Laserwriter 8500 dirty pages - how to fix?

[VMSZealot]

I have a Laserwriter 8500 which produces very dirty output. Once printed, the pages don't smudge when rubbed with my finger - so I don't think there's a fault with the fuser, and turning the contrast dial doesn't make that much difference. It's just that too much toner is deposited in the wrong places, resulting in a dirty mess of a print out. I really like this printer - it works with all my Macs from the SE through to my latest M2 MacBook Air with Sequoia, but it's only any use if it's able to print cleanly. Can anyone suggest a solution? Or even recommend a printer-whisperer who might be able to get it to behave (preferably in the Oxford, UK, area)?

 

[Unknown_K]

The toner cartridge rubber wiper is probably falling apart or leaks from age.

 

[MindWalker]

I've been working a on slightly older NeXT laser printer (based on the Canon SX engine, like HP Laserjet II -series). I've had two NOS ink cartridges and both have issues (with the rubber wiper I presume), one leaks ink dust everywhere and the other works, but still has one or two repeating lines on every page. The best I've been able to make is seen in the last post, and I am guessing that it's up to the cartridge (and I won't be buying yet another one, at least for now). There are videos on how to take the cartridges apart and presumably one could swap the wiper from another cartridge, but I am not sure if I want to start messing with the cartridges on that level (I hate the ink dust).

See also: https://68kmla.org/bb/index.php?threads/laserwriter-iint-brand-new-hp-95a-toner-smearing.39841/

 

[VMSZealot]

Ahh damn. So the printer is fine, but the cartridge isn't. I found a video discussing refurb of an HP cartridge. When the weather gets better and I can work outside I'll see if I can apply the techniques to my cartridge.

 

[MindWalker]

That video makes it look so clean job, I find it hard to believe...

I had a look and there are some suppliers that sell wiper blades as well: https://shop.delacamp.com/en/wiper-blade-for-use-in-ricoh-ipsio-nx-500/item-1-30951-2111.html Would be handy to buy new ones instead of ripping apart old cartridges and hoping to find a good one.

 

[Unknown_K]

Yes, finding a good wiper will be the issue.

 

[MindWalker]

Interesting; apparently re-conditioning wipers is at least in short-scale possible, as mentioned here (see the quoted block): https://68kmla.org/bb/index.php?threads/laserwriters.39467/#post-426488

I kinda like the idea that the old ink cartridges have so much ink that they rather need mechanical servicing (several times) before the ink runs out!