TOPIC
The photoconductor LED (error light) on my Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS turned on after printing only 3,000 pages even though the print quality looks fine. Do I need to replace the photoconductor as directed by the user's manual? Will my printer shut down?
DISCUSSION Apple recommends replacing the photoconductor (OPC -- Organic Photoconductor) only when there is a noticeable degradation of print quality. To assist in monitoring the print quality keep the startup and demonstration pages that print when a new photoconductor is installed in the printer. These pages represent the print quality that can be expected with a new photoconductor. Periodically printing the startup and demonstration pages allows the print quality to be compared with the pages generated when the photoconductor was new. If the print quality has degraded to an unacceptable level (ie. overexposed, lack of contrast, scratches, or spots) then the photoconductor should be replaced. Under normal circumstances the life of the photoconductor can be in excess of 6,500 pages depending on the type of printing being done. The photoconductor LED on the status panel is activated by an internal counter after 3,000 color pages have been printed. The Color LaserWriter controller uses a photosensitive drum thickness circuit to determine when a new photoconductor has been installed so that the photoconductor LED can be turned off for another 3,000 pages. The thickness detection is performed every 100 printed pages, at power on, and whenever the front door is opened and closed. Removing and reinstalling the original photoconductor will not reset the LED because the printer engine controller compares the current drum thickness data with the drum thickness data stored on the DC controller to determine whether a new photoconductor has been installed. Though a worn out photoconductor begins to impact print quality, it should not shut down the printer. If the Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS or Color LaserWriter 12/660 PS printer is shutting down, check for other error LEDs and consult the user's guide for recommendations. In some cases the waste toner LED may blink which indicating that the waste toner bottle is full. Every new photoconductor comes with two waste toner bottles because at least one of them is expected to fill up and require replacing during the life of the photoconductor. Remove the waste toner bottle to see if it is full. Also inspect the clear plastic cap on the waste toner bottle to make sure that it is not contaminated with toner that might be blocking the photosensor light beam. Toner contamination can trigger a waste toner alert, when the waste toner bottle is not full. |
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| Document Information | |
| Product Area: | Printers |
| Category: | LaserWriters |
| Sub Category: | Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS |
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