CM1015 - magenta toner not printing properly [ Edited ]

[Andrew Howard]

Hi there
We have a CM1015 colour laser MFP, for some reason the magenta toner is printing very faintly. Everything points to the cartridge running low, but replacement has not cured this. We are using original cartridges. I have run the cleaning progamme a few times to no avail. Apart from this annoyance, the machine runs perfectly. Any ideas?
Many thanks
Andrew

P.S. This thread has been moved from LaserJet to Multifunction and All-in-One - HP Forums Moderator

[Dave Sylvester]

Hi Andrew

I have the same problem. I wonder if your getting the same thing as I am. I find that magenter is only about half what it should be in the horizontal center of the page and fades gradually away either side. I discoverd this by pressing the engin test button which is underneath the removable cover at the back. It is a tiny button, it causes the printer to print a page of horizontal lines in colour order. I found that the magenta printed a thinner line to the others. As I said the magenter lines were only visible in the center. Does any body know what has gone wrong? It is not the toner cartridge.

Dave

[Mr Alan Black]

I have the exact same symptoms. Very weak magenta, somewhat stronger in the middle and fades to the edges. I tried replacing the cartridge to no avail. HP?

[Dave Sylvester]

Hi

I now know the reason for problem. It is in fact a design problem by HP. They have not protected the laser scanner unit properly. Toner powder can get into the laser unit. To cure the problem you have to strip down some of the printer. First remove the toners, Remove the back cover remove two PCB under the rear cover, then remove the supporting metal panel. Then removing the laser unit. There are two small spring metal cover plates that have to be removed to get the bottom two screws of the laser unit. Best to the lean the printer on its front as these plates are on the bottom of the printer.

When you have got that far, you have to remove a small spring and then undo just one screw that holds the laser unit plastic front cover.

When this cover is removed you can see the fancy optics of the laser unit. You will find a covering of toner dust all over, the angled mirrors and lenses. The bottom angled mirror having the most toner dust this is the magents mirror.

I used a camera lens cleaning brush to remove all of the toner dust. Shining a small tourch around will high lite the dust on the various parts.

When this is done then you have to re-assemble it all.

If everthing has been done correctly then you are back in business.

David

[Ozan ÖZGÜR]

it worked for me david thanks a lot

[Pedro Rabie]

I did what Dave indicated but it was an ordeal!!! after removing almost a hundred screws I took the two pcbs, the metallic cover and the laser unit away. Interesting to mention that one supporting screw of the laser unit was missing. The whole process took me about of three hours. The good new is that it worked fine but this is not something for the heart fainted ones.

The moral of the story: Sell the printer while its printing fine.

Regards

Pedro Rabié from Santiago, Chile

[Boy-Wonder]

Holy laser beams Batman! That was an intimidating ordeal in the beginning but now that I have done it once, the next time will be a breeze. Followed Dave's advice and now my printer is printing like new again. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[wiscdev]

Thank you so much for this tip Dave!

I haven't taken apart my printer before.   I started dismantling it and about 30 minutes in started freaking out because I was sure I had inadvertently broken something.  I followed through though and I have magenta again!

Here are some issues I ran into that may help others.  To get partway through the process, I found the CM1015 service manual online.  It's here: http://www.feedroller.com/store/Service%20Manual/HP%20Color%20LaserJet%20CM1015%20MFP%20(CB394A),%20...

Use a #2 (big) Phillips screwdriver.  I started with the smaller screwdrivers I usually use on computer cases but after I almost stripped a few screws, I moved up to the #2.

When you get the two PCB's off, there is no help in the manual regarding getting off the supporting metal panel that holds them.  You also won't be able to see the screws along the top of the panel until you take off the plastic piece that holds the cable run.  There are no screws holding it in.  Slide it back and forth horizontally  until you see how to pull it out.

The (white) ribbon cables just pull straight out but I had some difficulty with the others (purple.)  Does anyone have any tips?  I put a mini screwdriver under one edge and then once it lifted out a bit had some success pulling up on one end, then the other.  I felt like I was putting too much stress on the cables though, and that there was probably a better way.

I had the same experience as Pedro, that one of the screws holding the laser unit was missing.

The dusty mirror doesn't look very dusty unless you shine a light on it and look really close.  At first when I opened the optics box I thought I had wasted my time, but when I looked very closely there was a thin layer of dust on the bottom mirror.  (The pink rectangle in the attached picture.)

I borrowed an optics brush from my photographer boyfriend but, to my dismay, there was grease on it which I transferred onto the mirrors.  I didn't have any Windex or ammonia on hand so I put a drop of Dawn in about 1/4 cup of warm water and used some "Precision Tip Q-Tips" to gently remove the grease and leftover dust.  

I never would have figured this out without your post.  Thanks Dave!

[wiscdev]

Looks like my enthusiasm was a little premature. In the process I either left a smudge or scratch on the magenta mirror. Although a lot of the color is restored, a big streak exists across the page which doesn't have any magenta in it. Anyone know where I can buy a new optics unit?