P1102w laserjet Pro puts 2 vertical roller marks indents grooves on each printed page Any solution?

[KrisM3]

This printer is apparently known for doing that. 2 physical grooves crimped into paper as it passes the fuser. P1102w mfged in 2014. Was just given to me. Else prints just fine but always 2 vertical grooves crimped into paper. Paper is 24lb HP "Color Inkjet and Laser" (202040). My HP M254dw does not do this. Has anyone found a solution? I have taken it apart several times (front, side, and back plate off) and eyeballed the rollers and fuser but can't see anything amiss. If you google and look on HP forums, apparently it is widely known. Any fix? Again, this is NOT an INK smear - ink is fine, HP toner is fine, roller is nice and clean. This is a physical dent/groove pressed into the paper as it passes through the fuser.

Was updated to current latest firmware.

Opsys is either Mint 20.2 kern 5.11 or Win10 21H1. Same with both. Not an opsys prob.

I am a geek. Been doing computers since about 1962.

[Valsimot]

Those 2 lower plastic rollers have springs that I have to loosen so the spring force is lowered, and the groves are gone.

[KrisM3]

Hey thanks - could you give me a pic as to which rollers you are talking about? Are they visible only if remove toner, for example, or they where the paper comes out?  THANKS!!!!!!

EDIT looked at it - Maybe those 2 rollers rubber on top and 4 plastic on bottom with sprint, right where the paper comes out?

[Valsimot]

Yes, the bottom plastic ones. They are spring loaded, you need to tweak the spring for less tension.

[KrisM3]

I figured out how to remove the tube with the 2 rubber rollers so I was able to get at the springs for the lower 4 plastic roller sets. Weakened them guite a bit but unfortunately still get about the same degree of groove in the paper. So I am guessing there must be a couple rollers in the fuser? is that fixable?

Many thanks for your time!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was added later to help with take-apart:

HP P1102w teardown:
Remove toner cartridge.

Remove 3 screws at back.
Front panel unclips at bottom and rotates forward and up.
Side bezels up at front, slide forward, pull up. (then remove 3 parts from left bezel top.)
Side panels slide out at back and bottom and top and slide forward.
Remove back metal plate.
Loosen top, undo black little arm, remove.

Ignore rollers on top.

Rollers causing 2 vertical grooves are behind back metal plate near bottom.

[KrisM3]

I took it apart again and this time I removed the fuser (pita!!!!!!!) beneath the fuser and right above the pickup roller is a pair of rollers that are exactly the correct spacing for the groove. I poked and prodded at them but there is no way to adjust the tension. My guess is that when HP built it they spec'ed the wrong diam rollers. I could see no place in the rollers that might cause a groove.

Miraculously I got it back together and it printed a test page. It may be my imagination but I think the grooves were not quite as pronounced. But I know of nothing I did that could have changed it.

I will leave this open in case someone has an idea.

Thanks to all who looked in. Many thanks to Valsimot!!!

[KrisM3]

No solution yet.

[KrisM3]

Okay.

It has now become much easier to take this thing apart. (Been in there what, 10 times? 🙂

This time I just took off the front, the side bezels, the sides, and the rear metal plate. I did not bother to remove the top cover. Not necessary.

If you look under that rear metal plate, toward the bottom you will see a couple rubber rollers on a plastic shaft held down by 2 white clips. Loosen and slide off the 2 white clips. the plastic shaft and rollers will pop up a bit, especially on the right side (as viewed from printer rear).  Now I wanted to press down hard on the 2 white rollers that these 2 black rubber rollers press against, just to "loosen them a bit". The only plastic pusher I had was from a cell phone take-apart kit - the things designed to help you pry off the cell phone cover. So I pressed against the white rollers and pushed hard (5lbs force?). I pushed at it a number of times, then did the other one the same way. Then put it all together and printed a sheet.

While I can still see the faintest groove on the front of the paper I could not on the back. My guess? When China makes these, they then sit for a while before they get sold and used and may simply need to be moved a bit as I did above to prevent the groove. In any case this fixed it for me.  Again, though I will take credit for the solution, If Valsimot had not posted, I would not have gone in there so many times looking for a fix.

[KrisM3]

Sadly , while I had marked that as solution I noticed that the next day the grooves had returned. And there seems to be no way to adjust those rollers (the pair just before the fuser.)