HP LaserJet 6L sick

[Noel]

Me trusty old HP Laserjet 6L is sick. As far as I can discern the paper pick up is the problem. Rollers, sensors, not sure which or what. Send a print command, motor starts as usual, then dies and all 3 lights come on. Of course HP tech support reckon it's time to buy a new one. Presume there's little I can do? Pretty sure it's a hardware issue as the self print button fails to function. Any suitable forums I can vist or any advice?
If it's terminal and suggestions for a replacement? HP 1300 series? Use it for business so need a decent one.

TIA

Noel

 

[Neil]

You can have my 6L in about a week if you like, Noely - its about to go in the bin! Mine has a tendency to pull through about 10 sheets of paper at once when the paper supply gets a bit low - its fine if there are more than 50-ish sheets in the feeder, but I forget to keep it topped up

I'm probably going to get this one to replace it:

http://www.dabs.com/uk/productview?quic ... errerid=WS

Not bad for £89 - its a clone of a Samsung which SWMBO has, which is a great printer. I just need to find the damn replacement toner cartridges to see how much they are - probably more than the printer costs!

Let me know if you want the 6L - might be worth it if you have some toner left in yours.

Cheers,

Neil

 

[Noel]

Cheers Neil. As it happens mine was thowing out pages willy nilly just before it died. Might take you up on your offer. The dabs one looks ok. Only 14 left.
Know what you mean on the cartridge cost. My Panasonic laser fax was great until I needed a cartridge - £150!!!!

Noel

 

[Neil]

You're more than welcome to it. In the meantime, if you want to have a go at fixing yours, this might work. Get a screen wipe, and give the little grey rubber cam which picks up the paper a good clean (see pic)

Then, rotate it until you have the most outer part of the cam accessible, and try to push the grey rubber slightly to one side, causing it to ride up on the little metal ridge of the spool it is on - this makes it stick out a little more, and improves the pick up.

<edit> Just found the cartridges for the Tally - £95.52!

Might have to have a rethink...

Neil

 

[Anonymous]

Hold up lads!

We have a 6L here, and it had a problem with picking up several sheets of paper at once. HP released a free service kit which consisted of a card which you pass thru the printer one time, and it fixes the problem.

You'll have to search the HP web site for this service fix. But I can tell you without a shadow of a lie, it does fix the problem.

Andrew

 

[Noel]

Thanks for that Neil, tried cleaning and pushing the rubber sleeve but still knackered. Checked out various printer sites and going by the way the lights go when pressing the test print button (top and bottom light only) the fuser may be gone.
Andrew, I wish multiple paper pick up was my only problem.....
Anybody have hands on user info on what laser printer I should get, mono, 6+ ppm, maybe duplex option?
Neil, thanks for help.

Noel

 

[Neil]

Hi Noely,

This Tally gets a Recommended award from PCPro, and that was at full price. Review is here if you're interested (you may need to subscribe to view it)

The Tally cartridge cost doesn't look so bad if you consider it is rated at 6000 pages - the 6L ones are only 2500 pages I think, and they are over £50. It has some good features - 550-sheet paper tray, 14ppm

Andrew - thanks for the heads-up on the card from HP - I'll have a hunt for it.

Neil

 

[Noel]

Had a look, I guess the cartridge is so dear cause the drum comes with it too.
Don't know what I'll do, cause got to get a printer tomorrow. Can't print invoices or quotes - no money.

Noel

 

[Anonymous]

We print our invoices on a Deskjet. Brilliant quality, you just have to avoid getting moisture on the paper. And Deskjets can be had very cheap.

Maybe not a permanent solution for your needs, but it could be a workaround until you find the permanent solution.

Andrew

 

[Neil]

Do you have anywhere local you can get a good deal, Noely?

I'm sure another HP would be fine, but I've vowed not to get another one where the paper supply is vertical, if you see what I mean. If you want me to check reviews for any particular models in PCPro, let me know.

Cheers,

Neil

 

[ike]

Have you checked out Canon Bubblejets?. They've come on in leaps and bounds and give stunning quality in black and white - easily equal to a laser. I rate them highly as they have individual colour ink tanks at about £6 each and the inkhead is a replaceable unit. They do 1 or 2pl drops and are very economical on ink.

Ike

 

[Noel]

Andrew and Ike, thanks for your suggestions but I'm too used to laser printers, alot less hassle and more economical than jet style printers. At least for the load of printing that I do.
Neil, had a look at the Tally, appeared to be good value but cartridge costs waaay too much. After many hours of reading reviews last night settled on the Lexmark E232. But could I find one this morning? Lexmark UK could only tell me my nearest reseller was in Dublin, only a 7 hr return trip, very handy.... During the course of my phone search came across this in Currys:
http://tinyurl.com/4bw37 (thanks Chris)
Samsung ML1520. Never had Samsung before but very happy with it. Maybe not quite as solid as the 6L but it has a paper drawer!! As you said, no more top loading. And faster printing than the 6L. As usual Samsung too tight to supply a USB cable so popped next door into PC World, saw the same printer - £99.99!!!
Cartrides about £50 (price of the printer) but will try refilling.
All in all, happy bunny. HP reckon the fuser or fuser bulb has gone in the 6L.

Rgds

Noel

 

[Neil]

£50! :shock: Nice one, Noely.
I really like Samsung lasers - as I said, the Tally is a rebadged Samsung.
I ordered the Tally today - not too worried about the toner as the cost per page is a lot less than the HP was - more importantly, its not me paying for it anyway!

Get those invoices printed... :wink:

Neil

 

[Duiker]

Hi Guys,

Most of the major manufacturers now use a combination of the roller shown in the earlier photo and a "separation pad" located somewhere beneath it. This is made from anything between rubber and cork and, when worn or dirty, is the usual reason you get a multi feed (Keep the covers on devices when not in use).

These rollers and pads are sometimes available as spare parts (service consumables) on the older machines and you should call a local dealer to find out if they can help. Often manufacturers do not stock them as many do not offer service for such small devices.

As for new devices here is some advice:

Ask yourself what you want to print most often and purchase a device capable of doing so using cartridges which are cheap (or can be refilled).

As mentioned the newer Bubble Jets can be cheaper than lasers these days and the quality is better some of the time (depending on model).

Most manufacturers will supply TCO figures (total cost of ownership) and this should be your main guide. pipper what it does! Most machines do about the same, cost about the same to buy but vary wildly in TCO.

If you need service, where can you find it? Be sure you dont get lumbered with a machine no one has spares for or cant fix! It has to be Canon or HP (actually the same if a laser as they are all made by Canon). If you buy something for the workshop do you buy an obscure Chinese brand because its cheaper? No, why not? Because the build etc is poor right? Its the same for printers!

If you need more advice drop me a PM as I could be here all day.

Kind regards,

Mick (Canon Europe NV)