HP 2600n Cyan Not Registered/Aligned with Other Colors (Ghosting)

[bobinyelm]

First, I know nothing about Laser Printers

Problem: My Magenta toner cartridge was leaking dust into my printer and onto the rotating "belt" that is visible when the front door of the printer is opened to replace the Toner Cartridges. The printer was operating NORMALLY except for the fact all prints had red streaks from the leaking cartridge.

Several times (while awaiting new toners) I used an almost dry paper towel and gently wiped the dust from the "belt" by manually (carefully) rotating the belt to remove the powder from the entire assembly, which then produced good prints for a few copies before again becoming contaminated. In the past few years, I had done a similar gentle "wiping" of the curtain wit no negative effects. 

When the new (after-market) toners I replaced all of them as I have done many times before, but after the printer ran a "Calibration Cycle," the new Magenta was not printing, and the Cyan was out of registration, being displaced about 1mm below, and 2mm to the left of the main print image (which looked good except from the lack of Magenta.

I tried removing/inserting the toners and performing further "Calibration" cycles, but nothing changed the displaced blue portion of the image.

Is there anything I can do to correct this situation (I am non-technical with regard to software and printers, though as a physicist and electronics engineer am not helpless if instructed in plain language) ?

Could I have caused this by cleaning the rolling "curtain" or could it be a consequence of the cartridge change (meaning I need to try different cartridges). The non-HP toners I purchased had excellent reviews BTW. I am however getting a display that says, "Non HP Supplies in Use," which is new to me.

Thanks,

Bob

[Repairatrooper]

If only one color is not registered but other colours are, then that cartridge is bad. While paper towel is not recommended because it can scratch (a micro-fibre type cloth is better) it is unlikely you would cause damage that would result in what you are getting now. More likely you got a couple of bad cartridges. We see a 30% or better failure rate with non-HP colour cartridges and have for the most part stopped selling them. The error message is caused by the manufacturer not installing a legally compliant chip on the cartridge to lower cost of manufacturing and either offer lower prices or pad their margin on sales. Return the two non-working cartridges for warranty. Online reviews are really a mine field, there are companies you can hire to write great reviews to increase your perceived "goodness" online.