HP 9500MFP Yellow tint on Output. Intermittent.

[mckern]

Grayscale print job is intermittently producing pages tinted yellow. 100 pages or so will print correctly, then 50 pages or so will have a faint yellow tint -- looks like the paper was washed in a very pale yellow. Then another 100 - 200 pages will print correctly, then another batch of yellow all within the continuous printing of a 2500 page job. The intensity of the yellow increased as the job progressed. The later two sets of yellowed pages showed a faint yellow spot pattern repeating across the page -- as if there was a spot on a roller that was depositing yellow toner. I shut the printer down overnight, then retried next day with same result.

Supplies status shows all toner and image drums OK, although Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow drums are down to 8% remaining life.

Equipment is HP Color LaserJet 9500 MFP with stacker/stapler finisher. Put in service approximately 1 year ago. Used infrequently for large jobs in small office environment. Total page count is about 60,000 pages, some color and some B&W. Fuser replaced after 45,000 pages to correct a 50.1 fuser error. Latest problem presented itself a few days ago while printing one of several large (2500 pages) jobs. Print content is Adobe PDF grayscale. Medium is 8.5x11 20 lb 3 hole pre-punched white paper.

Any help?

[redcow]

Maybe I missed the statement where you say "we are using HP toner, and yes I replaced the yellow toner cartridge".

[mckern]

Maybe I missed the statement where you say "we are using HP toner, and yes I replaced the yellow toner cartridge".

Thanks so much, redcow, for the sarcasm. It's replies like yours that make the forum worth every penny we pay to belong.

We are, in fact, using genuine HP products for all consumables, including yellow toner. We have not yet replaced the yellow toner cartridge, because the printer's supply status shows the yellow cartridge at 23% and its status, along with all other supplies, as OK. At $350 per, we try to avoid replacing cartridges willy nilly. Rather, we pose questions to experts in hopes of zeroing in on the problem. If an experienced tech were to explain why it is logical to replace an expensive part that appears to have remaining useful life, I suppose we would be disappointed that the part did not provide its advertised life, but eager to replace it in order to fix the problem.

[redcow]

Anything to help out!!

Run the "disable cartridge check" test. It may help save the cost of the cartridge.
Also check with your supplier to see if you can get a discount on the replacement, if
the yellow is bad.

Had you put that info in the original question there would have been no sarcasm. In answer to your question...cheap or expensive, stuff goes bad.

[cs_steve]

Despite the sarcasm :-) I agree with RedCow, try a new yellow cartridge. It is the most likely culprit, and at the worst, you'll have a spare; and they have a great shelf life.

[mckern]

"Disable Cartridge Check" was the key. I replaced the Yellow toner cartridge, but that did not cure the yellow tint. So I swapped the old Yellow cartridge back in, set the Disable Cartridge Check, removed the yellow image drum (the 9500 has a drum for each toner cartridge), and ran a batch that was yellow-free. I then installed a new Yellow image drum, left the old Yellow toner cartridge in place, and printed several hundred pages without incident.

The old Yellow drum shows noticeable wear and has yellow toner residue on the drum surface. Is it possible that the drum was not cleaning itself properly and was retaining a small amount of toner, which it deposited on the paper even when the image required no yellow toner?

Interestingly, the supply status showed Yellow, Cyan and Magenta drums all at 8% remaining life, yet only the Yellow affected print quailty.

Many thanks (sincere this time!) to redcow and cs-steve! BTW the HP factory rep in Costa Rica is still, after 3 days, researching the problem.

[olanmila]

This problem happens to in DELL5110CN. WE replaced The toners, imaging drum and the fusers. And it still did not solve the problem. We found out that it is the contact point. Try changing the yellow toner and if it does not go away ( Problem ) then the imaging drum.