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February 15, 2010

Ghost Images and the Toner Cartridge's Waste Chamber

February 15, 2010
When ghost images start to appear over printouts, this is an indication that the toner cartridge is nearing the end of its serviceable life. Ghosting is typically generated by accumulated toner filling the moderately sized waste chamber. With the chamber anot being large enough, waste toner seems to contaminate the rollers. But then again, think of it as good news since the smart chip or lockout chip of the toner cartridge has worked flawlessly; resulting in the satisfactory depletion of toner supplied with the cartridge. Now this condition is true for monochrome laser printers. But for color laser units, the user will be obliged to replace the 4 color toner cartridges. Considering the cost of the bundled (CMYK) OEM cartridges, it will be a fortune (around $400) just to whisk away.


It is doubly frustrating for users of the HP LaserJet 2600n color printer because if one cartridge dries up, the replacement of the remaining 3 cartridges is required in order to commence with interrupted print jobs. Truth is that the printer will refuse to print because the smart chips of the other cartridges would all register zero toner reading. So even if one cartridge is replaced or refilled with compatible toner, printing will not follow through unless the smart chips of all the cartridges are replaced with reset chips. Printing can commence thereafter following access to the cartridge’s override function on the printer’s control panel. With the override function activated, the printer will cease to track print quality automatically. Instead, the state of prints can be monitored over the resultant printouts.

Ghost images usually appear on the first few printouts and get less pronounced as more pages are printed; until output comes out completely clean. Said defect usually resurfaces following a printing break and whenever a new job is underway. Unloading the suspect cartridge and shaking it will help a bit because the movement tends to compress waste toner and allow more room for another round of printing. However for cartridges of the HP 2600n laser printer, a hole must be burned (using a refill tool) over the polymer casing to access the waste chamber and retrieve accumulated toner; thereby completely freeing the printouts from the surfacing of ghost images.

If the need arises to completely replace the 4 cartridges, consider performing toner refills on empty cartridges because the HP 2600 toner refill kit rainbow pack is just a little over $70 (including reset chips) and provides savings of over 70% without sacrificing print quality and yield.

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