Printer Faults - Specks in Page Corner

Specks in Page Corner imply there is some loose toner in the print path. This might happen after clearing a print jam because some toner contaminated surfaces. This will usually clear after a few more pages have been printed.

Some printers have a cleaning mode - this is generally accessed from the control panel and users have to follow a cleaning procedure.

The toner is usually at one side near the transfer roller or on the underside of the cartridge. The leading edge of the page is flicking through it as it travels.

More serious cases are due to a poorly refurbished cartridge leaking somewhat at one side. Turn the printer off, unplug it and clean the print path with a damp (not wet) tissue. If contamination is heavy use a brush. See the section on cleaning printers.

If a cartridge is leaking the problem will recur. Usually there will be contamination of the bottom of the cartridge and of the paper path near the transfer roller.

The cause of leaks tends to be at the drum cleaning side of the cartridge. Inside the cartridge there is a scraper blade and thin mylar strips to catch the toner and direct it into the waste compartment. The cleaning mechanism tends to rely on several things being angled just right and it doesn't necessarily get a good test when a cartridge is refurbished because printing a few pages doesn't make much waste.

Shaking a used cartridge in a vertical direction can cause the waste to fall around and give a dribble of toner that looks like a leak but really isn't a defect.

There is a problem in that handling the cartridges tends to cause faults - but the only way to fix faults is to handle the cartridges.

(See cleaning)