HP Laserjet 4550 Fading Toner L -> R ; Only affects Black

[mwmartin]

This printer has been performing very poorly for a while now, and we have recently replaced the print cartidges to no avail. The drum, transfer, and fuser kits have sufficient quantities left for normal operation (~40%). I have tried numerous times to clean it out, but the problem persists:

The printer correctly prints text to the far left side of the page, and as you progress towards the far right side, the text quality gets progressively worse until it becomes totally faded and unreadable. The colors are unaffected, and the black borders fade in the same way as the text, so we are relatively sure that the problem is localized to the portion of the drum or fuser directly affecting the black ink on the right side of the page.

My question in this: Do these toner cartridges have individual drum and fuser kits, or do they all merge onto one drum before hitting the one fuser?

Are these symptoms characteristic of a failing printer? Thanks! :cool:

[vapour]

there is two springs in the corners where the cart seats there ether mising or bent remove the cart in question and look to the corner and you will see these springs thay push the cart forward

[MichaelTech]

Sounds like a dirty laser scanner mirror. Remove top cover, and the metal shield. move a few cables, and pull out the scanner to clean.
Check the Transfer roller{not the belt} for wear.
Be sure the Developer drum is seated correctly.
Even at 40%, consumables can go bad.
The black toner is shot.