Vertical black lines down middle of page

[jtphenom]

Hi folks,

I have an LaserJet 4250n that's putting vertical light black smudges/lines down the center of my pages. It's all the way down, but it gets lighter at certain points and picks back up again. I've tried replacing the toner cartridge and cleaning the rollers, to no avail.

Any ideas?

Thanks!
James

[jtphenom]

OK I see a whole page of threads around mine. My thread is the only one that doesn't have its title bolded. That leads me to believe I did something wrong.. or neglected to do something. Someone please let me know if I'm right or not.

Thanks!

James

[kawaii_aoi]

Hi jtphenom,

Sorry to hear about your problem. I'm not very technical with laserjet printer as this is a commerical type. You can try and check this - HP LaserJet 4250 - Lines

Hope this works for you!

[jtphenom]

That page did not have the defect I'm experiencing.  But thank you for the reply, kawaii!

[kawaii_aoi]

Hi again!

Sorry to hear that the problem still persists. You're right doing the steps before you posted your problem here. Usually streaks or vertical lines are caused by empty toner cartridge or toner itself is damaged. It's also due to a dirty pick up roller or paper path. You can contact HP Tech Support so they can replace your printer. Hopefully, it's still covered by warranty!

[Steve-HP · Accepted solution]

Hi James,

I am a printer technician for HP in Australia and a full time employee. I look after many printers including this one.

Lines down the page can be caused by a few things - depending on what the line looks like.

If it is a smudged dirty streaky mark continously down the page, you migh have a dirty fuser - it may have been picking up toner and it has built up and then put it back down on the paper.

A thin defined black line might be a scratched drum or developer - the laser might be refracting and drawing the defect onto the drum.

Blank or white lines could be something stopping the toner from getting to the paper - transfer roller under the toner might have something stuck on it.

A repeated mark or defect could also be a dirty fuser - glue or wax from envelopes and labels could do this.

Try swapping the toner with another to test - borrow one if you can.

Run 3 or 4 cleaning pages - in the menu, configure device, print quality menu, create/process cleaning page.

Remove the fuser - back door comes off, little blue clips, pull it. out - rotate using the green knob and you might be able to gently remove something stuck in it.

If you can get to another 4250 or 4350 you could borrow the fuser and find out.

For this machine, I find worn out fusers and dirty printers are most commonly showing these symptoms.  Next common is low quality after market cartridges.

Hope I can help you here

Steve Hewitt

HP Australia

Melbourne.

[jtphenom]

Thanks a bunch, guys! I'll work on trying these things. Appreciate it!

[Cynyhia]

Steve,

Can you help me with an HP 8600 with a solid line when we scan or print using the document feeder only. It is just a couple months old and had this problem from the start.

We now have 4 HP printers and 3 have the same issue. Not a good track record for HP!!!

Thanks for your help!!

Cynthia

[Steve-HP]

Hi Cynthia,

If the line occurs only when you are using the ADF then I would suggest there is something stuck on the glass that the scanner can see.  When using the ADF, the scanner sits still of the left and the paper moves past it. 

Lift up the ADF to see the glass - the scan happens under the narrow glass on the far left side.  if there is a dirty mark on the glass then the scanner can see it and will draw it down the page in the form of a continuous line.  Clean this glass with a slightly dampened cloth and also clean the white panel that sits over it. 

The mark is probably pen or ink from an original document - highlighter, white-out and ink can get stuck to the glass if it is not left to dry on the origiginal page long enough.

Below is an extract from the solutions page in the 8600's support page -

--snip..

Clean the scanner glass and scanner lid

If the scanner glass or the white underside of the lid has fingerprints, smudges, lint, dust, or other debris, this can slow performance and affect copy and scan quality. To resolve this issue, clean the product.

Before you begin, gather the following materials:

• Several clean, soft, lint-free cloths

• Mild glass cleaner

CAUTION: Use only glass cleaner to clean the scanner glass. Do not use cleaners that contain abrasives, acetone, benzene, or carbon tetrachloride. These substances can damage the product. Avoid isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) because it can leave streaks on the glass.

1. Press the Power button ( ) to turn off the product.

2. Disconnect the power cord from the rear of the product.

3. Lift the scanner lid.

   Figure 3: Lift the scanner lid

   

4. Spray a clean, soft, lint-free cloth with mild glass cleaner.

   CAUTION: To protect the scanner, do not spray the glass cleaner directly on the glass.

5. Clean the scanner glass, and the glass strip next to the scanner glass, with the lint-free cloth.

   Figure 4: Clean the scanner glass and the glass strip

   

6. Clean the white underside of the scanner lid.

   Figure 5: The underside of the scanner lid

   

7. Dry the scanner glass and the glass strip thoroughly with a clean, dry cloth or chamois to prevent spotting, and then dry the white underside of the scanner lid.

   NOTE: Do not use paper-based wipes or tissues that can leave fiber residue.

8. Close the scanner lid.

9. Reconnect the power cord to the rear of the product.

10. If the product does not turn on by itself, press the Power button ( ) to turn it on.

11. Try to copy, fax, or scan again.

---snip.

This is the link to the support page for the 8600 - hope this helps you.

http://h20565.www2.hp.com/portal/site/hpsc/public/psi/home/?sp4ts.oid=4322915

Yours,

Steve Hewitt

HP Australia

[pendy]

I have an HP Laserjet Pro MFP M521dn and i'm getting a black line on pages only when ran thru the top scanner to copy. Also my fax confirmations are printing with same black line. There is no line if I am just printing from my PC.
Thanks for any advice  you can provide. pendy