repeating stains/smudges along left margin

[pommehomme]

I have repeating irregularly shaped gray smudges along the left margin of my output. I have run cleaning pages, changed my black carrot ink toner cartridge to HP OEM and nothing changes. There are faint letters in the smudges, which are evenly spaced 2.25 inches apart (see photo.)

I am out of warranty and have received an estimate for at least $150 for a service call. At that price it would be more efficient to replace the printer (which was purchased new in December 2015.)

Thoughts appreciated.

Thanks!

[Copier-Pro]

Hi I would like to assist to the best of my ability to solve your problem.I hope the information i supply will be of help.Just for information some technical information is protected by HP and is not allowed to be answered.This is unfortunate and you will have to contact a HP repair shop for the help in this case.I think that you are experiencing problems in the fuser unit.This can be that some roller is damaged or just dirty with toner build up.Inspect the fuser unit and try to clean the rollers if they are not damaged.Should the rollers be damaged have the unit repaired or replaced.Hope this will help.

[pommehomme]

Thanks for the quick reply!

How hard is it to clean the fuser unit for an end (DIY) user? Is there any information I could find regarding how to do this myself?

I understand that if the rollers are damaged I would have to get professional help, correct?

Thanks again!

[Copier-Pro · Accepted solution]

Hi I would like to assist to the best of my ability to solve your problem.I hope the information i supply will be of help.Just for information some technical information is protected by HP and is not allowed to be answered.This is unfortunate and you will have to contact a HP repair shop for the help in this case.Open the rear door of the printer and inspect the fuser unit rollers with a flash light and see if its dirty or damaged.This is the last part before the paper exits the printer.You will need to first see the problem and then work on a way to solve the problem.Hope this helps.