HP Color LaserJet CP1210 and CP1510

Series - Print Quality Troubleshooting

Guide
PRINT MODES: Driver, Extended, Optimize
Repetitive Defect Distances
PQ Defects
Background
C-Blade Blur
C-Roller Dark Bands
C Roller Dark Bands at Beginning of Life
C-Roller Dark Bands Later than Beginning of Life
C-Roller Dot
C-Roller to Ground
Chicken Tracks/Fish Scale
Color Plane Registration
Contamination: Fuser
Contamination: OPC
Curl
Developer Bands, Black
Developer Clutch Skips
Developer Roller - Toner Missing on Edge of Paper
Developer Sharp Bands
End of Cartridge Life Cleaning

Faulty OPC Ground Path

Fuser Cracks
Image Memory
ITB Drive Roller Contamination
ITB Failure
ITB Spots
Leading Edge Shift
Light Print
Light Print at Edges of Image
Missing Color Plane
Offset, Fuser
OPC Cleaning
OPC Drive Failure
OPC Plus Charge Memory Lines
OPC Repeating Dots with White Streak
OPC Wide White Bands
Short Horizontal Line Segments
Small Pitch Banding
Stacking
Streaks: Dark Caused By Fiber
Streaks: Developer
Streaks: Fine Cartridge
Streaks: ITB Toner Streaks

Streaks: ITB Wave

Streaks: Light
Streaks: Scanner Ghost
Streaks: Vertical Ripple
Streaks: White Caused By Fiber
Toner Leak
Toner Out
Trailing Edge Contamination and Smear
Tramlines
Transfer Mottle (Primary)
Transfer Mottle (Secondary)
Mispositioning Input Tray Settings
Sealed Envelopes
Toner Cartridge Seal Tab
Toner Splash
10.xxxx Supplies Error

PRINT MODES: Driver, Extended, Optimize

Software Media Types

Software
media
types

HP PRINT
MODES

Plain
Letterhead
Preprinted Normal
Prepunched mode
Colored
Recycled

Engine
Extended Color
print mode print mode tables

Output
LUT
prefix

Constraine
d Curve
Tables

none

Plain

NormalMas
PlainFull
s

HP LaserJet
90g
HP Color
Laser Matte
105g
HP
Premium
Heavy media
Heavy mode
none
Choice
1
Matte 120g
Mid-Weight
96-110g
Heavy 111130g
Bond

Plain

NormalMas
PlainLow
s

Heavy media Rough

1
paper

Plain

NormalMas
PlainLow
s

HP Color
Laser
Brochure
Matte 160g
Cardstock
HP Superior
mode
Laser Matte
160g
Extra Heavy
131-175g

Heavy media
none
2

Plain

NormalMas
PlainLow
s

Heavy
Rough

Heavy media Rough

2
paper

Plain

NormalMas
PlainLow
s

Heavy media More

Plain
2
fusing (+1)

NormalMas
PlainLow
s

Rough

---no name

--- no name

HP Cover
Matte 200g --- no name
HP Matte

Photo 200g

Normal

Software Media Types

Software
media
types

HP PRINT
MODES

Plain
Letterhead
Preprinted Normal
Prepunched mode
Colored
Recycled

Engine
Extended Color
print mode print mode tables

Output
LUT
prefix

Constraine
d Curve
Tables

none

Plain

NormalMas
PlainFull
s

HP LaserJet
90g
HP Color
Laser Matte
105g
HP
Premium
Heavy media
Heavy mode
none
Choice
1
Matte 120g
Mid-Weight
96-110g
Heavy 111130g
Bond

Plain

NormalMas
PlainLow
s

Normal

--- not used

Heavy media

Light 6074g

Light mode

Light media
none
1

Plain

NormalMas
PlainFull
s

--- not used

Light media

--- not used

Light media

HP
Light Glossy Glossy
Presentation mode
media 1
Glossy 130g
Hp
Professional
Laser
Glossy 130g
Heavy
Glossy 111-

none

Gloss NormalMas Glossy

y
s

Software Media Types

Software
media
types

HP PRINT
MODES

Plain
Letterhead
Preprinted Normal
Prepunched mode
Colored
Recycled

Engine
Extended Color
print mode print mode tables

Output
LUT
prefix

Constraine
d Curve
Tables

none

Plain

NormalMas
PlainFull
s

HP LaserJet
90g
HP Color
Laser Matte
105g
HP
Premium
Heavy media
Heavy mode
none
Choice
1
Matte 120g
Mid-Weight
96-110g
Heavy 111130g
Bond

Plain

NormalMas
PlainLow
s

Normal

130g
HP Color
Laser
Brochure
Glossy 160g
HP Superior
Laser
Glossy 160g
Glossy
Glossy mode
HP Tri-Fold
media 2
Color Laser
Brochure
160g
Extra Heavy
Glossy 131175g
HP Color
Heavy
Glossy
Laser Photo Glossy mode media 3
Glossy 220g

none

none

Gloss NormalMas
Glossy
y
s

Gloss NormalMas Glossy

y
s

Software Media Types

Software
media
types

HP PRINT
MODES

Plain
Letterhead
Preprinted Normal
Prepunched mode
Colored
Recycled

Engine
Extended Color
print mode print mode tables

Output
LUT
prefix

Constraine
d Curve
Tables

none

Plain

NormalMas
PlainFull
s

HP LaserJet
90g
HP Color
Laser Matte
105g
HP
Premium
Heavy media
Heavy mode
none
Choice
1
Matte 120g
Mid-Weight
96-110g
Heavy 111130g
Bond

Plain

NormalMas
PlainLow
s

Normal

Card Glossy
176-220g
HP Color
Laser Photo
--- no name
Glossy 220g

(faster
printing)
HP Color
Laser Photo
--- no name
Glossy 220g

(higher
gloss)

none

Glossy
NormalMas Photo (lowPhoto
s
speed cal
on)

Photo 2 (not
none
Tweety)

Glossy
NormalMas Photo (lowPhoto
s
speed cal
on)

Photo 1

HP Tough
Paper

Tough Paper
Glossy film
mode

none

Gloss
ToughPaper Glossy
y

Envelope

Envelope
mode

none

Plain

Envelope 1

NormalMas
PlainFull
s

Software Media Types

Software
media
types

HP PRINT
MODES

Plain
Letterhead
Preprinted Normal
Prepunched mode
Colored
Recycled

Engine
Extended Color
print mode print mode tables

Output
LUT
prefix

Constraine
d Curve
Tables

none

Plain

NormalMas
PlainFull
s

HP LaserJet
90g
HP Color
Laser Matte
105g
HP
Premium
Heavy media
Heavy mode
none
Choice
1
Matte 120g
Mid-Weight
96-110g
Heavy 111130g
Bond

Plain

NormalMas
PlainLow
s

none

Plain

NormalMas
PlainLow
s

Color Laser
Transparency
Transparenc
OHT
mode
y

none

OHT

NormalMas
Glossy
s

Labels

none

Plain

NormalMas
PlainLow
s

Heavy
Envelope

Normal

Heavy
Envelope
mode

Envelope 2

--- not used

Envelope 3

Label mode

Label

--- not used

Designated
media 1

--- not used

Designated
media 2

--- not used

Designated

Software Media Types

Software
media
types

HP PRINT
MODES

Plain
Letterhead
Preprinted Normal
Prepunched mode
Colored
Recycled

Engine
Extended Color
print mode print mode tables

Output
LUT
prefix

Constraine
d Curve
Tables

none

Plain

NormalMas
PlainFull
s

HP LaserJet
90g
HP Color
Laser Matte
105g
HP
Premium
Heavy media
Heavy mode
none
Choice
1
Matte 120g
Mid-Weight
96-110g
Heavy 111130g
Bond

Plain

NormalMas
PlainLow
s

Normal

media 3
Extended Print Modes

EXTENDED
PRINT MODES

Paper curl - up

Extended
Output LUT
print mode

EEC95-11

Description

This setting optimizes fuser

temperature for paper with the
ends curled up in the output
tray.

Paper curl -down

EEC96-10

This setting optimizes fuser

temperature for paper with the
ends curled down in the output
tray.

Flap sealing

EEC94-13

This setting reduces fuser

temperature for envelope print
modes to reduce flap sealing.

Software Media Types

Software
media
types

HP PRINT
MODES

Plain
Letterhead
Preprinted Normal
Prepunched mode
Colored
Recycled

Engine
Extended Color
print mode print mode tables

Output
LUT
prefix

Constraine
d Curve
Tables

none

Plain

NormalMas
PlainFull
s

HP LaserJet
90g
HP Color
Laser Matte
105g
HP
Premium
Heavy media
Heavy mode
none
Choice
1
Matte 120g
Mid-Weight
96-110g
Heavy 111130g
Bond

Plain

NormalMas
PlainLow
s

Normal

EEC68-10
EEC91>0Bh

*
EEC92>-n**

These settings give 2 levels of

direct control to decrease fuser
temperature. The user needs
guidance from HP support to
use these settings.

EEC68-10
EEC91>0Bh
More fusing (+n) n
*

= +1, +2
EEC92>+n*
*

These settings give 2 levels of

direct control to increase fuser
temperature. The user needs
guidance from HP support to
use these settings.

Dry paper

EEC93-13

This setting optimizes the

transfer voltage (between the
transfer belt and paper) for dry
conditions or high resistivity
paper.

Humid paper

EEC94-12

Less fusing (-n) n

= -1, -2

This setting optimizes the

transfer voltage for humid

Software Media Types

Software
media
types

HP PRINT
MODES

Plain
Letterhead
Preprinted Normal
Prepunched mode
Colored
Recycled

Engine
Extended Color
print mode print mode tables

Output
LUT
prefix

Constraine
d Curve
Tables

none

Plain

NormalMas
PlainFull
s

HP LaserJet
90g
HP Color
Laser Matte
105g
HP
Premium
Heavy media
Heavy mode
none
Choice
1
Matte 120g
Mid-Weight
96-110g
Heavy 111130g
Bond

Plain

NormalMas
PlainLow
s

Normal

conditions.
Rough paper

EEC93-14

This setting optimizes the

transfer voltage for rough,
textured papers.

EEC68-10
Less transfer (-n) n EEC91>08h

= -1, -2, -3, -4, -5 *

EEC92>-n**

These settings give 5 levels of

direct control to decrease
simplex transfer voltage. The
user needs guidance from HP
support to use these settings.

EEC68-10
More transfer (+n) EEC91>08h
n = +1, +2, +3, +4, *

+5
EEC92>+n*
*

These settings give 5 levels of

direct control to increase
simplex transfer voltage. The
user needs guidance from HP
support to use these settings.

Less duplex
EEC68-10

transfer (-n) n = -1, EEC91>09h

-2, -3, -4, -5
*

These settings give 5 levels of

direct control to decrease
duplex transfer voltage. The

Software Media Types

Software
media
types

HP PRINT
MODES

Plain
Letterhead
Preprinted Normal
Prepunched mode
Colored
Recycled

Engine
Extended Color
print mode print mode tables

Output
LUT
prefix

Constraine
d Curve
Tables

none

Plain

NormalMas
PlainFull
s

HP LaserJet
90g
HP Color
Laser Matte
105g
HP
Premium
Heavy media
Heavy mode
none
Choice
1
Matte 120g
Mid-Weight
96-110g
Heavy 111130g
Bond

Plain

NormalMas
PlainLow
s

Normal

EEC92>-n**

user needs guidance from HP

support to use these settings.

More duplex
transfer (+n) n =
+1, +2, +3, +4, +5

EEC68-10
EEC91>09h
*

EEC92>+n*
*

These settings give 5 levels of

direct control to increase duplex
transfer voltage. The user needs
guidance from HP support to
use these settings.

Less toner (-1)

Tone curve is scaled back so

ReducedMass
that solid is not 100% halftone
1
(-1 level)

Less toner (-2)

Tone curve is scaled back so

ReducedMass
that solid is not 100% halftone
2
(-2 levels)

Less toner (-3)

Tone curve is scaled back so

ReducedMass
that solid is not 100% halftone
3
(-3 levels)

NOTE: * > means write xxh to bits 11-15.

** > means write +/-y to bits 9-15.

Optimize Menu
OPTIMIZE
MENU

Extended
print mode

Description

EEC95-9

Optimize printer settings to reduce background

toner. (Glossy media picks background toner
more readily than plain media.)

EEC93-11

Talc from paper with high talc content gets

coated on the imaging drums and degrades image
quality. The printer will use extra cleaning
rotations when stopping to eliminate this coating
on the drums.

Drum Banding

EEC95-13

This mode reduces the occurrence of sharp lines

at the OPC drum pitch (75 mm) by extra prerotations and by jogging the drums slightly after
each job. The jogging motion is slightly audible.

Transfer belt
cleaning (+1,
+2)

This mode increases transfer belt (ITB) cleaning

effectiveness by increasing the ICL (ITB
Cleaning) roller/brush voltage for the +1 setting,
EEC96-11 (+1)
and by increasing cleaning frequency for the +2
EEC96-12 (+2)
setting. This should be used when the ghost of
previous heavy coverage pages appears on
following pages.

Background
Toner

Extra Drum
Cleaning

Transfer belt
cleaning voltage EEC68-10
n = -5, -4, -3, -2, EEC91>0Ah*
-1, 0, +1, +2,
EEC92>n**
+3, +4, +5

This adjustment allows fine control of the ICL

roller/brush voltage. Decreasing the voltage is
better for OPC drum ghosting. Increasing the
voltage is better for heavy coverage cleaning.

Transfer belt
voltage Y
EEC68-10
n = -5, -4, -3, -2, EEC91>04h*
-1, 0, +1, +2,
EEC92>n**
+3, +4, +5

This adjustment allows fine control of the Yellow

station OPC-to-ITB transfer voltage. (There is
currently no known defect associated with this
adjustment.)

Transfer belt
voltage M
EEC68-10
n = -5, -4, -3, -2, EEC91>05h*
-1, 0, +1, +2,
EEC92>n**
+3, +4, +5

This adjustment allows fine control of the

Magenta station OPC-to-ITB transfer voltage.
(There is currently no known defect associated
with this adjustment.)

Transfer belt

This adjustment allows fine control of the Cyan

EEC68-10

Optimize Menu
OPTIMIZE
MENU

Extended
print mode

Description

voltage C
n = -5, -4, -3, -2, EEC91>06h*
-1, 0, +1, +2,
EEC92>n**
+3, +4, +5

station OPC-to-ITB transfer voltage. (There is

currently no known defect associated with this
adjustment.)

Transfer belt
voltage K
EEC68-10
n = -5, -4, -3, -2, EEC91>07h*
-1, 0, +1, +2,
EEC92>n**
+3, +4, +5

This adjustment allows fine control of the Black

station OPC-to-ITB transfer voltage. (There is
currently no known defect associated with this
adjustment.)

top

Repetitive Defect Distances

Repetitive Defect Distance Table
Component

Distance
(mm)

Notes

OPC drum (1 rotation) 75.8

Appears in a single color and may be either a

dark or a white spot.

Developer roller (1
rotation)

Appears only in one color plane.

22.3

Developer RS roller (1
28.5
rotation)

Inside developer and Removes and Supplies

toner to the developer sleeve.

Charge roller

26.7

Appears only in one color plane.

Cartridge to cartridge
spacing

69

Distance between each color OPC.

Fuser pressure roller (1

56.8
rotation)

Appears on all color planes.

Fuser film (1 rotation)

56.5

Appears on all color planes.

Registration roller

44

Transfer roller

57

ITB

633.6

Appears on all color planes.

top

PQ Defects
Background
Description
Various color toners developing on to white regions of the page.
Conditions
Smooth media is worse case. High humidity and end of cartridge life adds to the
problem.
Cause
Toner is developed onto the OPC in the white regions. The smooth media
significantly improves the transfer efficiency and the size of each background
toner particle covers more white area after fusing.
Workarounds
The greatest reduction will be made by changing to a rougher media. Reducing
the humidity is the second best change. Installing new cartridges may help but
only if they are near end of life.
Related Parts
Media and cartridges.
NOTE: Hummingbird/Tweety have never had a background problem.
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C-Blade Blur
Description
A sequence of light/dark/light bands with a total width of approximately 1.5 mm.
The series of bands will repeat at 75 mm, OPC frequency.
Conditions
Most commonly occurs after printing heavy coverage and then allowing the
printer to sit idle.
Cause
Toner, or some other material, bonds to the OPC surface resulting in region with a
different coefficient of friction. When the cleaning blade encounters this region
the OPC accelerates, backlash in the gear train is absorbed and the OPC slows
down, followed by the gear train recovering and the OPC accelerating.
[Update: Excessive hand oil, lotions, etc. can be transferred from handled paper to
the cartridge creating the region of different coefficient of friction on the OPC.]
Workarounds
Print four pages prior to the critical PQ document.
[Update: Avoid handling the page prior to printing and take care not to transfer
hand oil or lotion to the pages.]

Related Parts
Specific print cartridge
NOTE: Continued printing cleans the OPC and eliminates the defect.
top

C-Roller Dark Bands

(These 2 examples
are not to scale with
each other. Defect
repeats at 26.7 mm)

Description
Thin dark horizontal lines repeating at the C-roller interval
(26.7 mm).
Conditions
This defect occurs in low temperature environments after
printing long jobs and then allowing the printer to sit idle.
Cause
Material is scraped off the OPC surface and accumulates at the
OPC/C-blade interface. The bond to the OPC increases when
the cartridge sits idle and is transfer to the C-roller surface.
The material on the C-roller surface then prevents proper
charging of the OPC surface because of the additional
resistance.
Workarounds

Turn On countermeasure in extended mode.

Elevate the operating environment temperature.

Reduce the length of print jobs to 10 pages.

Replace the cartridge.

Related Parts
Print cartridge(s)
NOTE: There is a fix in the engine that can be turned on which
allows the cartridge to continue rotations after it has stopped
printing. These multiple short rotations prevent the
contaminant from sticking in one place. The drawback is that
the printer will continue to make random noises when sitting
idle, when these rotations occur.
top

C Roller Dark Bands at Beginning of Life

Dark sharp
horizontal bands
repeating at 26.7
mm

Description
Dark, sharp horizontal bands repeating at the C-roller pitch (26.7
mm). The defect is most visible on the edges of the media,
particularly when the edges of the media have weaker toner
transfer than the rest of the page.
Conditions
Occurs at the beginning of life, and fades over time. If the defect
is moderate severity, it will fade to light severity in 1 day. If the
defect is light severity, it will fade to unnoticeable levels in 1
more day. The fade will occur regardless of whether the printer is
printing or sitting idle.
Cause
This defect appears to be charge related. Rough shipping and
handling can create a trapped charge in the charge roller. The
trapped charge dissipates over 1-2 days.
Workarounds
Tell the customer that the defect will go away in 1-2 days
depending on the severity.
Related Parts
Print cartridge(s).

top

C-Roller Dark Bands Later than Beginning of Life

(These 2 examples
are not to scale with
each other. Defect
repeats at 26.7
mm.)

Description
Thin dark horizontal lines repeating at the C-roller interval
(26.7 mm). The defect can occur in white areas and also halftoned areas as shown.
Conditions
This defect occurs in low temperature environments after
printing long jobs and then allowing the printer to sit idle.
Cause
Material is scraped off the OPC surface and accumulates at the
OPC/C-blade interface. The bond to the OPC increases when
the cartridge sits idle and is transfer to the C-roller surface.
The material on the C-roller surface then prevents proper
charging of the OPC surface because of the additional
resistance.
Workarounds

Turn On countermeasure in extended mode.

Elevate the operating environment temperature.

Reduce the length of print jobs to 10 pages.

Replace the cartridge.

Related Parts
Print cartridge(s).
NOTE: There is a fix in the engine that can be turned on which
allows the cartridge to continue rotations after it has stopped
printing. These multiple short rotations prevent the
contaminant from sticking in one place. The drawback is that
the printer will continue to make random noises when sitting
idle, when these rotations occur.
top

C-Roller Dot
Description
Small dots repeating vertical down the page at the C-roller interval (26.7 mm).
The dots can be the color of any of the toner cartridges. The dots can be seen on
the page in both the printed and non-printed areas. Example shows a black dot on
both the magenta and non-printed areas.
Conditions
Contamination or damage to the C-roller surface.
Cause
The most common cause for C-roller dots is adhesive contamination. Adhesive
from labels or envelopes can come off and attach to the charge roller surface. A
common way for this to occur is if the customer prints on only a few adhesive
labels on a sheet of labels. They peel off the labels they need at the time. Then,
they use the same sheet to print more labels. This time, the adhesive is exposed
and can more easily contaminate the cartridge.
A defective charge roller may also be the cause.
Workarounds

Encourage the customer to print the entire sheet of labels at one time, and
not reuse the same sheet over and over.
If the problem still occurs when printing full sheets of labels, check with
HP for a list of preferred adhesive labels.
Once the C-roller is contaminated or damaged, it must be replaced.

Related Parts
Print cartridge(s).

top

C-Roller to Ground
Description
The defect consists of sets of 4 mm wide bands, YMCK, repeating at 75.8 mm
pitch across the full width of the page. Development occurs outside the image
area.
Conditions
This defect may occur in all environments and printing modes.
Cause
The OPC coating is damaged allowing the charge roller bias to be connecting to
ground. The high voltage supply is unable to maintain the charging voltage due to
the short, toner development occurs across the full length of the developer.
Workarounds
None
Related Parts
One of the print cartridges.
NOTE: The defect in one print cartridge causes the print defect to occur in all four
colors, unless printing in mono mode.
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Chicken Tracks/Fish Scale

Description
In mid-tone regions, short wavy marks occur in all colors (especially black and
cyan). The defect tends to occur near the left and right margins (within about 5 cm
of edge). This defect is sometimes accompanied by toner contamination at the
leading edge.
Conditions
Fish scales (and chicken tracks) tend to occur in dry environments when the
media has been opened for some time and dried out or with highly resistive media
types.
Cause
Fish scales (and chicken tracks) are caused by static discharge disturbing the toner
as the media peals away from the transfer belt before going into the fuser.
Workarounds
Fish scales (and chicken tracks) are minimized when the customer selects the
proper Media and Origin settings. For example, setting Origin=China ensures that
secondary transfer bias is optimized for the high-resistance media which is
common in China.
Additional methods for minimizing this defect include:

Use freshly-opened media or lower-resistance media (e.g., HP media

specified for use with LaserJet printers).

Extended Print Modes , Transfer (or Duplex Transfer) , Dry Paper .

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Color Plane Registration

Description
One or more color plane is not aligned with the other color planes.
Conditions

After a long period of idle time.

After a cartridge change.

After the front cartridge door has been opened/close without changing
cartridges.

After continuously printing.

After a calibration is performed while using faded cartridges.

Failing ITB.

Cause
It can be caused by thermal expansion, cartridge alignment or shifting, bad
calibration.
Workarounds

Forcing a calibration should resolve the problem in most cases.

If a cartridge is severely faded, it should be replaced.

Opening and closing the cartridge door should be discouraged unless a

cartridge is to be changed.

If ITB is failing, there is no workaround. See Failing ITB section.

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Contamination: Fuser

Description
Dark toner dots observed on the front or back of the page. Defect is either nonrepeating or repeating at 56.5 mm pitch on the front of the page or 56.8 mm on the
back of the page.
Conditions
Defect occurs if:

Inappropriate media type mode is selected (fuser too cold).

Narrow media was printed for extended periods of time.

Numerous fuser jams were observed on the previous jobs.

Cause
Toner buildup on the fuser sleeve.
Workarounds
Run several cleaning pages until defect disappears.
Two cleaning modes are available for this printer:

Single pass selectable from control panel.

Two pass selectable from the tool box. (Help , Cleaning page )

Related Parts
Fuser
NOTE: If repeating defect does not disappear after repeated cleaning pages, a
permanent defect might be present on the fuser sleeve.
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Contamination: OPC
Description
Dark spots in white areas and light spots in printed areas repeating at 75 mm (3
inches). The spots maybe of all or one color.
Conditions
Immediately after loading paper.
Cause
Glue from the ream wrapper transfers to the paper and then transfers to the
OPC(s). Glue from labels has also been a source for this defect.
Workarounds
Discard the first and last page of a new ream of paper.
It is possible to clean the OPC(s) with isopropyl alcohol and a tissue or soft cloth.
It will be necessary to print several pages after cleaning to remove all alcohol
residues. Care must be taken to ensure the OPC is only rotated in the proper
direction. Rotating the OPC in the opposite direction will cause print defects.

Related Parts
Print cartridge(s).
top

Curl
Description
Printed paper has curled edges. Two types of curl are possible:

Positive curl paper is curled toward the printed side.

Negative curl paper is curled away from printed side.

Conditions
Positive curl - occurs in humid environments when printing high coverage pages.
Negative curl occurs in high humidity environments when printing low
coverage pages.
Cause
Uneven drying conditions for the two sides of the paper and fuser location close to
the paper output.
Workarounds
Positive curl - Use a higher temperature media type mode which will increase the
negative curl tendency reducing the positive curl. Also, more fusing could be
selected in the extended print modes.
Negative curl - Use a lower temperature media type mode or select lower fusing
temperature in extended print modes.
Related Parts
Fuser
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Developer Bands, Black

Description
A dark wide band repeating at the developer roller interval (22.3 mm).
Conditions
The defect is more easily seen in large areas of a uniform halftone.
Cause
The toner development is not uniform around the circumference of the developer
either due to the sleeve itself or the lack of precision in the bearings spacing the
sleeve from the OPC.
Workarounds

Change the halftone level.

Change the pattern color.

Replace the cartridge.

Related Parts
Print cartridge(s).
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Developer Clutch Skips

Description
An 8mm horizontal band running across the page can occur
in cyan, magenta, and yellow simultaneously, or in black
only.
Conditions
This defect can occur in all printing conditions.
Cause
Four pages missing
There are two developer clutches, one for CMY, and one
CMY on the first,
for K. Each clutch has two halves that move in and out
second, and forth
relative to one another. If the two halves fail to fully
images, and missing K engage, a rotational skip by one tooth can occur, resulting
on the third image.
in a loss of developer sleeve rotation for 8 mm.
Workarounds
Reprint the page.
Related Parts
Printer gear train assembly
NOTE: We think that this issue has been resolved during
development but feel that it should be documented in the
event that a lack of margin allows it to reoccur.
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Developer Roller - Toner Missing on Edge of Paper

Cyan toner missing
from both images.
The image on the
right leaves yellow
toner left over from
green.

Description
Toner is missing on one or both sides of the page. This can
be seen when the customer is trying to print to the full sides
of the page. The toner will be missing along a vertical wavelike scallop pattern. The scallop appears to repeat at the
developer roller interval (22.3 mm). The defect usually

occurs very near or at the end of life.

Conditions
Near or at cartridge end of life.
Cause
Developer to OPC pressure is uneven. When toner amount in
the fresh cavity gets low, the toner may not develop in these
uneven pressure areas.
Workarounds
Remove the cartridge and gently shake it side to side. This
will redistribute the toner. Reinserting the cartridge also
gives the developer to OPC pressure a chance to recover.
Reinstall the cartridge and see if the defect is gone. This has
eliminated the defect in the past. If the defect does not go
away, replace the cartridge.
Related Parts
Print cartridge(s).
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Developer Sharp Bands

Dark sharp
horizontal bands
repeating at 22.3
mm

top

Description
Dark, sharp horizontal bands repeating at the developer roller
pitch (22.3 mm). The bands are visible inside a solid half-toned
area. The bands can run completely across the page side to side,
or only appear on the edges of the page.
Conditions
Occurs at the beginning of life, and fades over time. If the defect
is moderate severity, it will fade to light severity in 1 day. If the
defect is light severity, it will fade to unnoticeable levels in 1
more day. The fade will occur regardless of whether the printer is
printing or sitting idle.
Cause
During shipping, the doctor blade presses onto the developer
roller and causes a dent. When the cartridge first prints, this dent
causes extra toner to transfer out causing the bands. Over a day
or 2, the dent recovers.
Workarounds
Tell the customer that the defect will go away in 1-2 days
depending on the severity.
Related Parts
Print cartridge(s).

End of Cartridge Life Cleaning

Description
Some of the halftone images contain toner that is not part of the requested color.
This background like toner will not occur in all colors.
Conditions
Printing in Override mode.
Cause
The print cartridge is unable to pick up the waste toner from the ITB due to the
worn condition of the OPC.
Workarounds
Replace the cartridge(s) in Override mode.
Related Parts
Print cartridge
NOTE: This problem is most commonly seen with yellow but may also occur in
magenta and cyan.
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Faulty OPC Ground Path

Description
Any one of the four color planes can develop a severe horizontal banding pattern
which will have a tendency to repeat down the page at a 75.8 mm pitch.
Conditions
This defect will be most prominent in solid and halftone areas.
Cause
Each of the four color stations has an OPC ground contact located in the center of
the engine drive coupling. If the conductive grease, located within the gear train,
becomes sufficiently displaced from the point of contact, large resistance
variations can occur across the contact, resulting in E-field variations in the
development nip which causes the banding variation.
Workarounds
There are none.
Related Parts
OPC printer contacts.
NOTE: We think that this issue has been resolved during development but feel
that it should be documented in the event that a lack of margin allows it to
reoccur. The resistance measured between the engine side OPC ground contact
and engine ground should be less than 700K ohms. A common DVM may be used
to make this measurement.
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Fuser Cracks
Description
One or multiple fine short horizontal lines repeating at approximately 57 mm.
Conditions
This defect will be most prominent in uniform solid areas printed on glossy paper.
Cause
Fuser cracks can develop in early life if printer is idle for extended periods of
time. Cracks are usually small and invisible to most customers. Canon will have a
firmware countermeasure implemented as rolling change that should address this
issue.
Workarounds
None.
Related Parts
Fuser
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Image Memory
Description
A defect can occur when the same dark vertical feature is printed repetitively on a
white background, and then a half-toned page is printed shortly after. The defect is
a light ghost feature on the half toned page in the same vertical location as the
vertical dark feature had been on the white background page.
Conditions
On the example shown, the dark vertical feature is the black vertical line shown
by the upper arrow. This line runs the entire vertical length of the page. If this
page is continuously printed over many pages (400-900), then followed by
printing the medium density half tone page below, a light vertical ghost line can
occur as shown by the lower arrow. This could also occur for wider vertical
features or other colors different from this example.
Cause
After repetitively charging/discharging the same vertical area on the OPC drum, it
temporarily looses the ability to discharge completely due to trapped charge. This
results in the ghost.
Workarounds

Let the cartridge rest for a day.

Remove long continuous vertical features from the image.

Print on glossy media.

Add images without the vertical feature to the job.

Related Parts
Print cartridge(s).
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ITB Drive Roller Contamination

Description
Light spots repeat at 69 mm pitch and are observed in all colors. Over time, the
defect can become a continuous streak through all colors.
Cause
Contamination of the ITB drive roller and/or ITB tension roller can occur during
manufacturing or rework. The contaminants deform the belt, causing bumps
(which can be observed through the rear door of the printer) and disrupting
secondary transfer. Larger contaminant particles can deform the belt sufficiently
to create a continuous streak in the belt.
Workarounds
None
Related Parts
ITB
NOTE: This defect occurred with ITBs which had been reworked outside of
Canons clean room assembly environment.
The dots or streaks may appear after a considerable number of pages printed (e.g.
> 10k), or much earlier.
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ITB Failure
Description
ITB assembly wearout causing a number of PQ defects including:

Poor/inconsistent CPR calibration and/or CPR that changes from the top to
the bottom of a page.
Leading edge margin changes during continuous print.

ITB wave streaks defect.

Mechanical damage or tearing of the belt.

Conditions
Abnormally heavy printer usage or printer past end of life.
Cause
Increased drag between the ITB and the T1 sheet. The thermal load history of the
belt affects the time to failure. High temperature environments and back-to-back
short jobs (1pg is worst case) cause the shortest time to failure.
Workarounds
None.
Related Parts
None.
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ITB Spots
Description
ITB spots often look like an eye a white dot centered in a dark oval. This spot
(or several spots) appear just once per page (i.e., spots do not repeat on a given
page); are observed on about 50% of pages, always at same distance from left
edge but in varying distance from top edge; and occur in all color planes. If the
spot occurs in only one color plane (e.g., cyan but not black), then it is not an ITB
spot.
Cause
Contamination on ITB belt surface, often traceable to adhesive from ream
wrapper or from adhesive labels.
Workarounds
Print 20 high-coverage pages.
NOTE: This will improve cleaning effectiveness but does not guarantee
that the spot will be cleaned.

Discard the first and last page of a new ream of paper.

Related Parts
ITB
NOTE: Cleaning the ITB surface would be extremely difficult for the customer
(due to limited access) and involves risk of damaging the belt.
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Leading Edge Shift

Description

The leading edge of the image shifts upward, reducing the top margin. The shift
gets progressively worse during large print jobs, then tends to reset at the
beginning of the next print job.
Conditions
Occurs near end of engine life. The worst-case environment is high-high (high
temperature/high humidity) but also occurs in other environments.
Cause
Refer to ITB Failure for more detail.
Workarounds
None
Related Parts
ITB
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Light Print
Description
Low optical density (light print) with the addition of severe banding at OPC
period (75.8 mm).
Conditions
All environments, all use cases.
Cause
Incorrect OPC discharge response.
Workarounds
None
Related Parts
Print cartridge
NOTE: We believe this issue was resolved during development but feel it should
be documented in the event a failure to control OPC manufacturing occurs.
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Light Print at Edges of Image

Description
A lower density can occur on the right and/or left edges of the printed area. The
width of the lighter density varies, but has been seen starting up to 40 mm from
the edge of the media.
Conditions
This defect is most commonly seen near the end of cartridge life.
Cause
There are several causes/contributors to this defect but the cartridge is most
common. T1, T2, and scanner contamination have contributed to this problem.

Workarounds
Replace the cartridge.
Related Parts
Print cartridge(s)
Engine
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Missing Color Plane

Description
Any one of the four colors can be missing from the page.
Conditions
When it occurs, it typically results from the consumable door
being opened and closed without also sliding out the consumable
tray.
Cause
A pawl on the printer that holds the developer alienation arm up
on each cartridge rotates out of position when the door is
opened. When the door is closed it tries to move back into
The K color plane
position but can wind up moving on top of the developer
is missing in the
alienation mechanism rather than properly engaging it. This then
left image but not
prevents the cartridge from moving out of its alienated position,
in the right image.
preventing toner from developing.
Workarounds
By opening the consumable door and sliding out the consumable
drawer, the developer alienation mechanism gets reset back to its
proper position allowing proper development to resume.
Related Parts
Developer alienation mechanism.
NOTE: We think that this issue has been resolved during
development but feel that it should be documented in the event
that a lack of margin allows it to reoccur.
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Offset, Fuser
Description
Slight ghost of the image repeated approximately 56 mm down the page.
Conditions
This defect occurs in cold and dry environment or if the wrong media type is
selected.
Cause

Toner is transferred to the fuser sleeve due to inappropriate fusing temperature

and/or electrostatic forces.
Workarounds
Make sure the correct fuser mode (media type) is selected.
In cold and dry environments, use a brand new ream of paper that was not
acclimated to that environment.
Related Parts
Fuser
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OPC Cleaning
Description
The print defect appears as extremely heavy background printing across the
process length.
Conditions
The failure occurs more commonly in low temperature environments.
Cause
The cleaning blade tucks and either breaks off or bends back. The displaced
cleaning blade pushes the charging roller away from the OPC.
Workarounds
None
Related Parts
Print cartridge
NOTE: We think that this issue has been resolved during development but feel
that it should be documented in the event that a lack of margin allows it to
reoccur.
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OPC Drive Failure

Three examples of OPC
drive failure. Note the way
the toner upstream of the
stalled OPC smeared
slightly.

Description
Any one of the four color planes can be missing,
accompanied by smearing of the remaining color
planes that are upstream on the belt.
Conditions
The failure event can occur on any color plane and
typically follows a consumable door actuation.
Cause
The OPC drive mechanism disengages and reengages
when the consumable door is opened and closed. If
the mating drive mechanism on the printer fails to

mate properly with the OPC, no OPC rotation will

occur.
Workarounds
Try opening and closing the consumable door again to
see if proper OPC drive engagement can be
reestablished.
Related Parts
OPC drive mechanism.
NOTE: We think that this issue has been resolved
during development but feel that it should be
documented in the event that a lack of margin allows
it to reoccur.
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OPC Plus Charge Memory Lines

Description
A thin dark band repeating at the OPC interval (75.8 mm). The dark line is only
visible within a printed area as shown in example. The defect can occur on any of
the toner cartridges, although it usually cannot be seen on yellow.
Conditions
Rough shipping, handling, or dropping of the cartridge.
Cause
Rough shipping and handling of the cartridge can cause the charge roller and/or
the cleaning blade to vibrate against the OPC drum surface. This vibration can
created a trapped charge within the OPC CTL layer. The trapped charge does not
allow proper charge flow from the CGL and this results in a corresponding lower
charge on the OPC surface. This lower charge produces a darker band.
Workarounds
After printing a page and initiating charge flow, the trapped charge dissipates after
about a day. Ask the customer to wait 1 day rather than replacing the cartridge.
This works whether printing is continued or the cartridge is left idle.
Related Parts
Print cartridge(s).
NOTE: On a new printer it is common to see the defect in all colors when this
defect is present.
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OPC Repeating Dots with White Streak

Description
A thin light/white vertical streak with a light/white dot contained within the line

repeating at the OPC interval (75.8 mm). The line and dot are only visible within a
printed area.
Conditions
Damage/contamination to the OPC drum and C-roller.
Cause
Hard foreign objects can crack and damage the OPC surface. The crack results in
the repeating light/white dot. The residue from the crack can contaminate the Croller creating a contaminated ring around the roller. The ring then results in the
light white vertical streak.
Workarounds
Avoid damaging the OPC drum surface by dropping it or setting it down on a
sharp object. The OPC drum has no shutter/protection once the shipping cover is
removed.
Once the cartridge is damaged and contaminated, there is no fix. Replace the
cartridge.
Related Parts
Print cartridge(s).
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OPC Wide White Bands

Description
Light or white bands repeat at the OPC interval (75.8 mm) on a solid background.
The band can be visible across the entire width of the page The band width is
usually somewhere between 3 mm to 10 mm. The defect can occur with any color
cartridge, although it usually cannot be seen in yellow. See the example to the left
showing the defect in black, cyan, and magenta.
Conditions
The toner cartridge has been exposed to light for an extended period of time.
Cause
The cartridge may have been stored unprotected near a light source. The cartridge
must be stored in its box. Storage in only the plastic bag is not adequate.
Prolonged exposure to light damages the OPC surface. The OPC drum surface is
light sensitive and the cartridge must be stored in darkness until used.
Workarounds
Depending on the severity, the light band may or may not go away after printing
and an 8 hour wait period. If the band are present the next day the cartridge must
be replaced.
Related Parts
Print cartridge(s).
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Short Horizontal Line Segments

Description
Fine banding at the left and/or right margin.
Conditions
Halftone images.
Cause
Uneven OPC charging.
Workarounds
None
Related Parts
Print Cartridge
NOTE: We believe this issue was resolved during development but feel it should
be documented in the event a failure to control C-Roller manufacturing occurs.
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Small Pitch Banding

Description
Close, evenly spaced, repetitive horizontal lines.
Conditions
Condition may vary over cartridge life and location on the page. It may also be
apparent in one print mode but not in another (full speed verses half speed
printing).
Cause
Several causes, generally mechanical (drive train gears) and sometimes related to
cartridges (depending on the pitch of the bands).
Workarounds
Replacing the cartridges may help. If the banding is in one color only, try
replacing just that cartridge. Change the halftone mode to smooth since higher
resolution halftones tend to make the issue more apparent. Try printing in a
different print speed mode (half speed to full or vise versa). Use media with a
rougher surface texture since this issue is more apparent on smooth glossy paper.
Related Parts
Cartridges in some cases.
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Stacking
Description
Pages being fed into the output tray push or plow underlying pages resulting in a

skewed, uneven stack or pages being pushed to the floor.

Conditions
Often associated with paper curl, wrinkled or deformed media, nonstandard media
types (i.e. envelopes), or when a large stack of pages are present in the output tray.
More common in humid environments.
Cause
Various causes depending on the type of media being used. If paper curl is
present, the cause can be attributed to uneven drying of the media in the fuser (see
Curl).
Workarounds
Follow Curl workarounds if applicable. Use a different media. Remove paper
from the output tray before the stack becomes too large.
Related Parts
Fuser
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Streaks: Dark Caused By Fiber

Description
A dark or light streak through one or all colors. Typically the streak is slightly
wavy and uneven.
Conditions
All print conditions.
Cause
A fiber is caught on a surface within the printer and is being dragged across the
developed image. If the streak is through one color only, then the fiber is most
likely caught within the cartridge and is being dragged on the OPC. If the streak is
through all colors, then the fiber is most likely on the fuser inlet guide.
Workarounds
Replace the affected print cartridge.
Related Parts
Print cartridge, fuser.
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Streaks: Developer
Description
A light or dark or combination of light/dark streak in either solid or half tone
patterns.
Conditions
All conditions.
Cause

Failure of the toner charging system.

Workarounds
None
Related Parts
Print cartridge
NOTE: The streak always exists in a single cartridge. The streak does not affect
adjacent cartridges.
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Streaks: Fine Cartridge

Description
Fine light and dark streaks running vertically down the page as seen in solid
printed areas. There can be a few streaks, or, as time goes on, the streaks can
cover the entire area of the page left to right.
Conditions
The defect only occurs in high temperature environments. Also, running long
continuous jobs will heat up the cartridges over time and contribute to the defect.
Tends to occur near or past cartridge life. Low usage, mono only printing could
make this occur more frequently.
Cause
Toner quality can deteriorate over the life of the cartridge. As the quality of the
toner degrades, excessive heat can cause the toner to stick to the doctor blade. The
toner stuck to the doctor blade disrupts the flow of properly charged toner beneath
the doctor blade. The toner presented to the OPC latent image is neither uniformly
charged nor consistent in amount.
Workarounds
Once the cartridge has the defect, it must be replaced. To prevent the defect, keep
the printer in a normal office temperature environment. If printing past out, this
may be one of the risks to the customers PQ.
Related Parts
Print cartridge(s).
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Streaks: ITB Toner Streaks

Description
Streaks (vertical lines) through all colors, typically sharp and light. Dark streaks
and fuzzy light streaks are less common but do also occur. Streaks may be
diminished (or completely disappear) with new cartridges, but streaks will return.
Conditions
The worst-case use mode involves repetitive printing of pages with the following

attributes: large areas of white space, and low coverage. The worst-case
environment is low temperature & low humidity. However, ITB streaks can occur
in any environment.
Cause
Streaks tend to form on the surface of the ITB belt under the conditions mentioned
above, typically after 15k pages. The belt streaks consist of toner, silica, and paper
dust, and they tend to reduce transfer efficiency at both T1 and T2.
Workarounds
There is no practical workaround for existing streaks.
Related Parts
ITB, ICL
NOTE: Existing ITB steaks may be diminished by printing a large number of
high-coverage pages (e.g., 1000 pages), but this is not a practical solution.
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Streaks: ITB Wave

Description
Wide, wavy streaks through all colors extending from leading edge to trailing
edge.
Conditions
ITB wave tends to occur after printing a large number of pages on a given day.
Near the end of engine life, ITB wave can occur on a relatively cold engine. Worst
case environment is low temperature & low humidity. High-coverage printing
may accelerate onset of this defect (although this is based upon limited test data).
Cause
Root cause is not well understood, but seems to be related to increased ITB belt
tension that results from friction at the T1 stations.
Workarounds
None
Related Parts
ITB
NOTE: As of Oct-2007 this defect is still under investigation. It is believed that
improved type-E T1 sheets (and corresponding reduction in ITB drag) might
delay the onset of ITB wave. HP expects this countermeasure to be implemented
as a rolling change some months after start of production.
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Streaks: Light
Description
A light vertical streak can be seen when printing a solid area. It can be quite thin

or wider as shown by the photos. If streaks are seen throughout the same vertical
path across multiple colors, this is not a cartridge defect.
Conditions
Contaminants can enter the cartridge and cause blockage within the various seals
and blades. The blockage then creates a vertical line of missing toner.
Cause
Contaminants can come from a variety of sources; cotton fibers are most common
but we have also found: media residue, glue off adhesive labels, dust in the air,
etc.
Workarounds
Depending on the nature of the contaminant, it can sometimes clear as pages are
printed. Continue to print and see if the defect clears. If this is not acceptable,
replace the cartridge.
Before replacing cartridge, ensure the defect is only occurring from a single
cartridge. Print the PQ Troubleshooting page to find the correct cartridge. If the
streak continues through multiple cartridge colors, this is most likely an ITB issue.
Related Parts
Print cartridge(s), ITB.
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Streaks: Scanner Ghost

Description
A faint, dark streak, 5-7 mm wide, down the center of the page in black only.
Conditions
Appears in mono print jobs. In color print jobs, appears offset approximately 140
mm toward the top of the page from magenta areas of an image.
Cause
In the scanner unit, laser light reflections from the magenta laser leak into the
black station causing unintended black development at the center of the page.
Workarounds
For mono print jobs, add a small amount of color somewhere on a page to force
the printer to print in color mode. Otherwise, there is no workaround for this
issue.
Related Parts
Scanner unit
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Streaks: Vertical Ripple

Description
Any one of the four color planes can develop a large pitch (typically 10 mm or

more) vertical faded streak pattern that is uniform down the page for a given color
plane.
Conditions
This defect will be most prominent in solid and halftone areas.
Cause
Each of the four color stations has a T1 transfer pad that transfers the image from
the OPC to the ITB. Thermal cycling can cause this sheet to develop ripples along
its length which result in E-field variations in the T1 transfer nip, resulting in
visible variations in transfer efficiency.
Workarounds
While this defect will be lessened when allowing the printer to remain idle for
extended periods (>24 hours) and for the early printing of a new cartridge (around
100-200 pages) the only real solution is to replace the ITB assembly.
Related Parts
ITB assembly
NOTE: We think that this issue has been resolved during development but feel
that it should be documented in the event that a lack of margin allows it to
reoccur.
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Streaks: White Caused By Fiber

Description
A thin white streak through a toned image. The streak may be straight or wavy in
appearance.
Conditions
Most commonly seen when the cartridges are stored outside of their packaging.
Cause
A fiber is captured in the cartridge and interrupts the laser light path.
Workarounds
Always store the cartridges in their packaging. Cover the cartridges if they have
been removed from the printer and they are intended to be returned to service.
It is possible to see the fiber with the unaided eye. Removing the fiber will
eliminate the defect.
Related Parts
None
NOTE: Avoid setting the unpackaged cartridge on carpet or other fiber rich
surface.
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Toner Leak

Description
Toner can sometimes leak from various parts of the cartridge. The leaking can be
seen on the cartridge as well as on the PQ page as shown.
Conditions
Leaking can occur if the cartridge is used with very low coverage over the
cartridge life. Extreme low usage could occur for instance on the color cartridges,
if the customer is printing black only. It can also occur if the cartridge is used past
out (in cartridge override mode). If the waste toner cavity fills completely in
override, then the cartridge can leak waste toner. A waste toner leak will look like
a combination of toner colors mixed together, as opposed to a single cartridge
color.
Rough handling of the cartridge(s) has also been shown to cause temporary toner
leakage.
Cause
As toner wears over time in extreme conditions (mono printing), the toner may
not properly charge and can leak. Occasionally, seals may leak from incorrect
assembly.
Workarounds
Replace the cartridge.
If the customer is printing with extreme low usage (mono printing), encourage
them to use a mono printer for their mono jobs.
Related Parts
Print cartridge(s).
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Toner Out
Description
Print defects caused when the print cartridge is physically out of toner. Streaks,
toner bubbles, light text, background, and numerous other defects.
Conditions
Printing in OVERRIDE MODE.
Cause
The lack of toner prevent uniform development.
Workarounds
None
NOTE: Low coverage text will continue to have acceptable print quality even
when toner is too low to produce good graphics or images.
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Trailing Edge Contamination and Smear

Description
Toner contamination at 1 mm to 5 mm from trailing edge, and toner smear or
disruption (horizontal white line) at 4 mm to 5 mm from trailing edge.
Conditions
Worst-case environment is low temperature & low humidity.
Cause
The trailing edge contacts the ICL frame after peeling off of the transfer belt and
before entering the fuser.
Workarounds

Maintain bottom margin of at least 6 mm to avoid the smear issue.

Contamination will be minimized when the customer selects the proper
Media and Origin settings.

Related Parts
ITB, T2 roller
NOTE: The smear (horizontal white line) is typically located outside the printable
area (<5mm from edge of media).
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Tramlines
Description
Two vertical creases running from top to bottom, positioned 76 mm and 142 mm
from the left edge of the page.
Conditions
Defect is observed when printing on glossy media types.
Cause
When the media exits the printer, the normal force from the output idler rollers
presses against the media while it is still compliant having just exited the fuser.
The media cools as this pressure is being applied, resulting in a permanent
deformation.
Workarounds
When using glossy media, this effect can be reduced by running fewer pages
between cool-downs so that the output area does not become too hot. Also, glossy
medias with heavier weight (like 200g) will not be as susceptible to this
deformation.
Related Parts
Output area
NOTE: This deformation is most noticeable in large regions of solid area
development using dark colors.
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Transfer Mottle (Primary)

Description
Non-uniform, mottled appearance in pure halftones.
Conditions
Transfer mottle is worse on rough media and in higher humidity environments.
Primary transfer mottle is often more noticeable at start-up (morning) and
improves as more pages are printed.
Cause
Poor transfer efficiency at T2, often related to toner charging. Another potential
cause is low toner (e.g., when running printer in override mode).
Workarounds
The following steps can help reduce the effect:

Ensure the Media type is properly specified.

Use smoother media (e.g., HP LaserJet 24# or similar).

Use Extended Print Modes , Transfer (or Duplex Transfer) , Rough

Paper (or Humid Paper) .

Check supplies status and replace cartridges which are out or nearly out.

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Transfer Mottle (Secondary)

Description
Non-uniform, mottled appearance in solid regions, especially purple, blue, and
green.
Conditions
Transfer mottle is worse on rough media. Occurs most often in higher humidity
environments.
Cause
When cyan toner is transferred over magenta (to create purple) or over yellow
(to create green), transfer efficiency at T2 is lower for magenta and yellow due
to reduced contact with media (compared to cyan).
Another potential cause is low toner (e.g., when running printer in override
mode).
Workarounds
The following steps can help reduce the effect:

Ensure the Media type is properly specified.

Use smoother media (e.g., HP LaserJet 24# or similar/better).

Use Extended Print Modes , Transfer (or Duplex Transfer) , Rough

Paper (or Humid Paper) .

Check supplies status and replace cartridges which are out or nearly out.

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Mispositioning Input Tray Settings

Description
Frequent no-pick occurrences and/or skewing of the image on the page.
Conditions
Improper input tray settings.
Cause
When loading paper into the cassette, the user can inadvertently leave the front and
or side guide settings in an extended position that fails to reside against the stack.
Workarounds
Check and adjust the front and side adjusts so that they are positioned against the
input stack.
Related Parts
Cassette tray and for Hummingbird, the priority feed tray.
NOTE: It is possible for the adjusts to creep away from the stack over time, so the
correct setting should be checked each time the input tray is reloaded, even if the
same media size is being used between reloads.
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Sealed Envelopes
Description
Flap is sealed after envelope is printed.
Conditions
Sealed envelopes occur only when printing in high humidity environments with
acclimated paper.
Cause
Humidity in the air activates the glue on the envelope flap resulting in partially
sealed envelopes.
Workarounds

Use freshly-opened or different envelopes.

Use flap sealing extended print mode to reduce fusing temperature
(Extended Print Modes , Fusing , Flap sealing ).

Related Parts
Fuser
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Toner Cartridge Seal Tab

Description
The orange ring attached to the toner seal on the toner cartridge breaks when
pulled.
Conditions
The orange ring breaks when the toner seal is pulled extremely fast. Or it may
break if the seal is pulled at an oblique angle.
Cause
The impact force is too great for the orange ring if it is pulled too fast.
Workarounds

Pull the toner seal more slowly.

Pull the toner seal straight.

Related Parts
Print cartridge
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Toner Splash
Toner splash inside circle, does not repeat down the page.
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10.xxxx Supplies Error

Related Parts
Print cartridge(s).

Related Parts
Print cartridge(s).