One of the few problems thermal labels printer repair technicians encounter is a bad print head. Considering a print head of a thermal printer from Zebra, Sato,  AMT, Datamax,and  Citizen are designed to imprint millions of characters before failure. Thermal label printers do not have fuser assemblies, paper pick up rollers or transfer roller as do laser printers that require more frequent repairs.

Prior to replacing or doing a thermal label printer repair of a zebra, Datamax Citizen or Sato printer you may want to consider doing a through cleaning of the print-head.  Zebra printer repair and maintenance technicians only replace the print head as a last resort. May times a certified label printer repair person can PM the the thermal printer and the printers print head to prevent a costly replacement. Print Heads range in price from $350 to well over $600 depending upon your printer model and manufacturer.  Qualified thermal printer printer repair technicians are not your average bred of people. If you use a laser printer technician or a computer tech to work on your expensive Zebra, Sato, Datamax or Citizen printer then you are taking a big risk.  Thermal printer repair is completely different than toner or ink based printer repairs.

Thermal printer print heads by Zebra, Datamax,  AMT, SATO and Citizen require alignment adjustments and calibrations that laser printers do not require all all.  Mis-aligned print heads will cause ghosting, lines and marks on labels if not properly service. It’s not just insert it in and let it run. This is were regular printer repair technicians and technicians trained on thermal printer repairs are different the knowledge required to determine if the bad images are due to calibration, alignment issues or the actual print head.

Make sure you receive the warranty statement on all thermal printer by Zebra, AMT, Datamax, Citizen and Sato printer repairs once services. Ask you therm printer repair company if you go to them or the manufacturer for warranty claims – if they say the manufacturer then switch vendors! Your Zebra, Sata, Datamax or AMT service company should be your point of contact for all print head warranties for the repairs they accomplished.   Most print heads come with a 6 month to 1 year limited warranty. If your company says 30-days then the part is either used or the printer repair company is not authorized and/or properly trained.

What used or refurbished HP printer is best for your company depends upon your requirements.  First, we will not consider the ink based models or the sub $800 printers due to their very low resale value.   This article will discuss the used and refurbished HP printers designed for  small and mid-size business class.  The criteria is based on HP best printers with low operating costs and a great history of dependable service.

If you are a small business looking to produce over 2,000 pages per month then the cost of the HP supplies and repairs costs should be a major concern. Many of the low end HP printers haev excessive per page costs. Per page cost is the amount of money it takes to produce a one page document. If you just look at the price tag of the laser printer you will loose big time. The lower end printers cost 3 to 4 times more than  higher end printers such as the P4015N and have a very short life. Its wiser to get a 2..3 year old HP 4250, HP 4350 or used P415N printer than has a per page cost of less than $0.008 (eight of a cent) than to purchase a $300 with a page cost of $0.03 (three cents or more) .

The HP 4250, HP 4350, P4015 are currently in the highest demand in the used refurbished HP printer market due to their durability,  longer lasting cartridges and overall low cost to operate. HP 4250 and HP 4350 repairs are inexpensive when you consider the mean time between failures. If you obtain a quality refurbished used HP printer then expect it to last 100,000 pages or more before you haev any problems.  The trick is to get a completely refurbished unit from a HP authorized repair center who offers on-site warranty service with the purchase of  the printer. Also, you want a unit with less than 150,000 pages if possible. The HP 4250 and HP 4350 has a life of  over 2,000,000 (two million) pages.

The thermal label printers by Zebra, Datamax, Citizen, Sato and others use old technology that is proven to last many years with few problems. The main part that wears out and meed thermal label printer repair is the print head. What i sthe first step to determine if the print head is bad and needs repair on the Zebra, Datamax and sato printers?

If you are getting a label image problem on your Zerba, datamax, sato or citizen thermal label prints check for a  build up of ribbon residue on the print head. Be careful not to scratch the print head when cleaning it.  Also, always unplug the label printers power. When doing label printer print head maintenance remember to only use non abrasive cleaner. Never use a scrubbing pad or or ruff texture cloth when cleaning the printer head of the Zebra, Datamax and Sato printers print head.  Some of these models cost several thousand dollars and print heads cost in the $300 to $500 dollar range depending upon you model and manufacturer of the thermal label printer so be careful.

If after doing the the thermal printer cleaning maintenance you are still getting poor images then you may want to call a service technician to adjust the gaping and alignment of the print head before repairing it.   Alignment and gaping of the print heat is usually not something a non-tech can accomplish when repairing the zebrea, sato and datamax printers.  Beyond the alignment check the ribbon to make sure it is aligned properly and i all else fails contact Advanced Business Computers for your label printer repair help.

The Copystar CS-3035, CS-4035, and CS-5035 are the same models as the Kyocera KM series (KM-3035, KM-4035, and cs-5035). They are both manufactured and distributor BY Kyocera corporation. They use the same copier print repair parts, maintenance kits, Drum units, and other internal components.  Eventual as with any copier printer, they need maintenance and replacement of parts. One to the main copier printer repairs parts consist of the drum unit. The drum that the Kyocera or Copystar copier printer scanner creates the image and then transfers the image onto the actual paper.

If you are having a fuzzy image problem, lines and/or back ground gray areas then the drum could be the cause of the problem. Usually, this requires a service technician or somebody with some knowledge of copier printer repair and adjustment to resolve. However, you can do the actual replacement yourself. The first step is to do a cleaning of he drum unit to se if the problem goes away or is reduced.

The process you are going to attempt is the “drum refresh” process that clears away debris from the drum area.  One that is done you will need to manually perform the copier printer transfer roller grid maintenance.

Here are the steps to doing the Kyocera Copystar drum refresh maintenance process:

1. Load paper into the MP tray on the right side of the Kyocera or Copystar model you want to repair. Use standard size or 11 x 17 size paper (11 x 17” I preferred to do a better cleaning).
2. Using the touch screen on the copier printer and select basic to get the screen back to the original screen.
3. No press the “Default setting/Counter” button above the number 1 key on the key pad – not on the touch screen.
4. On the touch screen select “User Adjustment” feature.
5. Select “Drum refresh” option on the screen . Make sure you already loaded the paper onto the MP tray.
6. Now press the “On” option located on the screen bottom right corner
7. The Drum refresh process should start. This copier printer maintenance task will take a few minutes. Be patient.  Once the process is completed you can close / end out the screens selections to get back to the “Basic” screen.

Now its time to manually perform the copier printer repair maintenance step of cleaning the transfer corona. This copier printer repair process is easy to accomplish.

1. Open the front cover and look for a blue brush/plastic piece that is usually on the door. If you do not fine t then get several cotton q-tip swab. DO NOT use your fingers or cloths that will leave fibers!!
2. Now look on the right side of the copier and pull open the top access door.
3. You will see the transfer roller assembly which you will need to clean. The transfer roller is a black (sometimes turns gray) sponge roller.
4. Now put everything back together and make sure you put the blue brush back.

Now run several test prints to see if the image improves. If it does not improve then you will need a certified Kyocera Copystar copier printer service repair technician to adjust the unit and possibly replace parts.

HP mid range and higher printers are considered work horses.  they are designed for easy printer fax copier repair and installation of maintenance kits.   However, thee are some exceptions to the rule.  The HP 4250 and HP 4350 series laser printers are work horse, but one with a problem.  Repairing the printers  normal problems such as paper feed issues and fuser assemblies are simple just like there previous models the HP 4200 and HP 4100 laser printers.  However, HP designed the drive gear/swing plate with a flaw: its plastic, it wear out often and you need to tear apart the printer in many pieces to repair.

The repair of the HP printer swing plate requires the removal of the coverings, circuit boards and other parts which takes an experience printer repair technician about an hour to complete.  Most technicians when learning how to do this repairs take 2 hours or more to do it.  It’s imp[important that you specify that you want a technician who has a proven repair record when doing this repair. It’s not  simple repair.  You will need to provide a good size printer repair work area the removal of the parts.

Also when repairing the swing plate of the HP laser printer you may need to replace the fuser assembly at the same time. The fuser assembly is a swap HP printer repair part that only takes a few minutes to accomplish.

Brother toner based MFC have been in the forefront of the multi-function all in one printer scanner copiers for the since the nineties long before Hewlett Packard  and other brands.  Brother produces good quality toner based small off and home based office printer copiers that have always preform well. Brother MFC ink based ones are very popular due to low cost. This article covers the toner based MFC color all in one repair maintenance image problems.

Repairing and performing maintenance on the Brother color copier printer scanners is not difficult if you know the steps to take. First, is to determine the cause of the problem. Just like when repairing HP, Lexmark and other copier printer scanners use the process on elimination. All color printer copiers contain four toner cartridges, a set of drums, imaging unit and fuser. Depending upon what the actual image repair maintenance problem looks like will determine which part to replace.

If the printer copier repair image problem only effects one color (black lines on color pages, or getting blue streaks/spots but not yellow, black or magenta, etc.) then you can eliminate the imaging unit and the fuser as the problem.   On the Brother MFC 9840, 9440 and similar models it uses one drum unit and four separate toner cartridges.  If you are only having problems with the cyan (Blue) then you either need to replace the cyan toner or the drum unit.  If the printer repair image problem is a yellow line then its the yellow toner or drum unit. If you are having a black line then things are a bit different because the problem can be the fuser too.

Now if the image problem does not follow and one particular problem then the cause could be the drum, image unit or the fuser. Print out several pages and see if the image problem is a pattern (repeats two or more times per page) or is a print repair maintenance problem along the whole page.  The image unit rotates once per page, the drums approx 3 times and the fuser 5 times per page.

The next step is to pull out the image unit, drum unit and he fuser and try to match the printer image problem with the actual unit.  If your technician has repair and performed printer copier maintenance repair worked on the Brother and other brands such as HP, Lexmark, Ricoh and canons then over the phone they should be able to diagnose the problem with 97% accuracy without you spending a dime of your money upfront.  If they can not give you an idea and you are in South Florida contact Advanced Business Computers printer copier repair department.

The Brother MFC printer copy scanners fax all in one office equipment toner based models  are good durable home office and small office machines. The Brother MFC models range from small inexpensive color ink based models to the 9940CN color all in one printer copier scanner faxes for small business (3..5 people).  Just like all equipment routine maintenance repairs are needed to keep them running.  One of the most common problems with the one based Brother MfC’s, as with all brands of printer copier scanners, are paper jams repairs.

95% of all paper jam repair maintenance problems with printer scanner copiers MFC  occur in three places: (1) ADf automatic document feeder on the top of the unit,  (2) in the plain paper drawer and (3) in the fuser area paper getting stuck drum the drum area.  The printer copier repair for the first two areas are not expensive repairs. They both require replacing the paper pick up assembly or roller and the paper separation pad or assembly. In fact, on some Brother MFC the printer copier scanner repair needed i indicated on the LCD “replaced PF1 fit” or “replaced PF2 kit”.  Both the PF1 and PF2 brother paper repair maintenance feed kits are USER replaceable. You do not need a technician to do the repair 95% of the time if you ave basic skills with a standard screw driver.

The Brother MFC fuser repair paper jam problem is a bit more expensive to repair. The fuser assembly on all brands of printers copiers scanners are considered normal wear and tear parts. In other words, they wear out over time and require repair or replacement.  ON some printer copier scanner fax machines repairing the fuser is as simple as removing a couple of screws. On other brands it requires you to remove covers, power supplies and other components.  On large copier printer new fuser as so expensive that most technicians rebuild them and the manufacturer offers a copier printer maintenance kits that contains all the parts to repair rebuild the fuser assemblies.  The Brother MFC printer copier scanners fuser are not rebuilt but just replaced as a unit.  Most Brother MFC’s fuser copier printer repair maintenance take an technician lessthan 30 minutes to complete.

here is the next set of copier repair codes fro Ricoh, Lanier, Savin and Gestetner printers copier fax scanners.  Remember repairing copier printers require more than just knowing the error codes. You need to determine the copier repair maintenance problem using the error code to point you in the right direction.

SC551 Pressure roller thermistor OP

SC552 Pressure roller warm-up error

SC553 Pressure roller overheat

SC554 Pressure roller ready temp low abnormal

SC555 Pressure roller ready temp abnormal

SC557 Pressure roller temp does nto increase

SC558 Zero cross signal abnormal

SC590 Exhaust/fusing motor error

SC391 Toner supply motor error

SC592 Toner black motor error

SC599 Copy exit tray motor lock

sc600 Communication error between main control and operation panel boards

SC602 Communication error between BICU & Hdd

SC603 Communication error within main control boards

SC604 Serial signal error in main control board

SC605 Communication error between main control and IPU

SC610 Communication time out

SC611 Communication break error

SC612 Communication command error

SC620 Communication command error BICU/SBCU and ADF

SC621 Communication error between BICU/SCBU and RADF

SC662 Communication error between BICU & RADF

SC623 Communication time out error

SC624 Communication time out

SC625 Communication error  between BICU & Finisher

SC627 CSs (RSS) communication error between line adapter & CSS

You will notice several of copier printer repair errors are very similar.  Many times several repair copier printer maintenance codes point to the same problem in different ways. Example are the pressure roller error codes related to the temperature which indicates that he thermal control parts of the fuser assembly of the printer copier need to be replaced. In some models this entails the actual replacement of just the thermistors. Advanced Business Computers is very experienced in the repair of copier printers scanners in the Southeast Florida areas. If you need further help in determine what an error code means please post a question here on this blog.

One of the most common problems beyond the regular HP maintenance repair kit installation is the failure of laser printers communication with the network.  If you HP printer, Lexmark laser or other laser printer fails to print a job then you need to check your communications.   On a network when you send a print job it goes through your switch to the laser printers Nic (network) card (HP jetdirect) and then to the laser printer copier formatter board.

The first item to check when repairing your Hp printer problem is your network cable on your printer copier to make sure its seated well in the printer and the network switch.  At the same time check to see if your NIC card (HP jetdirect card) shows a green light.  If the card does not show a green light then it is not communicating with the network or the formatter card in the printer. If this happens first install a new NIC card to repair the printer copier problem. IF the new card still does not show a light then either the formatter is bad or the network connection.

If you have a second network printer then take the network cable out  of the printer having the repair problem and put it in to the other printer to eliminate the switch and network cable as being the printer repair problem. If the cable works in the other printer then you know you will need to replace the formatter and possibly the jetdirect card.  If the connection does not work on the other printer then you have a network problem (bad cable, switch, other).  Repairing printer copiers communication problems is a process of elimination.

When repairing your HP printer or other brand copier printer  make sure you follow logical steps in eliminating possible printer failure to communicate problems. Advanced Business Computers Inc  is a great source for help and information. If you need a reliable printer copier repair company  contact then now for quick support and laser printer copier mFD repairs.

here is the next set o Ricoh repair maintenance error codes fro repair technicians. If you own a Ricoh, Savin, Gestetner or Lanier then these codes are all the same.  Repairing the complete line of Ricoh printer copiers is easy because all the Ricoh brands use the same error codes, parts and supplies.  If you prefer to place your copier printer under a service maintenance agreement or have questions concerning printer copier scanner repairs then contact Advanced Business Computers.

SC410 paper seperation leak

SC411 Separation bias leak error

SC420 Cleaning motor lock

SC422 PCC Leak

SC430 Quenching lamp error

SC440 Main motor lock/drum

SC441 Development motor lock

SC450 Paper transfer bias leak

SC451 Paper transfer belt motor lock

SC452 transfer belt mark detection error

SC455 Paper transfer belt discharge corona current leak

SC456 Paper transfer unit position error

SC457 Image transfer belt cleaning unti position error

SC460 Thermistor 1 temperature error

SC461 Thermnistor 2 error

SC471 Transfer Belt HP sensor error

SC490 Toner supply motor leak

SC492 Cooling an motor lock

SC493 Exhaust fan motor lock

SC495 Toner recycling unit error

SC496 Toner collection bottle error

SC497 Toner recycling motor error

Half the battle in repairing copier printers is knowing what the error codes mean.  If you are not familiar with copier printer repair terminology then you will need the complete service manual for the Ricoh, Lanier, Gestetner and Savin printer copier scanners to repair them.  Some copier printer repair maintenance codes are misleading for example motor lock does not mean you need to replace the motor. You may need to replace a gear set or during the repair of the copier printer find the paper clip or staple that is causing the motor to jam. If you need further assistance contact Advanced Business Computers in Southeast Florida.