Printer smells like vomit

[jwintrick]

When the printer runs for a while (for example 10 or more), it smells awful.  I've had dozens of HP Printers and I understand that if you print a number of pages it will emit an odor, which I would describe as a normal printer smell.  This printer smells like vomit when it runs.  We've had it for only a few months now.  Any ideas on what it might be or what to do?

[tonerspills]

are you using HP OEM toners or an off brand? No telling what is in an off brand toner.

There are only a few things I can think of that would cause a wierd smell like that. Unknown chemical in the toner (odor emits when fuser heats up), some type of contamination on the printer fuser... and the third and worst case scenario- a mouse climbed in your printer and is resting in peace (or pieces) Yes, mice can get just about everywhere- i have pulled all kinds of mice nest making materials out of printers, life savers, packages of crakers- the list goes on

Most likely of causes listed above

sometimes poor ventialation will cause an Ozone build up from the laser write unit (usually smalls like a thunderstorm - not vomit)

have a number of M452's in the field, have never noticed this issue.

[jwintrick]

Thank you for your response.  The toners are original HPs, so that should be it.  If it is the fuser, can I remove it an clean it?  I'll have to check for the mouse too, although it smells more like a rat!  🙂

[tonerspills]

at the control panel find: "Service" / "Cleaning" mode

It will prompt for paper in tray 1- it should print a page, then instruct you to refeed the paper as shown.

Have you recently changed paper type lately? I could see where a funky coated paper (like the kind used in some offset printing) may produce an odor- or if it's a pre printed paper like a check stock or letter head, you could be smelling the ink used to print that.

best of luck!

here is the link to the user guide if you need better cleaning page instructions.

M452 User Guide

I doubt it is a fuser contamination, cause I would expect you to see print quality defects if there was something wierd on the fuser rollers

[jwintrick]

I ran the cleaning page 5 or 6 times and then printed 50 pages as a test.  It doesn't smell bad unless you put your nose in the back of the printer and smell it that way.  I'm going to keep printing and see what the verdict is.  Thank you for your time!  I'll keep you updated and let you know if the smell stops.  🙂

[jwintrick]

Well, nothing is helping.  In fact, it's getting worse.  Since we bought the printer in August (it has smelled since the first day we started using it, we just hoped it would go away) what can we do as far as an HP warranty.  I'm making the assumption that OfficeDepot won't exchange it because it's been too long.  Isn't there a one year warranty on HP printers.  I'd probably have to send it back to them on my own dime, right?

[tonerspills]

You can try and call tech support 1-800-334-5144

You do have a standard 1 year warranty on HP printers, unless you purchased some type of extended warranty or care pack. There is usually a $39 fee or so for out of warranty products, but that might be waived since this is a problem since purchase- thats an unknown.

Have you tried moving the printer to another power outlet? The only things I can think of that may cause this I outlined above- very wierd! any signs of rodents? Print Quality still good?

Another option would be to have a printer tech come in and start taking covers off to see if the problem can be identified, but you would probably be looking at a service fee for that as well.