Photo drum (photographed) – an internal part of the laser cartridge with which printing is performed. The drum resource is more than 10,000 pages. However, due to low-quality toner, high room humidity, or temperature changes, the photo roller may begin to print pages with defects: a gray background, stripes, blots, and dots.

Most of the above problems can be solved by cleaning the photo drum. It is produced in MiraxPrint service center and is included in the cost of refilling cartridges. Thus, we provide our clients with the opportunity not only on printing, but also on servicing office equipment!

However, those users who are accustomed to doing everything with their own hands can familiarize themselves with the recommendations from the specialists of the MiraxPrint service center in order to properly clean the photodrum, while avoiding damage to an expensive part.

Important! Cleaning the photo roller yourself may cause damage. In this case, you take full responsibility for the performance of the part.

Do-it-yourself drum cleaner

Before we start cleaning the image drum, let's talk about chemicals. There are many specialized liquids for caring for photo rolls sold on the Internet, but you shouldn’t waste your money. It is enough to wipe the body of the part with microfiber or universal wipes for cleaning that does not leave lint behind.

Note!Do not use products containing alcohol, ammonia or solvents to clean the drum. This will damage the sensitive surface of the part, which is not even recommended to touch, except for cleaning purposes.

Step-by-step instructions for cleaning the photo drum yourself

STEP #1: Turn off the printer. Remove the power cable from the outlet. Wait about 5 minutes for the printing device to cool down.

STEP #2:Open the front cover, either by yourself or using the button. It all depends on the design features of the device.

STEP #3:Remove the cartridge.

STEP #4:Remove the cartridge protective shutter by unscrewing the corresponding screws. A green or blue drum will be hidden under the curtain. Wipe it with microfiber or an all-purpose cloth. Hold the photo roll by its ends without touching the coating. Otherwise, the remaining traces will be visible on printed documents.

STEP #5: Reassemble the cartridge and install it back into the printer.

On a note! By default, the photodrum is cleaned using a special blade, the so-called squeegee. As it wears out, the gap between the blade and the drum increases, which leads to permanent printing problems. Therefore, during the cleaning process, be sure to check the integrity of the squeegee structure, as well as the level of the gap - it should be the same along the entire line of contact with the photo roll.

The main part of any laser cartridge is the photoconductor, which is a shiny shaft that has a light blue or light green color, but other colors are also available - it depends on the manufacturer of the photocoupler. Its surface is covered with a special photo layer.

The service life of this part is quite long, but it is directly dependent on factors such as the quality of the paper used for printing, the type of toner, as well as the temperature and humidity of the room. Consequently, the photo shaft may fail prematurely.

The human factor cannot be ruled out - after all, along with the paper, various foreign objects and substances can get into the printer, which, in turn, can damage or contaminate the photoreceptor. Sometimes, when using low-quality toner, it can remain on the drum, as a result of which the print quality begins to suffer greatly. Therefore, there are situations when you need to clean the laser printer drum.

In general, cleaning a laser printer drum with a competent and thorough approach is not so difficult. It is necessary to begin solving this problem when, after printing documents, all sorts of defects remain on the sheets in the form of a gray background, black stripes and dots. In some cases, the toner may not be compatible with the photo roller. For this reason, in order to achieve truly good quality printing, it is necessary to use the photo roller and toner from the same manufacturer. Otherwise, over time, you may even need to repair the photodrum (but more often it’s just replacing it), which is unlikely to be done on your own.

Cleaning the photo roll: steps

Models of laser-type printers, as a rule, provide for exclusively manual cleaning of the surface of the photodrum, which is due to the peculiarities of laser printing. The whole procedure consists of several stages, each of which must be performed with care. Before cleaning the cartridge drum, turn off the device by unplugging the power cord from the network. Next, carefully open the front cover and remove the cartridge.

The next step is to remove the special protective curtain, which is located on the cartridge and protects the photodrum from damage. To clean the photoreceptor, it is not necessary to remove it from the cartridge; it is enough to turn it in the direction of travel as you clean the visible part of the photo roller. But there are times when it is not possible to clean the drum without removing it from the cartridge. Then you should pull it out extremely carefully, holding it exclusively by the ends. Please note that the primary charge roller is evenly pressed against its surface, which you should be very careful with so as not to damage it.

Be aware that if you turn the cartridge over with the drum unit removed, waste toner will spill out. Therefore, prepare a clean and smooth surface in advance. You can use sheets of paper or newspaper. Remember not to let toner come into contact with clothing or skin. If this does happen, be sure to wash it off with cold water or shake it off, since toner is a toxic substance (we recommend reading the article about that).

To clean the photodrum, you need to arm yourself with a lint-free material, for example, a napkin. With its help, you need to wipe the surface of the drum until not a single particle of toner or greasy stain remains on it. Do not use wet wipes under any circumstances, as after this procedure the photo roll will have to be thrown away.

It is also strictly not recommended to use all kinds of detergents that contain solvent, ammonia or alcohol. It is better to purchase a cleaning kit that is specifically designed for cartridges. In addition, cleaning the photo roller should not be carried out in bright light, otherwise the so-called photovoltaic film may be exposed to light. photosensitive layer.

After cleaning, you must carefully install the photo roller into the cartridge and insert it into the printer, pressing until it clicks. In the end, all that remains is to check the print quality and, if it turns out to be satisfactory, then the cleaning procedure for the photo roller was carried out properly.

If you still had to remove the photo drum to clean the photo drum, then before installing it you need to powder it with a special lubricating powder - talcum powder. If this is not done, the photo shaft may rest against the squeegee and jam. At home, you can use toner from this cartridge to lubricate the drum (recycling is quite suitable). After installation, rotate the drum as it moves and clean any remaining talc or toner from the charge roller. Most Samsung, Xerox and Brother cartridges do not require lubricating the photo roll before installation. This procedure needs to be performed only for cartridges with a waste hopper (HP and Canon).

Thus, the answer to the question of how to clean a laser printer drum is quite simple. Be extremely careful when cleaning the surface of the photo roller to avoid damaging it. But if you do not have the necessary skills or are afraid of ruining something, then it is better to contact the nearest service center for help.

The operation of laser printing devices: faxes, printers and MFPs is based on the transfer of ink powder (toner or developer) electrographically to the surface of the photodrum, which forms an image on paper. Consequently, the photodrum is the main part of a copying device (here the laser is replaced by special LEDs) or a laser printer.

What will we talk about:

Photodrum device

The photodrum (photoreceptor) is made in the form of a hollow cylinder of aluminum 21 cm long, which corresponds to the size of A4 paper. In MFPs used in printing, its length can reach tens of centimeters.

A multilayer coating is applied to the surface of the aluminum cylinder: base layer; a layer of material that generates a charge; outer coating that transfers charge. The cylinder body, an aluminum tube, acts as an electrically conductive layer.

The top layer is made of a photosensitive substance based on selenium (recently practically not used), amorphous silicon or organic compounds, the composition of which is a trade secret.

The photo shaft rotates using gears attached to the ends of the cylinder. Placed in the printing device in two ways:

• directly into the device;
• as a single unit with the toner tube.

A separate device for the photoreceptor and toner cartridge is used in expensive models of printing devices, which allows:

• set the resource of printed sheets to tens of thousands of copies (in a unit with a toner cartridge, the maximum number of copies is 10 thousand);
• change the photo roll when the resource is exhausted, without replacing other parts of the printer or copier.

The photodrum unit includes a doctor blade and a container for waste powder.

Combining a toner tube and a photoroll unit into a single unit, on the one hand, reduces the cost of the unit, and on the other, reduces its service life. The photodrum in it can withstand up to 4 refills, which is only 2-10 thousand copies, after which it will have to be changed.

Principle of operation

The printing process begins with the establishment of a static field on the surface of the drum. Its aluminum body acts as a conductor of electrostatic voltage. The field can be either positive or negative. The toner must have the same charge so as not to be attracted to the entire surface of the roller. The laser illuminates, in mirror reflection, text or a drawing on the photodrum that must be transferred to paper.

How a laser printer works

Under the influence of light, the photosensitive layer changes its charge to the opposite one, to which the coloring powder is attracted. The drum, rolling over the paper, transfers the toner to it. Under the influence of high temperatures from a special oven, it sinteres and firmly eats into the micropores of the paper. The result is the required image.

For reference: printer manufacturers Xerox/Samsung/Brother use non-magnetic ink powder. An additional magnetic shaft is used to transfer it to the surface of the photoreceptor.

Photo roll resource

The resource of a photo roll depends on many factors:

• compliance with operating rules;
• type of coloring powder;
• paper quality;
• print format;
• ambient temperature and humidity.

The appearance of damage on the surface of the drum will reduce the print quality or even require its replacement. Therefore, before turning it on, measures should be taken to prevent foreign objects from getting inside the device.

The service life of the photoreceptor is affected not only by the number of printed sheets. Before operation, the drum makes several idle revolutions to clean and restore the static field. These revolutions reduce its service life. Therefore, printing, for example, 10 sheets separately during the working day and at one time will use up its resource in different ways. Obviously, printing a large volume of documents at once will extend the life of the photosensitive layer of the drum.

The use of a cheaper toner, with a larger powder fraction, also reduces the resource of the photoreceptor.

The quality of the paper must meet the criteria laid down in the operating instructions for printing devices:

• paper with poorly cut edges leaves microscratches on the surface of the drum, which leads to a decrease in print quality, and as their number increases, to replacement;
• dense or high-humidity sheets quickly wear out the photosensitive layer;
• coated paper leaves dust on the surface of the photoreceptor, which also negatively affects its operation;
• The manufacturer does not recommend duplex printing. Therefore, you should avoid printing drafts on used paper.

Printing in A5 format on A4 paper shortens the life of the drum cartridge by half. The correct solution is to print 2 sheets of A5 format on a standard sheet of paper, which is then either cut or folded.

Significant temperature changes and high humidity in the room where the printing equipment is installed also affect the duration of its operation in general, and the photo roll in particular.

The photoreceptor is a consumable item, so it must be replaced as it wears out. However, on the display of printers from Canon, HP, Kyocera, a message about the need to replace it may appear when the remaining resource is 30-40%. In this case, the operation of the device is blocked. The error lies in the way the copy counter works. It does not count the entire number of printed sheets, but turns on when there is a certain amount of toner left, after which it counts 200-300 copies and stops the machine.

Resetting the drum copies resolves the issue. It can be done manually or by changing the settings of the printer or MFP.

Brother drum unit: When the machine is running, the cover on the front opens. Then press “Clear/Back”. After the message about replacing the photodrum appears, press “1”. The inscription "Accepted" means the completion of the process. The front cover closes.

Xerox Image Drum: The device turns on and the cover opens. Then press the buttons in turn: “MENU”, “6”, “4”, “CLEAR”, “ENTER”.

Kyocera drum: replace the 0.25A fuse with a new one. Located inside the drum cartridge, black.

The HP photodrum (Hewlett-Packard) can be reset by replacing or removing the chip (HP lj 9000 and HP LJ4100 printers), changing the settings (HP Color LJ4500).

The Canon drum unit stands apart in this row. If inkjet models of this brand allow you to reset using software, then in laser devices this can only be done:

• replacing the chip;
• reflashing the printer;
• by resetting the readings using the programmer.

When the service life is exhausted, only replacing the photodrum helps.

How to choose a new drum unit

The high cost of consumables forces you to buy cheaper licensed units and parts or reflash the devices and use analogues from other manufacturers.

Another solution may be to restore the drum. There are two stages here. At first, you can independently increase the resource by cleaning the surface of the drum from powder residues. On the second, when the photo layer is produced, it can be restored using special equipment. Doing such an operation yourself is very expensive - it will be more expensive than several photodrums. In specialized workshops, restoration will cost a reasonable amount.

Proper operation and timely maintenance of the printer and its components will increase the service life of the photodrum.

If you have discovered the fact that your printer does not work one hundred percent perfectly (chews paper, erases ink, prints with stripes, stains paper, etc.), then these are probably the first signs that it needs urgent attention. cleaning.

When your printer needs cleaning...

First of all, you need to gain basic knowledge about the sequence and features of cleaning any electrical units. Before starting the cleaning process, it is imperative to disconnect it from electrical supply. Do not wet the surface, much less the “insides” of the device. The best way is to apply the product to a cloth and further cleaning of surfaces.
Printers are different, and from this it follows that each printer needs individual cleaning method. If you still have instructions for cleaning your printer, just follow them. However, disappointingly, most manufacturers do not leave this instructions, so in this article we will try to make your task at least somehow easier.

How to clean the photo drum?

In order to clean printer parts(whether external or internal) under no circumstances do not use products that are flammable or contain alcohol or ammonia. Also, all kinds of sprays or detergents are not recommended.

1. Turn off the printer from the electrical supply network. Use the front cover release button to open it.
2. Grab the green handle drum unit and remove it by pulling it up until it stops.
3. Release the gray blocker(it is located on the left side of the printer). Then remove the image drum completely from the printer using the green handles located on the image drum.

   Note : It is advisable to place the drum unit on a clean smooth surfaces. It is best to place it on the surface first leaf tender paper in case the toner spills or spills. Be very careful and cautious when handling toner cartridge. If toner gets on the surface of your skin or clothing, shake it off immediately or rinse with cool water. Hold the drum unit by the green handles when carrying it. In no case don't hold photo drum on the sides.

   4. Hold the toner cartridge by the handle and remove it from the photodrum. Do this for each toner cartridge.

   5. Turn the drum unit to the other side, and always hold it by the green handle. Make sure that all drum mechanisms are located on the left.

   6. To correctly identify the color that is causing the problem, review per print sample. The color of the dots should match the color of the image drum you will be cleaning. If the dots are yellow, then it is necessary to clean the photodrum of that particular color. Place the sample print under the photodrum, this will help you specifically determine the location of the “problem area” of the printer.

   7. When turning the drum drive mechanism manually, carefully inspect the surface of the image drum.

   8. When you discover pollution, which you found out from the print sample, wipe the drum with a damp swab, removing paper and other dust.

   Note : Never clean the drum unit with sharp objects.

   9. Manually return the drum drive mechanism to its original position. The starting position is very easy to determine: the number on the drum side must match the number on the drive mechanism.

   10. Make sure all drum drive mechanism numbers match with numbers located on the drum side.

   11. Turn the drum unit back over, still hold it by the green handles.

   12. Insert the toner cartridge back into the drum unit, using a pen. Make sure that the color indicated on the toner cartridge matches the color sticker on the drum and be sure to fold the handle of the toner cartridge after installing it in place. This is required for all toner cartridges.

   13. Place the image drum back into the printer using the following sequence of actions:

   Make sure the gray lock lever is in the vertical position and place the image drum in the printer. Press the gray lock lever.

   Press the drum unit all the way down.

   14. Close the printer cover.

The cartridge drum has a long life: how often do you change the drum?

Have you ever thought that the drum in your cartridge does not last long? 1-2 refills, and it already needs to be changed. Let's try to figure out what is the reason for the fragility of the cartridge drum (photoreceptor).

Of course, first of all, the life of the cartridge and its parts is influenced by the quality and thoroughness of refilling the cartridge. However, there are a number of other good reasons why you take your cartridge for repair.

First, let's clarify a few important points.

2. Continuous operation is the process of printing one very large job with a huge supply of toner in the hopper and paper in the feed tray. Printing is interrupted only when noticeable defects appear on the paper caused by wear and tear on the photoreceptor. This is the real resource of the photoreceptor.

For younger printer models, the average drum resource ranges from 10,000 to 30,000 pages. We will take the minimum value as 10,000 pages.

You have undoubtedly noticed that the productivity and wear resistance of the cartridge declared by the manufacturer and the actual figures for these indicators differ radically.

The root cause is that the toner supply is limited by the capacity of the hopper, which is quite limited. Therefore, we have a need to refill cartridges.

In addition, the degree of filling of the sheet is of great importance for the number of refills. Most manufacturers declare a certain number of pages (an average of 2,000 pages) that a cartridge can print without refilling, but they clearly specify the percentage of page coverage - 5%, no more. This is 1/5 of our entire resource of 10,000 pages. And if we need to print sheets with 100% coverage, then how long will the cartridge last? The number of pages is reduced by 20 times, and we get a sad figure - 100 pages.

Don't forget about the photodrum. If you only print sheets with 100% coverage, the cartridge will withstand at least 20 times more refills without replacing the drum. Thus, when printing standard documents with 5% sheet coverage (10,000/2,000=5), the cartridge will withstand 5 refills, and 20 times more (5*20=100), that is, 100, with 100% sheet coverage.

But even when you print completely white sheets, you wipe the drum enormously without wasting any toner.

You've probably heard of such a thing as toner saving mode. By turning it on, you get exactly the same sheet coverage, but with less toner, sometimes even 2 times less than usual. Thus, one refill of the cartridge with a standard filling (5%) of the sheet will last you not for 2,000, but for 4,000 pages. However, remember that a new cartridge in standard operating mode wears out 1/5 of the photoreceptor resource, and in economy mode - 2/5 of the resource. After refilling the cartridge, you will have 6,000 pages of drum operation remaining. Are you still working in saving mode? Then it’s not 3, but only 1.5 refills. Your image drum will not even last until the end of the second refill.

At the same time, you, like me, are unlikely to print 2,000 pages at once. Operating the printer in this mode is not intended by the manufacturer and is extremely harmful to it. Therefore, every time, before you start printing, your printer begins to prepare for printing: it warms up the oven and makes several revolutions of the photodrum, cleaning it and charging it at the same time. For HP and Canon printers, this process takes 1 page, while their counterparts from Samsung, Xerox, Oki and others require about 2 pages, and sometimes even up to 3 pages. Please note that the printer undergoes a similar idle run every time you turn it on. Don't believe me? You can disassemble your printer and see for yourself by recalculating the actual idle speed of the photodrum.

And again mathematics helps us. Let's say you print only one page each time and, as a result, you will use up 4,000 pages per refill (instead of the 2,000 originally stated by the manufacturer). Owners of Samsung and Xerox printers have even higher figures - 6,000. And you only printed 2,000 sheets. It's not fair, is it?

You've probably noticed that when you're trying to save money and print on half pages, the drum unit runs out incredibly quickly. Such half-sheets mainly include invoices and invoices to save paper. But do not forget that before starting to print each such invoice, the printer runs the photoconductor dry. This process reduces the drum life by half, and for Samsung printers by three times.

Now talk about the features of printing on A5 sheets. Using A5 sheet instead of A4 sheet, you reduce the image by 2 times and spend 2 times less toner accordingly. But at the same time the drum is forced to spin almost 2 times more. As a result, for Hewlett-Packard printers, drum wear will be (2,000*2*2=8,000) about 8,000 pages per cartridge refill. After such refueling, the drum resource is 4/5 exhausted. If you are the happy owner of a Samsung printer, then the numbers will increase even more (2,000*3*2=12,000) - up to 12,000 pages! You will exhaust the entire life of the photo drum in one refill!

What if you decide to turn on the toner saving mode? Then multiply the resulting numbers by 2 more. What did you get as a result? That's right - the photodrum needs to be replaced at the first refill, but there is still toner left... Miracles? No, reality. Sometimes you are forced to change the drum unit before the original toner runs out. And it’s good if only once. There are cases of replacing the cartridge drum twice before refilling the toner for the first time. Especially with the additional use of low-quality paper.

Have you ever thought that the drum in your cartridge does not last long? 1-2 refills, and it already needs to be changed. Let's try to figure out what is the reason for the fragility of the cartridge drum (photoreceptor). Of course, first of all, the life of the cartridge and its parts is influenced by the quality and thoroughness of refilling the cartridge. However, there are a number of other good reasons why you take your cartridge for repair. First, let's clarify a few important points.

1. The service life of a photodrum should be measured not by the number of refills, but by the number of revolutions it makes. An even more accurate calculation is to measure the drum life by the number of pages it would print in continuous operation.

2. Continuous operation is the process of printing one very large job with a huge supply of toner in the hopper and paper in the feed tray. Printing is interrupted only when noticeable defects appear on the paper caused by wear and tear on the photoreceptor. This is the real resource of the photoreceptor. For younger printer models, the average drum resource ranges from 10,000 to 30,000 pages. We will take the minimum value as 10,000 pages. You have undoubtedly noticed that the productivity and wear resistance of the cartridge declared by the manufacturer and the actual figures for these indicators differ radically. The root cause is that the toner supply is limited by the capacity of the hopper, which is quite limited. Therefore, we need to refill cartridges. In addition, the degree of filling of the sheet is of great importance for the number of refills.

Most manufacturers declare a certain number of pages (an average of 2,000 pages) that a cartridge can print without refilling, but they clearly specify the percentage of page coverage - 5%, no more. This is 1/5 of our entire resource of 10,000 pages. And if we need to print sheets with 100% coverage, then how long will the cartridge last? The number of pages is reduced by 20 times, and we get a sad figure - 100 pages. Don't forget about the photodrum. If you only print sheets with 100% coverage, the cartridge will withstand at least 20 times more refills without replacing the drum.

Thus, when printing standard documents with 5% sheet coverage (10,000/2,000=5), the cartridge will withstand 5 refills, and 20 times more (5*20=100), that is, 100, with 100% sheet coverage. But even when you print completely white sheets, you wipe the drum enormously without wasting any toner. You've probably heard of such a thing as toner saving mode. By turning it on, you get exactly the same sheet coverage, but with less toner, sometimes even 2 times less than usual.

Thus, one refill of the cartridge with a standard filling (5%) of the sheet will last you not for 2,000, but for 4,000 pages. However, remember that a new cartridge in standard operating mode wears out 1/5 of the photoreceptor resource, and in economy mode - 2/5 of the resource. After refilling the cartridge, you will have 6,000 pages of drum operation remaining. Are you still working in saving mode? Then it’s not 3, but only 1.5 refills. Your image drum will not even last until the end of the second refill.

At the same time, you, like me, are unlikely to print 2,000 pages at once. Operating the printer in this mode is not intended by the manufacturer and is extremely harmful to it. Therefore, every time, before you start printing, your printer begins to prepare for printing: it warms up the oven and makes several revolutions of the photodrum, cleaning it and charging it at the same time. For HP and Canon printers, this process takes 1 page, while their counterparts from Samsung, Xerox, Oki and others require about 2 pages, and sometimes even up to 3 pages. Please note that the printer undergoes a similar idle run every time you turn it on. Don't believe me? You can disassemble your printer and see for yourself by recalculating the actual idle speed of the photodrum. And again mathematics helps us. Let's say you print only one page each time and, as a result, you will use up 4,000 pages per refill (instead of the 2,000 originally stated by the manufacturer).

Owners of Samsung and Xerox printers have even higher figures - 6,000. And you only printed 2,000 sheets. It's not fair, is it? You've probably noticed that when you're trying to save money and print on half pages, the drum unit runs out incredibly quickly. Such half-sheets mainly include invoices and invoices to save paper. But do not forget that before starting to print each such invoice, the printer runs the photoconductor dry. This process reduces the drum life by half, and for Samsung printers by three times. Now talk about the features of printing on A5 sheets. Using A5 sheet instead of A4 sheet, you reduce the image by 2 times and spend 2 times less toner accordingly. But at the same time the drum is forced to spin almost 2 times more.

As a result, for Hewlett-Packard printers, drum wear will be (2,000*2*2=8,000) about 8,000 pages per cartridge refill. After such refueling, the drum resource is 4/5 exhausted.

If you are the happy owner of a Samsung printer, then the numbers will increase even more (2,000*3*2=12,000) - up to 12,000 pages! You will exhaust the entire life of the photo drum in one refill! What if you decide to turn on the toner saving mode? Then multiply the resulting numbers by 2 more. What did you get as a result? That's right - the photodrum needs to be replaced at the first refill, but there is still toner left... Miracles? No, reality. Sometimes you are forced to change the drum unit before the original toner runs out. And it’s good if only once. There are cases of replacing the cartridge drum twice before refilling the toner for the first time. Especially with the additional use of low-quality paper.

Do you still want to print on halves?

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