The problem is that not all laser printers do not have automatic cartridge cleaning. You would expect such printers to be difficult to clean and maintain in proper working order. But compared to inkjet printers, whose insides are often covered in dirty ink, laser printers are surprisingly easy to clean if you have the right tools and equipment.
In this step-by-step guide, we show you how to safely and effectively clean your laser printer, along with some step-by-step tips that you will need to properly operate and clean your printer.
What will you need
Since laser printers use powdered toner during the printing process, you need to use a few special tools to ensure that fine particles are completely removed. Below we have outlined the special tools and equipment required to effectively clean a laser printer.
Microfiber toner collection:
It is a kind of disposable cloth that, when activated by stretching the cloth, has a non-oily coating that captures particles for easy removal.
Isopropyl alcohol:
If not then regular alcohol, isopropyl alcohol is ideal for cleaning mechanical equipment as it evaporates quickly leaving no liquid on the surface. Use it to leave no residue after cleaning.
An air gun can be used to help reach hard-to-reach areas and blow out toner particles.
Dust mask:
If inhaled, although not dangerous, powdered toner can occasionally cause irritation. Before opening the toner cartridge compartment, make sure the room is well ventilated and wear a dust mask to make sure you don't have any problems.
Latex gloves:
Toner may cause irritation if it comes into contact with the skin; wear latex or rubber gloves to prevent this.
Toner Vacuum Cleaner (Optional):
The Toner Vacuum (Vacuum) is a powerful portable device that can gently remove toner from inside the laser printer. It's extremely useful, although toner vacuums are expensive, which is why we've marked it as an optional tool. You can also use a regular vacuum cleaner, but always with a disposable dust bag, it is very important to dispose of it later.
How to clean a laser printer?
Once you've prepared and assembled all the equipment listed above, it's time to open the printer and get to work. Before you do so, we would like to remind you that if you feel uncomfortable handling any of the internal components, be sure to contact an experienced printer technician or someone with experience who can complete the cleaning for you.
The previous one was a warning...)) There are a few areas inside the printer that you should not touch with your fingers, and be as careful as possible when cleaning the toner residue from them, as they are easily damaged and will then need to be changed if you damage them. These include the drum unit (photoconductor), which is often found in the toner cartridge, but is sometimes a separate unit in some printer models. This will look like a green cylinder and will be covered by a plastic cover called the toner hopper.
This is what the drum (drum cartridge or photoconductor) looks like:
Step 1 Shut down, cool down
Before you open the printer and start cleaning - hold your horses))). First, you need to unplug the printer so you don't short anything by accident, and if you've used the printer recently, wait for it to cool down. Laser printers are very hot when turned on, so it's important to give them time to cool down, the heat is very strong from the oven, which melts the toner and fixes it to the paper, if you're interested in more details
Step 2: Removing and cleaning the toner cartridge
Once the printer has cooled down, open the back panel or front panel and remove the toner cartridge (your printer's user manual will guide you on how to do this). Using square toner wipes, remove excess toner from the cartridge before setting it to one side on the second piece of toner cloth, or you can use a clean and dry wide brush.
Step 3: Remove Excess Toner from Internal Components
Using square toner wipes (or a toner vacuum if you purchased one), go inside the printer and remove any excess toner from the inside surfaces. Toner is likely to accumulate around the cartridge body and other components that may be difficult to access. Try to be as gentle as possible when cleaning the inside of the printer, as some components are fragile and costly to replace if they get damaged by a vacuum cleaner tip.
Step 4: Go over the surface of the accessible parts with a cloth soaked in alcohol
For complex components such as cables and wires, moisten a cotton swab with isopropyl alcohol and wipe gently to ensure safe, sterile cleaning. This 99% pure chemical will remove debris from internal parts without leaving a residue. Be careful to wipe the components as gently as possible so as not to leave scratches.
Step 5: Reassemble
Once you've carefully removed all the toner from the printer, it's time to put the toner cartridge back into your workbench. If necessary, refer to the user manual, insert the cartridge, and close the printer before performing any cartridge compliance checks as recommended by the manufacturer. It's also a good idea to prepare a couple of test prints to make sure everything works properly.
Cartridge cleaning: tools and equipment, procedure, little tricks
There are hundreds of products on the market designed to clean and refurbish cartridges. All of them promise to improve their performance, restore their appearance and even increase their durability. However, over the years, employees of the research laboratories of Static Control Components made sure that the old, proven methods of cleaning were and remain the most effective: dry, ionized, filtered compressed air, a service vacuum cleaner, lint-free wipes, cotton swabs, isopropyl alcohol and Kynar talc.
Cleaning practice also shows that the less you affect the properties of the components, the better. A cartridge is a complex system of interrelated elements, and it is very important to preserve its original balance and image-forming characteristics as much as possible. Damage from the handling or use of harsh cleaning agents to even one component can adversely affect the operation of the entire system. Therefore, the main task of effective cartridge cleaning is to prevent such damage and keep the system balanced.
Cleaning with dry, ionised, filtered compressed air is recommended for all cartridges, as this method does not affect the components either chemically or structurally (when done correctly). Cleaning agents can cause chemical build-up or leave streaks that harm both individual parts of the cartridge and the entire system as a whole. An example of this is the use of squeegee cleaning fluids. Some chemicals form a film on the blade, which is then transferred to both the photoconductor and the PCR.
Be careful when using various cleaners, reducers and coatings. For example, the use of alcohol-based fluids adversely affects the photoconductor, squeegee, leveling blade, magnetic roller, and certain types of primary charge rollers. The surface properties of the components are very important for the image reproduction process, and changing even one property will affect the operation of the entire system as a whole.
Dry, ionised, filtered compressed air
Compressed air is the most effective method for cleaning cartridge components. It requires little time, because with the air tube you can cover a large area at once and direct the air flow into small holes and narrow gaps, which is impossible to achieve with a vacuum cleaner. Fragile materials (foam rubber, felt) can be easily and thoroughly cleaned without any damage to their structure.
However, compressed air alone is not enough. Oil and water can enter the cartridge components and greatly increase the chance of printing problems. Static electricity causes dust and toner to be deposited on the surface of the cartridge, where it simply moves from one place to another and is difficult to remove. The use of dry, ionized, filtered compressed air and a dust control system can significantly improve cleaning performance. When working with compressed air, it is necessary to use suitable nozzles that ensure the safety of work.
Isopropyl alcohol
The use of alcohol in the cleaning process is both good and bad. Alcohol is not harmful to the electrical contacts or PCR sockets, but is harmful to the magnetic roller, photoconductor, some types of PCR, and the polyurethane and silicone on the doctor blade and leveling blade. Never use it to clean or process these components.
You should also avoid getting alcohol on the foam rubber or felt - this can damage the adhesive backing, the material will not adhere well to the cartridge, which will lead to toner leaks and print defects.
For best performance, use only 91 - 99% isopropyl alcohol. Alcohol with a higher water content will take longer to evaporate or the surface will remain wet. Whenever you use alcohol in the cleaning process, make sure that the surfaces of the components and the cartridge are completely dry before adding toner and reassembling the cartridge. 99% isopropyl alcohol is available from almost all chemical distributors, and 91% isopropyl alcohol is freely available from most pharmacies.
Print defects
Black-on-black print defects are large black dots and broad black horizontal lines repeated at intervals of the circumference of the drum in prints with a black solid (fill). These dots and lines represent the accumulation of excess toner in the developing areas. Such a defect is the result of cleaning the cartridge with compressed air supplied at high speed. The immediate cause of the black-on-black defect is the appearance of an area of high positive charge on the surface of the photoconductor. Typically, the photoconductor receives this charge from a magnetic roller, leveling knife, squeegee, or primary charge roller. A high positive charge on these components is created when highly charged toner particles are removed from the non-conductive surfaces of the components (and the drum unit itself) with a strong air current. Additional charge is also caused by the friction of the air flow against the surface of the components. In the assembled cartridge, components with a high positive charge come into contact with the photoconductor, and positive charge flows to its surface, being trapped in the conductive top layer. The photoconductor used in laser printers is not able to evenly distribute the charge accumulated in a particular place. Therefore, a localized charge, remaining in the conductive layer of the photoconductor, can disable it.
To prevent black-on-black defects, components must be grounded before they are installed in the cartridge. However, grounding is not the ultimate solution to this problem, and does not remove particles from the surface of non-conductive materials.
The use of optimal air pressure and ionizer significantly reduces excess charge on cartridge components. The ionizer creates a constant stream of negatively and positively charged ions, this stream neutralizes excess static charge on the surface of the components being cleaned.
Service vacuum cleaner
The service vacuum cleaner is an alternative to dry, ionized compressed air. When using a vacuum cleaner, use the brush to clean the surface of the cartridge and the crevice tool to clean narrow openings. Avoid contact with the surfaces of the photoconductor, magnetic roller, or PCR.
Vacuuming can damage cartridge components such as gaskets or cleaning blades on the photoconductor, move felt or foam parts, and even break some electrical parts.
When cleaning the toner hopper, if you press the nozzle a little harder through the toner filling hole, the toner level sensor and agitator may be bent. The result will be a repeated untimely warning signal for insufficient toner in the hopper.
Lint-free wipes and cotton swabs
To keep chemicals, oils, or lint off the inside of the cartridge, use lint-free wipes and cotton swabs, which are very easy to clean because they are made from a soft, non-abrasive material. They also make great applicators for alcohol or conductive lubricant.
The toner removal wipes are saturated with mineral oil, which contaminates components, so they should not be used to clean internal components. They are needed to wipe the outside of the already assembled cartridge.
Talc Kynar
Kynar is a fluorinated polymer commonly used to lubricate the squeegee during cartridge assembly. Sprinkling Kynar talcum powder on the squeegee and drum before inserting it into the cartridge will reduce friction between the drum and the blade during the first revolutions of the drum. Do not allow Kynar to build up on the PCR as this will cause print defects. Even a small particle of Kynar can interfere with charge transfer to the drum unit and cause a recurring black dot defect.
Primary charge shaft
A new, original, or remanufactured PCR should be cleaned with a lint-free cloth dampened with water. It is better not to use alcohol, as it can damage the surface coating of the shaft. The determining factor in the quality of the primary charge shaft is its design. Cleaners, waxes, and reducing agent may make the shaft shiny and look great, but they do nothing to improve its performance and, on the contrary, can damage both the shaft itself and other components of the cartridge.
photoconductor
The drum should only be cleaned with dry, ionized, filtered compressed air, being careful not to touch the surface coating with your fingers. Before installing the drum unit in the cartridge, store it in a place protected from light and other external influences. Cleaning liquids or products that treat the drum coating not only adversely affect the drum itself, but can damage the doctor blade, PCR, and magnetic roller, so they should not be used.
Squeegee and leveling knife
The squeegee edge thickness is less than 0.025 mm, and any abrasive action on it (for example, wiping with a tissue) can dull the blade and cause defects that depend on the operation of the squeegee.
It is best not to treat the squeegee at all with any cleaning and polishes and coatings: they will not increase its service life, but they can cause numerous problems, for example, the formation of a film on the drum and primary charge shaft, poor cleaning of the drum. The use of creams, coatings, or other squeegee treatments results in deposits on the blade surface that cannot be removed with compressed air.
Alcohol belongs to the same category of cleaning products as creams, polishes and coatings. Tests have shown that polyurethane knives absorb alcohol and soften, and therefore their working surface deteriorates when rubbed. Alcohol, on the other hand, soaked into polyurethane, has a negative effect on the photoconductor. It is not recommended to use alcohol to treat the squeegee or leveling knife, but to clean them only with dry, ionised, filtered compressed air.
Kynar talc can be used to lubricate the squeegee. Dip the working surface of the squeegee into the lubricant (if using Kynar Talc). Install the drum and squeegee into the cartridge, rotate the drum a few times in the direction of its normal working motion, or rotate it until the talc falls into the waste bin.
Use of conductive lubricant
A conductive lubricant is used in most cartridges to improve conductivity and reduce friction where electrical contacts meet.
The general rule here is to only apply conductive grease to the places where it was applied in the original cartridges, as their manufacturers always take this issue very seriously. However, since all cartridge systems are different, lubrication patterns also differ from each other. Read the instructions for remanufacturing this particular cartridge carefully before you begin.
Each time you refill a cartridge, wipe off the old grease with a swab or tissue before applying fresh grease. When replacing worn cartridge components, lubricate the new parts where the old ones were lubricated.
"Moderation" is a word to always remember when applying a conductive lubricant. We recommend a layer as thick as a paper sheet. To do this, use the wooden end of a cotton swab. If the lubricant is applied correctly, it will work effectively throughout the entire cycle.
Although lubrication improves conductivity, it does not increase it. Applying more lubricant in the hope of increasing the charge on the magnetic roller or drum unit will not darken the print. On the contrary, an excess amount of it may spread over the cartridge, which will adversely affect the operation of other components.
Magnetic shaft
The magnetic roller should be cleaned with dry, ionised, filtered compressed air. While doing this, hold the shaft by the axles or use rubber gloves. If you touch the magnetic roller with your fingers, oily spots remain on its surface, which can cause printing defects (for example, background or smudges on the printout that repeat at intervals of the circumference of the magnetic roller). The use of chemical coating cleaners is not recommended as they cause deterioration in print quality. Various types of reductant often lead to thicker characters, reduced productivity, light printing problem, background appearance, and may also increase the tendency for toner additive film to form on the surface of the magnetic roller.
Electrical contacts
Whenever you remanufacture a cartridge, make sure that all electrical contacts are free of toner and other contaminants, as these may interfere with the consistency of all cartridge components. Wipe the contacts of the magnetic roller and the primary charge roller, the primary charge roller socket with a cotton swab (or lint-free cloth) moistened with a 91-99% isopropyl alcohol solution. Then apply a thin coat of conductive grease to the contacts.
It is a metal tube with a fixed magnetic core inside. Toner is attracted to the magnetic roller, which, before being fed to the drum, acquires a negative charge under the influence of direct or alternating voltage.
In cartridge production, the magnetic shaft is a complex structure in the form of a metal roller, the surface of which is coated with a special layer. Accordingly, when refilling the cartridge, the magnetic shaft should be given sufficient attention.
How to clean the magnetic roller?
The magnetic roller must be cleaned by blowing it with dry, purified compressed air at a gas station, or by immersing it vertically in a vacuum cleaner hose without touching the walls of the hose. If toner stains remain on the surface of the roller after such cleaning, wipe them off with a soft brush. Forced cleaning with a cloth is strongly discouraged as it can destroy the surface roughness of the shaft, which is necessary for the toner to be sufficiently charged by triboelectricity. Also, it is not recommended to use isopropyl alcohol to clean the shaft, because. the toner particles dissolved by it may fill the "pores" on the surface of the roller, which may also lead to insufficient toner charge. In case of severe contamination, it is allowed to use strong solvents such as acetone for cleaning, but do not forget about their toxicity and that in this case the magnetic shaft shell can simply be replaced with a new one that will last much longer.
If you have any difficulties or you just don't want to experiment - contact us, our specialists will take care of your magnetic roller and cartridge as a whole.
The main part of any laser cartridge is the photoconductor, which is a shiny roller that has a light blue or light green color, but other colors are also found - it depends on the manufacturer of the photocell. 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 ahead of time.
The human factor cannot be ruled out either - after all, various foreign objects and substances can get into the printer along with paper, which, in turn, can damage or contaminate the photoreceptor. Sometimes, when using low-quality toner, it can remain on the drum unit, as a result of which the print quality begins to limp a lot. Therefore, there are situations when you need to clean the laser printer drum. 
In general, cleaning the drum of a laser printer with a competent and thorough approach is not so difficult. It is necessary to start solving this problem when, after printing documents, all kinds of defects remain on the sheets in the form of a gray background, black stripes and dots. In some cases, the toner is not compatible with the phototube. For this reason, to achieve really good print quality, you need to use the same brand of camera and toner. Otherwise, over time, you may even need to repair the photoconductor (but more often it’s just replacing it), which is unlikely to be done on your own.
Camera cleaning: steps
Models of laser-type printers, as a rule, provide for exclusively manual cleaning of the surface of the photoconductor, which is associated with the characteristics of laser printing. The whole procedure consists of several stages, the implementation of each of which must be taken with care. Before cleaning the cartridge drum, turn off the device by unplugging the power cord from the mains. Next, carefully open the front cover and remove the cartridge.
At the next stage, you need to move a special protective shutter, which is located on the cartridge and protects the photoconductor from damage. To clean the photoreceptor, it is not necessary to pull it out of the cartridge, it is enough to turn it in the direction of travel as the visible part of the photoshaft is cleaned. 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 very carefully, holding it exclusively by the ends. Please note that the primary charge roller is evenly pressed against its surface, with which you should be very careful not to damage it.
Be aware that if you turn the cartridge upside down with the drum removed, waste toner will spill out of the cartridge. Therefore, prepare a clean and smooth surface in advance. You can use sheets of paper or newspapers. Remember not to allow toner to come into contact with clothing or skin. If this still happened, be sure to rinse it off with cold water or shake it off, because the toner is a toxic substance (we recommend that you read the article about that).
To clean the drum unit, use a lint-free material such as a cloth. With it, you need to wipe the surface of the drum until there is not a single particle of toner or greasy stain left on it. In no case do not use wet wipes, since after such a procedure the phototube will have to be thrown away.
It is also categorically not recommended to use all kinds of detergents, which contain a solvent, ammonia or alcohol. It is better to purchase a cleaning kit that is specifically designed for cartridges. In addition, cleaning of the phototube does not need to be carried out in bright light, otherwise the so-called light can be exposed. photosensitive layer.
After cleaning, it is necessary to carefully install the phototube in the cartridge and insert it into the printer, pressing until it clicks. At the end, it remains to check the print quality and, if it turns out to be satisfactory, then the procedure for cleaning the phototube was carried out properly.
If you still had to remove the drum to clean the drum, then before installing it, you need to powder it with a special lubricating powder - talc. If this is not done, then the photoshaft may rest against the squeegee and jam. At home, you can use the toner from this cartridge to lubricate the drum (working out is quite suitable). After installation, turn the drum in the direction of its movement and clean any remaining talc or toner from the charge roller. Most Samsung, Xerox and Brother cartridges do not require lubrication of the phototube prior to installation. This procedure only needs to be done for waste hopper cartridges (HP and Canon).
Thus, the answer to the question of how to clean the laser printer drum is quite simple. Be extremely careful when cleaning the surface of the phototube, so as not to damage it. But if you do not have the proper skills or you are afraid to spoil something, then it is better to contact the nearest service center for help.
