[Default] On Thu, 14 Jan 2016 11:27:25 -0500, in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general Paul wrote:

Micky wrote:
On Thu, 14 Jan 2016 20:26:48 +0700, JJ wrote:

On Thu, 14 Jan 2016 11:34:32 +0000, Roger Mills wrote:
Any lack of "blackness"
is likely to be an issue with the printer itself, and nothing to do with
the cable.
Expired toner? Is that possible?

Not what the owners manual said. I forget what it said but it was an
expensive fix. It's not that light, and it's even, so I can still
use it.

Back in the old days, the drum was made of glass,
and could cost $300 to replace. You should be
able to go through many toner cartridges, before
the page count gets you into "drum replacement territory".
My drum experiences come from a Canon laser with
liquid toner. The toner is flammable on those
(liquid material is petroleum based).

Later laser designs, used a plastic belt to hold the
static charge. On some, the belt was a separate item.
On others, the belt was a part of the toner cartridge.
The idea being, if you scratched that sucker, it meant
a much cheaper repair.

People sometimes scratch that stuff, while yanking
jammed sheets of paper from the printer. On some printers,
part of the print path has no release, so you have to yank.
You want the printer paper advancement wheels and stuff, to
be clean enough that you don't get frequent paper jams.
This is easier said than done. I've seen repair techs
waste hours cleaning our equipment at work. Even the
devices with "vacuum advance" paper handling, eventually
even they eventually succumbed to paper dust. No paper
handling technology is completely immune to "aging".
Good paper handling lasts for maybe two years, before
you're "always cleaning it and fiddling with it".

On a drum, you replace them when there is a "blemish"
in the same place on each print. It wouldn't necessarily
be a "black level" problem. It would be a "scratch"
in the print, perhaps.

The laser printer works by "drawing" a pattern on
a photosensitive drum or belt. The surface holds
a static charge, The static charge is removed in
places you don't want toner. The toner is "attracted"
to the drum or belt. As the sheet of paper makes
contact with the drum, the "fuser" melts the toner
particles so they adhere to the paper. If your fuser
isn't working, you will find the black toner on
the paper smudges and comes off on your fingers.

In isolation, a single toner particle behaves well
to a single charged spot on the drum or belt. When
you try to define an "all-black" area, now the
toner particles see the electrostatic behavior of
their neighbors. A non-uniform toner coating
can result. This causes "blotches" in the toner
transferred to the paper. You don't get a uniform
black. As a result, you should try to avoid creating
"all black images" for a B&W laser printout. Printing
text should work fine.

All very interesting.

Toner comes in various grades. There are regular
toners and "fine" toners. Perhaps if you're buying
"refills", they don't have the same consistency

Well, I got the printer free from a friend, who is a cheapskate, but
not when it comes to computers. He used to give me his old computer
stuff when he was, often, upgrading. He was probably on the original
cartridge. I could take it out and see if it's Samsung.

as a branded product. You would need a good microscope
to see the difference.

What you see in the print, "tells you a story".

Paul