HP LaserJet 2100TN: What is a fuser and would it be possible tofix?

My friend is willing to give me his B&W laser printer:
HP LaserJet 2100TN

It still works but he says it does not print as dark as it used to.
Here is what he says.

Do you think, based on this, that the fuser is bad?

Here is what my friend wrote me just now:


Hi Misha,
Do you want my HP LaserJet 2100TN? It works ok but prints light.

I’m guessing the fuser would need to be replaced if you want it to print
dark although a new toner cartridge might also work. The printer says it
has printed 37k pages and the fuser has a life expectancy of 150k pages
so there is definitely life left in it. I was considering replacing the
fuser myself – you can buy fusers for about $30 and they are very easy to
replace on this model. But it just doesn’t make sense for me to invest
in this printer any longer

It has had the occasional paper jam but otherwise it has been great. It
has two trays that hold about 500 pages each, 24MB of memory, and a
Ethernet port. I still have some toner cartridges left but I don’t know
how much toner is in them.

On 07 Sep 2013 21:23:55 GMT, Misha wrote:

But it just doesn’t make sense for me to invest
in this printer any longer

Is that comment a clue for you?

Misha wrote:
My friend is willing to give me his B&W laser printer:
HP LaserJet 2100TN

It still works but he says it does not print as dark as it used to.
Here is what he says.

Do you think, based on this, that the fuser is bad?

Here is what my friend wrote me just now:


Hi Misha,
Do you want my HP LaserJet 2100TN? It works ok but prints light.

I’m guessing the fuser would need to be replaced if you want it to print
dark although a new toner cartridge might also work. The printer says it
has printed 37k pages and the fuser has a life expectancy of 150k pages
so there is definitely life left in it. I was considering replacing the
fuser myself – you can buy fusers for about $30 and they are very easy to
replace on this model. But it just doesn’t make sense for me to invest
in this printer any longer

It has had the occasional paper jam but otherwise it has been great. It
has two trays that hold about 500 pages each, 24MB of memory, and a
Ethernet port. I still have some toner cartridges left but I don’t know
how much toner is in them.

Fusers almost never cause light printing and on the very rare occasions that
they do they cause ghosting down the page.
Far more likely that it needs a new cartridge, bear in mind that cartridges
that have been in storage for a very long time can print light.
If the light printing is not across the entire page, cleaning the scanner glass
may improve matters. Failing that you may have a failing transfer roller (or it
may not be making good contact in its housing) but this is not common.
A new cartridge nearly always fixes light printing.
Tony

In article ,
Misha wrote:

My friend is willing to give me his B&W laser printer:
HP LaserJet 2100TN

It still works but he says it does not print as dark as it used to.
Here is what he says.

Do you think, based on this, that the fuser is bad?

Here is what my friend wrote me just now:


Hi Misha,
Do you want my HP LaserJet 2100TN? It works ok but prints light.

I’m guessing the fuser would need to be replaced if you want it to print
dark although a new toner cartridge might also work. The printer says it
has printed 37k pages and the fuser has a life expectancy of 150k pages
so there is definitely life left in it. I was considering replacing the
fuser myself – you can buy fusers for about $30 and they are very easy to
replace on this model. But it just doesn’t make sense for me to invest
in this printer any longer

It has had the occasional paper jam but otherwise it has been great. It
has two trays that hold about 500 pages each, 24MB of memory, and a
Ethernet port. I still have some toner cartridges left but I don’t know
how much toner is in them.

Misha-

I think you can probably get the printer to work, and it should be a
workhorse.

It is my understanding that the fuser heats the printed page as it
passes through the printer, melting the toner into the surface of the
paper. If the ink does not rub off after it leaves the printer, the
fuser may be working correctly.

If printout is light, it could be caused by lack of toner, or the
photosensitive "drum" could be worn out. Some laser printers have the
drum in the cartridge, so a new cartridge would have a new drum. I do
not know about that model, but it would only cost you the price of a new
HP cartridge to find out.

I found a service manual at
http://www.lbrty.com/tech/Manuals_HP/2100sm.pdf. Its troubleshooting
section may be helpful.

Fred

On 07 Sep 2013 21:23:55 GMT, Misha wrote:

My friend is willing to give me his B&W laser printer:
HP LaserJet 2100TN

It still works but he says it does not print as dark as it used to.
Here is what he says.

Do you think, based on this, that the fuser is bad?

Here is what my friend wrote me just now:


Hi Misha,
Do you want my HP LaserJet 2100TN? It works ok but prints light.

I’m guessing the fuser would need to be replaced if you want it to print
dark although a new toner cartridge might also work. The printer says it
has printed 37k pages and the fuser has a life expectancy of 150k pages
so there is definitely life left in it. I was considering replacing the
fuser myself – you can buy fusers for about $30 and they are very easy to
replace on this model. But it just doesn’t make sense for me to invest
in this printer any longer

It has had the occasional paper jam but otherwise it has been great. It
has two trays that hold about 500 pages each, 24MB of memory, and a
Ethernet port. I still have some toner cartridges left but I don’t know
how much toner is in them.

It's not the fuser. The fuser is a quartz tube "lamp" that heats the
fusing roller - which melts the electrostatically deposited
polymer/carbon toner into the paper. Either it works or it doesn't -
(or just doesn't get hot enough) the toner smudges off the paper. If
it fails totally the printer shuts down and gives an error code.

On Sat, 07 Sep 2013 15:02:04 -0700, Oren wrote:

On 07 Sep 2013 21:23:55 GMT, Misha wrote:

But it just doesn’t make sense for me to invest
in this printer any longer

Is that comment a clue for you?
I've replaced fuses on printers a lot older than that because it made
good economic sense - but this was on heavy duty printers like Series
2 and LJ4000 printers.

On Sat, 07 Sep 2013 15:02:04 -0700, Oren wrote:

On 07 Sep 2013 21:23:55 GMT, Misha wrote:

But it just doesn’t make sense for me to invest
in this printer any longer

Is that comment a clue for you?
A 2100tn would be worth rebuilding the fuser on IF the fuser was the
problem and you are handy enough to do the labour. The tube itself is
cheap. A rebuilt fuser is only about $55 - $85.

I've bought the bare tubes for $30

Oren wrote:
On 07 Sep 2013 21:23:55 GMT, Misha wrote:

But it just doesn’t make sense for me to invest
in this printer any longer

Is that comment a clue for you?

Hi,
Fuser is a heater which put the ink particles bond to paper for good.
I think the printer drum(where image is formed) is going.(usually a part
of toner cartridge) when image comes out light.

On 09/07/2013 03:28 PM, Fred McKenzie wrote:

I found a service manual at
http://www.lbrty.com/tech/Manuals_HP/2100sm.pdf. Its troubleshooting
section may be helpful.

Thanks Fred, I have an LJ2100 and appreciate having that manual now.

Jon

On Sat, 07 Sep 2013 17:16:50 -0500, Tony wrote:

A new cartridge nearly always fixes light printing.

I'll try that first! Thanks.