In the modern office environment, laser printers have become an indispensable output device.

It can provide efficient, clear and high-quality printing results. However, during use, the consumption of toner is inevitable.

When the toner of a laser printer runs out, we should pay attention to some details when refilling toner.

This article will introduce the issues that we should pay attention to when refilling toner cartridge, helping you to deal with this problem.

image of printer spare parts

  • OPC drum

The photosensitive drum is the most critical and most vulnerable component. The organic photoconductive layer on the surface of the photosensitive drum is very easy to be bruised and scratched, and is easily damaged by strong light.

Improper handling may cause a good photosensitive drum to leave defects when printing, so during the folding process, it is necessary to avoid not only direct sunlight but also long-term exposure to fluorescent lamps. Do not hit the surface of the drum with hard objects, and do not touch the coating of the printing area of the drum directly with your hands to avoid sweat stains and oil stains, which will produce poor prints.

  • Magnetic roller

The magnetic roller is one of the components that has the greatest impact on the blackness of the printed documents. The thickness and roughness of the black coating will change with continuous use. The black coating of the magnetic roller is the easiest to scratch. The magnetic roller is composed of an aluminum sleeve and a magnetic core. Due to the effect of the magnetic core, some small metal parts are easily adsorbed to the surface of the magnetic roller. During the relative movement, the magnetic sleeve coating will be scratched.

In addition, during the folding process, the magnetic roller is also easily adsorbed to the surrounding metal parts, causing unexpected coating damage. The lack of black coating will result in the lack of text or patterns on the print. Therefore, during disassembly and assembly, the magnetic roller should be held firmly and not placed randomly. It should be placed away from other metal parts to avoid being hit by hard objects.

After blowing off the toner absorbed by the magnetic roller, if the black coating on the magnetic roller looks very thin, or even the color of the aluminum base is seen or the surface looks very bright, then the prints produced by such a magnetic roller will be light, and a new magnetic roller or magnetic roller sleeve should be replaced.

  • Doctor blade

The doctor blade is under the magnetic roller, which controls the thickness of the toner layer on the magnetic roller and assists the friction of the toner to be charged. It is composed of a metal stamping and a polyurethane rubber strip.

The rubber strip must have a certain hardness and be straight to evenly control the thickness of the toner layer and effectively charge the toner. After long-term friction, the rubber part will age, deform, bend and lose elasticity, thus losing its application function. The print will have light color, black spots, black lines, uneven blackness, and even powder leakage problems. After the rubber strip ages, it cannot be restored and can only be replaced with a new one.

  • Cleaning blade

The cleaning blade is similar to the doctor blade, except that it uses a slightly harder polyurethane rubber, and its function is different from that of the doctor blade.

The state of the rubber material and the blade of the cleaning blade are very important. After long-term use, the rubber will age and deform, and the blade will often have gaps, which will produce local bottom gray or vertical light black lines on the print. Such a cleaning blade cannot be used again and needs to be replaced with a new cleaning blade in time.

  • Primary charge roller

The surface layer of the charging roller often adheres to toner, toner additives and paper scraps due to long-term use, and will also wear out. These will cause bottom gray or black spots on prints.

Before refilling the toner, wipe it gently with a soft cloth (you can use some special reagents, but don’t use alcohol), and be sure to clean its surface as much as possible to effectively charge the photosensitive drum. If you find that its surface is damaged, don’t use it anymore. If you continue to use it, it will not only affect charging, but also pierce the OPC drum.

  • Doctor blade

It is used in conjunction with the blade to seal. When the blade is deformed, it is easy to cause the waste toner bin to leak toner, leaving irregular ink dots and black lines on the surface of the print.

  • Point contact

All the photosensitive drum, magnetic roller, and charging roller in the toner cartridge assembly have contacts connected to the machine. During assembly, attention should be paid to the cleaning and conduction of the contacts.

  • Position

Each component has its own fixed position, which is generally positioned by pins or screws, while the toner bin and waste toner bin are positioned by plastic clips, screws or connecting shaft cores respectively. All components must be installed in place during assembly so that the toner cartridge can be used normally.

  • Finally, test rotation

When the toner cartridge is used in the machine, the photosensitive drum, charging roller, and magnetic roller rotate. After assembling these accessories, push the drive gear to check whether it can rotate flexibly. When the toner cartridge is installed, push the drum gear again in the normal rotation direction of the drum to ensure that the photosensitive drum can rotate flexibly before the toner cartridge can be used, otherwise it will damage the machine.