HP Original Cartridges




HP Maintenance Kit






Transfer Roller



Reliable Remanufactured Cartridges

One of the merits of the P4014 against a new printer is the low cost of good re-manufactured cartridges.


At the moment we don't sell in the US, but we hope to soon

HP P4014 Series Transfer Roller CB506-67903.

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The transfer roller in the LaserJet P4014, P4015 and P4515 series printers is located in the bottom of the cartridge well, just below where the drum on the bottom of the cartridge will sit. The transfer roller carries an electrostatic charge that will strip toner powder away from the drum and onto the page as it passes through.

Transfer rollers get worn due to constant contact with the paper, particularly the leading edge perhaps. The roller also tends to pick up a thin patina of paper dust.

When it isn't functioning well the transfer roller won't pull sufficient toner powder off the drum and onto the page. Pages will begin to look a bit faded and lacking in contrast.

HP_RM1-8491

Not so visibly there will now also be far too much waste toner going up into the waste compartment in the cartridge. When that fills up the cartridge seals will begin to leak and random dribbles of toner will seep out onto pages and into the printer mechanism, particularly onto the transfer roller reducing its effectiveness still more.

Some printer manufacturers arrange for the transfer roller to be part of the cartridge so that it is frequently and automatically changed. HP haven't taken this approach but they do ship a new transfer roller with each full maintenance kit and they are supposed to be available both as a kit and as a spare part to be changed at any time.

transfer roller

The transfer roller is marked as a user-changeable part by having a blue plastic cog at one end (blue means user maintenance - blue clips on rollers, blue latches on the fuser).

Hints on changing transfer rollers are here

Transfer rollers are probably the least convenient part of a maintenance kit to change because it is deep in the printer where the cartridge usually sits. There is also nothing much to get to grips with. HP intend people to use a tool. The maintenance kit ships with a blue plastic hook, looking something like a giant plastic paper clip. The idea is to put the hook under the shaft of the roller next to the blue cog and lift upwards and to the left a bit. The roller left hand bearing lifts out with the shaft whilst the right hand of the shaft slides out of its bearing.

The kit also has some plastic gloves. Again the idea is that the user wears these, not so much to protect their hands from toner dust, although that might be helpful. The gloves protect the new roller from skin oils when it is inserted. A new roller should be inserted using the hook, but people are almost inevitably going to use their fingers for guidance.

The transfer roller's rubber coat is quite sensitive to any kind of contamination but clean hands and a bit of care mean that in practice people don't have too much trouble. If a mark can be discerned then look at a print-out, strong black areas in particular and try to spot any weakness at intervals of 47mm which is the circumference of the roller.

The transfer roller sits in a slot in the bottom of the printer. Any toner spilling out of the cartridge is attracted to it, either by gravity or by the electrical charge.

Toner spill needs to be cleaned up if the printer is to function correctly. For small amounts use a dry lint-free tissue. Larger amounts may need a dampened tissue. A toner rated vacuum cleaner is ideal but since they cost £150 they aren't all that common. Don't use an ordinary vacuum cleaner - the particles of toner will pass through the filter and gradually settle out on any surface, including skin and lungs.

Alternate Part Numbers

CB506-67903 is also known as RM1-5462. (The second code can be variants HWP-RM1-5462-000CN or just RM1-5462-000CN according to HP Partsurfer in June 2015 and both map to CB506-67903). The transfer roller only fits the P4014/ P4015 and M4555 series according to Partsurfer. It looks just like the LJ_4200 or M601 roller but may not be electrically identical.

Testing A Transfer Roller

Transfer rollers are not readily testable except by swapping them between printers. Although the material is nominally conductive that is true for static electricity and most show little or no conductivity when tested with a multimeter (although the sides sometimes suggest a layered structure). The plastic probably does age, but many transfer rollers work for years with no trouble. The transfer roller is one place where refilled or rebuilt toners might create faults - softeners in a bad toner might damage the plastic of the roller. The main ageing process is probably being chipped away by page edges and a build-up of contamination by paper dust.

Paper dust can be removed with a medium-hard paintbrush. The chipping effect of paper can't be countered. The transfer roller ideally needs a droplet of conductive grease on the left side, by the clip.   If all else fails, buy a roller.