HP 2600 Toner Cartridges - How a defective developer roller can affect the integrity of printouts?

Light prints and/or banding in printouts can only develop from defective OEM toner cartridges. Said print irregularity is even more profound with the toner cartridges of the HP 2600 laser printer. As the print cycle slowly reaches the end of its term and toner supply is close to exhaustion, the developer roller likely wears out which makes the component less effective in the even distribution of toner powder on the surface of the OPC drum.

All toner cartridges similar in design to the Q6000A, Q60001A, Q60002A and Q60003A cartridges (loads the HP 1600, 2600, 2600N and 2605 printer series) are outfitted with developer rollers. Said component is manufactured with precise tolerances because any minor deformity (like a curved roller) affects toner distribution and consequently print quality of output.

The developer roller is coated with a special surface finish intended to withstand abrasive surface friction, as it moves in sync with the OPC Drum in the course of supplying toner. Remember that this action is not limited to 3 or 4 times, but is repeated several thousand times in the process of printing. Surface tolerance between the developer roller and OPC Drum must be maintained at all times to produce acceptable print quality.

The developer roller is a critical component since worn out surfaces cannot be detected upon troubleshooting and only manifest over printouts. Therefore, most cartridge remanufacturers put premium on the replacement of developer rollers, just to ascertain that print defects will not transpire after the cartridge is refilled with toner. Remember that a substantial amount of toner will not be able to reactivate a defective toner cartridge.

HP 2600 toner cartridges are not designed for the conduct of toner refills. Therefore, once the developer roller wears out, the cartridge has to be replaced with a brand new unit. However, if print quality is still acceptable at the time the unit runs out of toner supply, then this only indicates that the developer roller is still in fine form and the user can administer refills on the cartridge.

The print capacity of the Q6000A cartridge for instance is pegged at 2,500 pages at 5% coverage and conducting 3 refills on the unit increases its capacity to 10,000 pages. Conducting refills on a cartridge with a still functional developer roller is the most sensible option as an OEM replacement costs $75 while a compatible toner refill kit is sold online for only $30. Moreover, users gets the same print quality and yield expected from an OEM toner.