark yellow/orange printed as light yellow
2. black text showing up pretty pale
3. dark blue showing up as light blue

What I have done so far:

1. All 4 cartridges replaced back in Nov. 2017. OK after this
2. Today I tried to replace cyan and black cartridges => same issue
3. Cleaning and calibrating as per manual
4. Visually inspected all 4 cartridges, nothing found

Setup: Checked both on WIN XP SP3 and WIN7 SP1 – same issue

Any suggestions?

Br

Peter

[Copier-Pro]

I will try and assist.Some machines has the setting to save toner or economy mode.This will make the prints lighter.Just check and make sure the settings is right.Maybe you can also try and print in photo mode.Hope this will help.

[plaurits]

Hi

Thanks for reply.

I have checked this from printer quality menu, no luck.

Actually this printer CM1312mfp only has color calibration, no economode or color density.

So at this point I will check secondary transfer belt and transfer roller for possible dust/toner.

If that does not help I guess this could be high voltage related, or calibration, i.e. Proper voltage may not be getting to the transfer roller or transfer belt (see 2.2 below).

But before doing that I would like to know if there is some method to find the root cause for this issue developing over appr. 3 months.

Br

Peter

Quoting from www.lbrty.com/tech/articles/general/print_quality/ta_printquality.html

1.Light Print (partial).

1. Gently shake and reinstall print cartridge(s), making sure the cover is closed securely. If this helps, the cartridge is close to being empty, and will need replacement soon.
2. If light areas are strips in the direction of paper movement (as in the picture), laser/scanner optics may be partially dirty. If one side of the page is light, check mechanical alignment between cartridge(s), drum(s) (if separate from cartridge), and transfer elements. This can also indicate high voltage problems (see next step).
3. If light areas are randomly positioned on page, check high voltage contacts to the cartridge(s), drum(s), and transfer elements.
4. If contacts look good, the high voltage power supply may be bad. Inspect the surfaces of imaging elements (cartridge(s), transfer roller or belt, etc. – and even the fuser) for visible defects corresponding to the light area on the page.

2.Light Print (entire page, all colors).

1. Check settings in Print Quality Menu. In particular, if Economode (or “Economy Mode”) is on, turn it off! Also experiment with print density settings. Color printers have individual print density settings for each color.
2. Any of the items discussed in #1 (light print, partial) can also cause the entire page to be light. A halfway test can help narrow it down. Laser/Scanner and high voltage power supply are the two most common causes. Note that in a color printer with separate scanners for each color, light print in all colors is unlikely to be scanner-related, since all four scanners would have to be bad.

[plaurits · Accepted solution]

Hi

I realized after talking to scriptor.dk that issue was caused by improper grounding of printer. Hence high voltage card is OK.

br Peter