S.E.R. FAQ
Home
Search
Printer and Photocopier Troubleshooting and Repair Collection : Copy quality degrades with use          
 Copyright © 1994-2007, Samuel M. Goldwasser. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this document in whole or in part is permitted if both of the following conditions are satisfied: 1. This notice is included in its entirety at the beginning. 2. There is no charge except to cover the costs of copying. I may be contacted via the Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ (www.repairfaq.org) Email Links Page.

      << Previous copy doesn't era.. |  Index  | Copier error codes >>

Copy quality degrades with use

(From: Lionel Wagner (ck508@FreeNet.Carleton.CA).)

If you are lucky, cleaning the optical path: mirror and lens will help. Cleaning the corona wires is a routine necessity. Use two Q-tips, one on top, the other on the bottom, of the fine wires and travel the length. Soak the Q-tips in lighter fluid, my favorite all-purpose cleaner.

Probably the photo-sensitive drum has aged. A sure sign of this is a difference in density between the first and last copy of a long (50 copy) print run. This is particularly noticeable after the copier has not been used for some time.

(From: BRADS TV (bradstv@aol.com).)

I have found that dirty mirrors and optics will cause smudging, dark copies and generally poor quality copies. Try cleaning these mirrors in the optical path. NOTE these mirrors are first surface or front silvered mirrors and they scratch easily. Also look carefully for the complete light path from the exposure lamp all the way to the drum, you will find several mirrors mounted at angles to direct the image to the drum . You are right in the fact that the drum can cause poor copies but cleaning first might be the first step. Brad