Little black dots along the pages!

[amyamy]

Hello! I'm getting small black dots running down the left side of the page when printing. Can anyone tell me what the issue might be? (Note: please use non-technical terms if possible -- i'm not the most tech savvy!)  It's a HP LaserJet Pro 200 color.

Thanks in advance.

[MKazi]

@amyamy

Let me take a moment to thank you for posting on the HP Support Forums. 

I understand that you have an HP LaserJet Pro 200 color printer and are facing print quality issues. There are small black dots appearing towards the left side of the page when printing. Not to worry though I have a few suggestions that should help us fix this issue. 

I would like to know the following information to assist you better:

• Did any changes take place on the printer (toner replacement or paper jam, etc.) after which this issue may have started?
• Is the printer able to copy fine?
• What operating system are you using (Windows 8, Windows 10 or Mac)?

Meanwhile. I recommend you to perform the following steps to isolate the issue and arrive at a fix: 

• Disconnect the power cable from the printer while the printer is still ON.
• Disconnect any other cables if connected the printer.
• Press and hold the printer’s power button for 15 seconds.
• The printer should be directly connected to the wall outlet and not to a surge protector. Reconnect the power cable to print and the printer should power ON by itself. If the printer doesn’t power ON then please manually power it ON.

Please try to print and check the output. If the dots still appear then please perform the steps as described in detail from this link: http://hp.care/2ngv27M

I sincerely hope this fixes the issue. Let me know how it goes. All the best! 🙂

[tonerspills]

You either have a bad toner cartridge or contamination on your fuser film.

If its the toner cartridge, there is probably a little piece of trash stuck on your imaging drum or a scratch on it. you can take the toner out of the printer, flip it over, and manually spin the drum to look for the corresponding dot or knick on the drum (the imaging drum is sort of a blue greensih color aluminum tube, try and not touch it in the center.) skin oil on the drum can cause print quality problems, use a dry lint free cloth to try and remove any stuck on trash- if it's a knick in the drum, you will just have to live with it until the cartridge is empty and you replace it.

If you dont see a mark on the toner drum, then its probably the fusing unit- you can run cleaning pages to try and get the contamination off the fuser film.

The toner you can replace. If thats not it, it it's cheaper to replace the printer rather than pay a tech to replace the fusing unit

product support page / user guide- page 174

http://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-laserjet-pro-200-color-mfp-m276/5097648/manuals

Print a cleaning page

1. From the Home screen, touch the Setup button.

2. Touch the Service menu.

3. Touch the Cleaning Page button.

4. Load plain letter or A4 paper when you are prompted.

5. Touch the OK button to begin the cleaning process.

The product prints the first side and then prompts you to remove the page from the output bin and

reload it in Tray 1,

[davidzuts]

If you print a color document are the only dots you get black. If so the issue can only be the toner cartridge which needs to be replaced.