Printer defects: It's in the toner

[Gil]

I bought a new old stock genuine Apple toner on ebay for my LaserWriter Select 360. Every printed page, though, has equally spaced ink blotches down the center of the page. After doing some research, I've found that this is directly due to the toner.

What I'm wondering is - Where in the toner could this problem originate? If the toner has never been opened, how does this problem develop? And most importantly, could it be possible to fix the problem?

 

[beachycove]

There might be dirt on the drum. Check by lifting away the flap, turning it and inspecting. You can rub any dirt off with a soft tissue. Don't touch the shiny part of the drum itself with your fingers, and do not do any of this in sunlight (sunlight destroys the thing), but in artificial light.

It is also possible that the cartridge is defective, in which case you're up the proverbial creek.

 

[shred]

Most likely a defective photo-sensitive drum in the toner, however depending on the appearance of the print defect, it may be a damaged/worn fuser roller in the printer.

Measure the distance between the blotches - this will give you the circumference of the drum or roller making the mark. A bit of work with Google should tell you the sizes of the various drums and rollers for that particular printer. Unfortunately, the Select 360 uses a Fuji-Xerox engine, so it's not as easy to get info on it as for most Apple laser printers.

 

[Gil]

Well after having the toner cartridge shit all over me, the blotches on the printouts are significantly reduced in intensity, though not eliminated completely.

Measuring from the center of one blotch to the next is exactly 1.5". I did a half-stop test, and the problem is definitely the toner.