What usually goes wrong with printers whose feed mechanism screws up?

I have two old laser printers which I think need major cleaning or
adjustment as neither will automatically grab a single sheet of paper from
the paper tray any more (and one puts a black line all along one side of the
length of the paper).

Even when I feed it a single sheet, one crunches the paper 1 out of 5 times
causing me to have to rip the paper out (hope fully in one piece) each time.

I've replaced (and shaked) the toner and that doesn't stop the black line.
I've removed & replaced (and switched) the paper drawers many times too.

I think it's time to take it apart to see what's actually wrong with it.

Where do I find a manual for taking each apart and cleaning such that I
stand more than a 1 in 100 chance of putting it back together and having it
still work afterwards?

Hewlett Packard HP LaserJet 2100
Hewlett Packard HP LaserJet 3200

This is the HP user manual (but not the repair manual) for the HP2100.
https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-laserjet-2100-printer-series/25469
https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-laserjet-2100-printer-series/25469/model/14918

This is the HP user manual (but not the repair manual) for the HP3200.
http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/bpl08642
https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-laserjet-3200-all-in-one-printer-series/24354

Have you ever taken one apart and successfully figured out why the paper
doesn't feed or why there is a black line along the edge?

On Sat, 04 Dec 2021 16:06:05 +0200, Rudolph Rhein wrote:

> What usually goes wrong with printers whose feed mechanism screws up?
>
I had an HP printer so old I can't remember the model number. Anyway, the
thing had paper handling problems and someone sold a replacement kit. Do
a search and see if anything comes up. Printers are pretty cheap these
days, I've had good luck with Brother models.

On 12/4/2021 8:01 AM, david c wrote:
> On Sat, 04 Dec 2021 16:06:05 +0200, Rudolph Rhein wrote:
>
>> What usually goes wrong with printers whose feed mechanism screws up?
>>
> I had an HP printer so old I can't remember the model number. Anyway, the
> thing had paper handling problems and someone sold a replacement kit. Do
> a search and see if anything comes up. Printers are pretty cheap these
> days, I've had good luck with Brother models.

Me too. I'm very happy with my Brother HL-L2300D. I paid something
around $80 for it.

If I had a printer that was giving me a lot of trouble such as Rudolph
has been having, I'd toss it and buy a new one.

https://www.eserviceinfo.com/downloadsm/8751/HP_LaserJet%202100.html
https://manualmachine.com/hp/laserjet3200allinoneprinterseries/1534083-user-manual/

On 12/4/21 8:06 AM, Rudolph Rhein wrote:
> What usually goes wrong with printers whose feed mechanism screws up?
>
> I have two old laser printers which I think need major cleaning or
> adjustment as neither will automatically grab a single sheet of paper from
> the paper tray any more (and one puts a black line all along one side of the
> length of the paper).
>
> Even when I feed it a single sheet, one crunches the paper 1 out of 5 times
> causing me to have to rip the paper out (hope fully in one piece) each time.
>
> I've replaced (and shaked) the toner and that doesn't stop the black line.
> I've removed & replaced (and switched) the paper drawers many times too.
>
> I think it's time to take it apart to see what's actually wrong with it.
>
> Where do I find a manual for taking each apart and cleaning such that I
> stand more than a 1 in 100 chance of putting it back together and having it
> still work afterwards?
>
> Hewlett Packard HP LaserJet 2100
> Hewlett Packard HP LaserJet 3200
>
> This is the HP user manual (but not the repair manual) for the HP2100.
> https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-laserjet-2100-printer-series/25469
> https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-laserjet-2100-printer-series/25469/model/14918
>
> This is the HP user manual (but not the repair manual) for the HP3200.
> http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/bpl08642
> https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-laserjet-3200-all-in-one-printer-series/24354
>
> Have you ever taken one apart and successfully figured out why the paper
> doesn't feed or why there is a black line along the edge?
>

My $99 Samsung is over ten years old and it's networked...so it's been
kept on 24/7

Never had a problem with it but if it starts to jam etc, I'll just get a
new one.

I don't find it worthwhile to try to fix mechanical problems on printers.

No harm in you fooling with it though.

On Sat, 4 Dec 2021 at 08:14:23, Ken Blake <Ken@invalidinvalid.com> wrote
(my responses usually follow points raised):
>On 12/4/2021 8:01 AM, david c wrote:
>> On Sat, 04 Dec 2021 16:06:05 +0200, Rudolph Rhein wrote:
>>
>>> What usually goes wrong with printers whose feed mechanism screws
>>>up?

Oodles of different things, from stripped cogs to just rollers that are
either just dirty or have lost their elasticity.
>>>
>> I had an HP printer so old I can't remember the model number. Anyway,
>>the
>> thing had paper handling problems and someone sold a replacement kit. Do
>> a search and see if anything comes up. Printers are pretty cheap these
>> days, I've had good luck with Brother models.
>
>
>Me too. I'm very happy with my Brother HL-L2300D. I paid something
>around $80 for it.
>
>
>If I had a printer that was giving me a lot of trouble such as Rudolph
>has been having, I'd toss it and buy a new one.
>
Depends if it's an expensive one, or perhaps one that has some feature
you really like that's now uncommon (which would include, I suppose,
support for old OSs, though I was thinking more of mechanical features).

for feed mechanism problems where it's just not feeding the paper
properly (or picking up multiple sheets), and you're fairly sure it
isn't a stripped cog or something, it's likely to be either a damaged or
brittle roller - in which case it's replace roller time if you can find
one - or that the roller has become contaminated with oil, paper dust,
or similar. These _can_ be cleaned (methods vary) - though probably only
worth doing if you can identify what caused it, such as use of paper
with certain coatings, and/or poor quality, or just possibly (though I
don't think this is likely) wrong ink/toner. The paper dust problem can
explain why some apparently-identical papers vary in cost (and
_probably_ only show up if you do a _lot_ of printing; I at least once
heard this moan from a printer service technician fixing one of our
workhorse systems at work, the company using cheap paper of course). The
reason I say its only worth fixing if you can determine the source, of
course, is so you can stop it happening again (-:
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the God who endowed me with sense,
reason, and intellect intends me to forego their use". - Gallileo Gallilei

Rudolph Rhein <RudolphRhein@nospam.net> wrote:

> What usually goes wrong with printers whose feed mechanism screws up?
>
> I have two old laser printers which I think need major cleaning or
> adjustment as neither will automatically grab a single sheet of paper from
> the paper tray any more (and one puts a black line all along one side of the
> length of the paper).
>
> Even when I feed it a single sheet, one crunches the paper 1 out of 5 times
> causing me to have to rip the paper out (hope fully in one piece) each time.
>
> I've replaced (and shaked) the toner and that doesn't stop the black line.
> I've removed & replaced (and switched) the paper drawers many times too.
>
> I think it's time to take it apart to see what's actually wrong with it.
>
> Where do I find a manual for taking each apart and cleaning such that I
> stand more than a 1 in 100 chance of putting it back together and having it
> still work afterwards?
>
> Hewlett Packard HP LaserJet 2100
> Hewlett Packard HP LaserJet 3200
>
> This is the HP user manual (but not the repair manual) for the HP2100.
> https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-laserjet-2100-printer-series/25469
> https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-laserjet-2100-printer-series/25469/model/14918
>
> This is the HP user manual (but not the repair manual) for the HP3200.
> http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/bpl08642
> https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-laserjet-3200-all-in-one-printer-series/24354
>
> Have you ever taken one apart and successfully figured out why the paper
> doesn't feed or why there is a black line along the edge?

Get some isopropyl alcohol and long ear swabs (with a long wood stick).
Use them to clean the rollers. You may have to use multiple swabs per
roller until they come off clean. You may have to rotate the rollers to
get at all of their surface.

Over time the rollers will dry out which means they shrink. That means
less pressure by the rollers on the paper being fed through them. There
are cleaner+rejuvenator aerosols you can use to both remove dirt and
unused toner from the rollers, and also recondition the rollers to swell
them back up. For example:

https://www.spraywayinc.com/content/rubber-cleaner-rejuvenator

It is flammable, so don't be cleaning near flame sources. It contains
isopropyl alcohol (but is far more expensive that what you buy at the
pharmacy store to add to your firstaid supplies) and propane, and
glycols (used to rejuvenate the rollers). If you can reach the rollers
with a rag, spray the rag (not the rollers) to wipe clean while rotating
the rollers. Else, hold the long swab in front of a rag (to absorb the
overspray) to spray it to then use the wetted swab on the rollers.

Just start with the isopropyl alcohol you can get anywhere. 70% should
be sufficient. For the long swabs, you can order those from Walmart
(cotton swabs aka cotton-tipped applicators), ebay, Amazon, etc. If
just cleaning doesn't help (it will not only remove the filth but also
remove any sheen off them, and removing the hardened sheen makes the
rollers softer and more grippy), then go find the roller rejuvenator
spray (do a search on "laser printer roller rejuvenate" to find
specialty stores).

There are laser/inkjet cleaner sheets that are supposed to clean the
rollers, but I tried them just once with dismal results. They removed
some artifacts (e.g., specks) from the printouts, but did nothing to
eliminate paper jams due to filty (and something sheeny) rollers nor
swell them to improve grip (via higher pressure) by the rollers.

Try cleaning the shit out of you ass first, Adolph!

In article <sofskn$hig$1@gioia.aioe.org>,
Rudolph Rhein <RudolphRhein@nospam.net> wrote:
> I have two old laser printers which I think need major cleaning or
> adjustment as neither will automatically grab a single sheet of paper
> from the paper tray any more (and one puts a black line all along one
> side of the length of the paper).

I had a problem with my Dell 2330dn not picking up paper properly and the
fault lay in the pickup rollers. After a while they become polished and
shiny and there is no longer enough friction for them to work properly. I
found replacement rollers quite cheaply on the 'net and it was a simple
job to replace them.

--
Stuart Winsor

Tools With A Mission
sending tools across the world
http://www.twam.co.uk/