How to refill a laser printer. How to properly refill a laser printer. What to do if your GPU is overheating

Remove the cover. Add toner. Close the lid. Insert back into the device. I must say that refilling the laser gun is not difficult at all. If you follow certain rules and don’t lose consciousness when hearing the words “screwdriver” and “pliers.” Because these are the tools you need to refill a laser printer cartridge yourself.

Laser printers are refilled with a special powder called toner.

All printers have different toners. The manufacturer usually indicates on toner bottles a list of models for which a particular powder is intended.

The toner is chemically very dangerous, you should use it carefully.

It is important to know whether the cartridge has a special chip that blocks the operation of the device after the consumable has exhausted its resource. If yes, then it is better to take it to a gas station.

Security measures

All components of toner for printing devices are very toxic. To avoid poisoning, before refilling a laser printer cartridge, you should wear rubber gloves, a robe or other clothing that you don’t mind.

Toner replacement should be done in a well-ventilated area. Since small particles of toner dust can even pass through a special gas mask. You can arm yourself with a respirator or gauze bandage. But they are unlikely to help if even the gas mask allows dust particles to pass through.

The table on which the laser printer cartridge will be refilled should be covered with newspaper or something similar.

What are cartridges made of?

There are two types of laser cartridges. Some have a special hole for pouring powder into the hopper, others do not. With such a model you will have to tinker in order to get to the toner compartment.

The print cartridge consists of two parts. The first is the dye hopper. The second is a container for collecting garbage and powder residues.

Replacing the toner in a cartridge is carried out in two stages: first cleaning the waste container, then refilling it.

How to clean a laser printer cartridge

Now you need to disassemble and clean the garbage container from dirt. To do this, use a screwdriver to unscrew the screws that secure the side plugs of the housing. Then carefully pull out the photosensitive drum. It is important not to grab it with your fingers by the main surface, but try to hold it on the sides or by the gear, otherwise the drum will deteriorate and will be unsuitable for subsequent use. After the photo roll is removed from the case, it is advisable to place it away from the main workspace, covering it with a newspaper or sheet of paper to prevent light and dust from entering.

Then you need to remove the charging shaft (rubberized part), which is located under the photosensitive drum. At the same time, remember that all parts must be taken by the side parts. Since damage to the surface of these parts will result in poor print quality.

Now we unscrew the cleaning blade, which is called a squeegee. And carefully, so that the remaining powder and debris do not fly around, turn over and shake out the container. We carefully clean all the parts from paint residues and put them back together. In filling workshops they use a special vacuum cleaner, with which they clean the entire body of the printing device.

Refilling the printer

The toner hopper is located in the second half of the print module. Most often, access to the refill hole is located on the side under a plastic cover. But there are cartridges whose design does not provide holes for filling in paint. In this case, you will have to completely unscrew the cartridge and pour toner into the slot through which it falls onto the magnetic roller. Sometimes a hole is made in the hopper and cartridges are refilled this way. Avoiding complete disassembly and cleaning of the entire cartridge.

Having opened the cap of the magnetic hopper, take the toner purchased in advance at an office equipment store, and using a funnel or an A4 sheet rolled into it, pour the powder into the hopper. Do not fill the hopper completely, as this may cause the cartridge to jam. There should be one and a half to two centimeters left to the edge. Then close the lid, assemble both parts and insert the refilled cartridge into the device.

Nuances that you need to pay attention to when refilling toners yourself.

It often happens that laser printer cartridges are equipped with a print counter chip. To refill them, you should contact specialists to reset the data in the chip’s memory or to replace it. Even if you manage to do all the dirty work at home, the printer will simply refuse to work, since “according to its calculations, the resource has already been used up.”

An important question is “How many times can a cartridge be refilled?” It all depends on the cartridge itself. On average, this amount ranges from 5 to 15 times. Moreover, during every 3–6 refueling it is necessary to perform a restoration. This is a procedure for replacing consumable parts that need to be replaced as they wear out.

In general, refilling is not such a difficult task. But you should take on this business only when you are confident that everything will work out. Otherwise, you will have to buy a new cartridge, and its cost is often comparable to the cost of the device itself. And all the expected savings from the “independent service” will come to naught. If you still have questions about how to refill a laser cartridge, we recommend that you read the instructions for refilling your particular model. To do this, go to the section.

As you use your printer intensively, you will soon be faced with a choice: buy a new ink cartridge or simply refill the existing one. Of course, the easiest way is to buy special paint and refill the cartridge that you already have. But how to refill an HP laser cartridge yourself?

The principle of refueling is quite simple; the only thing worth paying attention to is the order in which the work is carried out. Follow all steps of the instructions in a clear sequence and do not forget to prepare the place where the procedure will be performed. If you do everything correctly, then there will definitely be no problems.

How to refill an HP laser printer cartridge - start with preparation

In order to refill HP laser cartridges yourself, you need to purchase toner - special ink in powder form. Try to find the one that suits your model, the quality of the print depends on it.

If the issue with the toner is resolved, then you can start working. Find the best working area and cover it with newspaper in case the toner spills. The powder can harm you, so wear rubber gloves and try to avoid getting the substance in your eyes.

Take precautions

It is important to remember that the toner used to refill printer cartridges is quite toxic. It contains harmful elements such as lead and cadmium. Therefore, the dye should not be allowed to come into contact with the skin, much less the respiratory tract. Refill the cartridge only with rubber gloves and a protective gown!

In addition, it is advisable to carry out all work in a well-ventilated area where there are no children or pets. It is best to wear safety glasses over your eyes and protect your nose and mouth with a respiratory mask. Be careful not to spill toner.

Often, when working with a cartridge, a small amount of toner gets on your hands. No one is immune from this. Even the most careful master. In this case, it is enough to wash off the toner with warm (but not hot!) water and soap.

The most important stage is the selection of high-quality ink. The user manual and printer packaging indicate the models of built-in cartridges. It is for them that you must buy paint. Unfortunately, there is no ink available from the printer manufacturer, so don't skimp on good ink or you'll end up with poor printing, dry nozzles, and a faulty printer.

Let's move on to refueling. Remove the cartridges from the carriage by pulling the special plastic tip or pressing the release button. Examine the tank. On the back you will see a sticker that covers the filling holes, carefully remove it, but do not throw it away! Usually, cartridges have ready-made holes for refilling, but if you don’t find any, then make careful punctures with a needle in the corresponding recesses.
Draw 2-3 ml of paint into the syringe, insert the needle 2-3 centimeters into the cartridge and slowly inject the liquid. 1 ml of ink takes 15-20 seconds. When filling the container with a strong stream, you risk getting air bubbles, which is strictly contraindicated. Drops of ink on the bottom will notify you of excess filling. Take a little paint with a syringe, blot the nozzles with a paper napkin and wipe with alcohol. Return the sticker.
Refilling a color cartridge requires care not to mix up the ink tanks. A quick way to identify ink is to directly insert a needle into the container and pump out the remaining ink into the syringe. Use a new needle and syringe for each hole to avoid mixing paints. Inject ink into each reservoir before filling and wipe the printing system with alcohol after filling.

Important advice. Print five, or in some cases more, test pages to ensure the toner is properly seated in the reservoir and evenly distributed to the print rollers. Only after this can you begin full-time work.

Summarizing the above, I would like to add that although the price of refilling a laser printer cartridge is not very high, why would anyone pay anything if it can be done independently and, moreover, without much effort.

How to Handle Toner Powder

Toner is a dust-like mixture of various resins, graphite, iron powder and other components. For different models of LP and, accordingly, TC, the composition of the toner is strictly individual.

Toner should be stored at room temperature in a tightly closed container.

When using toner, make sure that water, especially hot water, does not come into contact with it. Avoid handling toner near open flames or heating elements. Failure to follow these rules can lead, at best, to loss of toner properties, and at worst, to burnout.

Before refilling the TK, the container with toner powder should be shaken vigorously for several seconds to eliminate lumps.

Avoid contact of toner powder with the respiratory tract or eyes, as this may cause various allergic reactions. Therefore, when working with toner, it is advisable to use eye protection (closed glasses) and respiratory protection (respirator). The workplace should be ventilated as often as possible.

You cannot use powder from the waste toner bin to refill the TC.

The volume of refilled toner cannot be more than necessary. To clarify the volume of toner to be refilled into the cartridge, you should make inquiries. Typically, the refill volume is indicated on the toner bottle for one-time refills.

Since recently there have been cases of low-quality toner appearing on sale, some caution should be exercised when purchasing it. For example, for a Hewlett Packard TV it is best to use original toner, but using toner made in Japan and South Korea is undesirable.

Refilling the toner cartridge

The cartridge, as a rule, structurally consists of two halves connected by latches (for example, types HP C3903A, HP 92274A) or fixing inserts (HP C3906A, HP C4092A), therefore, before refilling the TC, its halves must be separated.

After this, take half of the cartridge with a transparent plastic plug, remove it with pliers and pour new toner powder into the resulting hole through a funnel (this is true for TC types HP C3906A, HP C4092A, etc.).

When using cartridges HP C3903A, HP 92274A, E16 and the like, the powder is poured into the opened transverse hole in small portions along its entire length. In this case, the plastic plug is not removed.

The cartridge can be refilled with toner without disassembling it. To do this, a hole with a diameter of 8...12 mm is drilled on the body of the wall of the toner hopper and the cartridge is refilled through it. After filling, the hole is sealed with tape. The waste toner bin (see below) can also be cleaned through a hole drilled in its body.

Cleaning the waste toner box

If the waste toner box and cartridge elements are not cleaned when refilling a cartridge, the life of the cartridge will be significantly reduced. Therefore, it is advisable to clean the waste toner bin every time you refill the cartridge. The hopper is usually located on the second detachable half of the cartridge. To clean the hopper, first carefully remove the photosensitive drum (SB) by removing the metal inserts that secure it (located on the sides of the cartridge half).

The light-sensitive drum of various types of cartridges can be green, blue or pink.

Necessary rules for handling the Photosensitive Drum

The SB is handled with special care so as not to damage the coating applied to it.

Do not allow the SB to remain in bright light for a long time.

Do not touch the working surface of the printer with your hands, as grease stains that are invisible to the eye may form and affect the print quality.

After removing the SB, it must be cleaned of caked-on toner. Cleaning is done with a soft material with a small amount of toner applied to it. The SB removed for the period of prophylaxis is stored in a place protected from light.

The rubber charge shaft (PCR), located next to the SB, is removed from the spring clamps. The roller is cleaned of paper dust and toner residues using a soft material. The resource of the PCR shaft is about 30,000 pages.

After this, remove the cleaning scraper SB (a metal plate, on the edge of which a soft plastic insert is attached along its entire length), under which the actual hopper with waste toner is located. Clean the hopper of toner residues, and also check the integrity of the plastic scraper cover.

Check and clean other elements of the cartridge.

First, check the integrity of the cartridge gears by manually turning them. After this, use a hard brush to clean the gears from any caked-on toner residues. Particular attention is paid to the integrity of the elements of the toner mixing mechanism (the blade of the mechanism is located inside the toner hopper).

On one half of the cartridge, use a vacuum cleaner to clean the magnetic drum from toner (this element has the most stuck toner) and check it for vertical scratches. If necessary, replace the scratched outer aluminum shell of the drum cylinder. Often the cause of these scratches is the accumulation of various debris under the plastic insert of the scraper (squeegee) of the magnetic drum. In this case, remove the scraper and clean it and the cavity underneath with a vacuum cleaner.

On cartridges of types HP C3903A, HP 92274A, it is necessary to check the functionality of the magnetic drum elements. To do this, on the half of the cartridge on which the magnetic drum itself is located (the hopper must be filled with toner), turn the drum gear by hand away from the scraper. The surface of the drum should have a velvety appearance (from adhering toner) all the way through when the gear rotates fully.

After refilling the cartridge, checking and cleaning its elements, assemble both halves of the cartridge in reverse order. During assembly, special attention is paid to the integrity of the electrical contacts, respectively, between the contact pads on the TC housing and the central rod of the PCR roller, the SB housings and the aluminum cylinder of the magnetic drum.

Possible cartridge malfunctions and ways to eliminate them.

Attention! This section only covers cartridge problems. This assumes that the laser printer is fully functional.

1. When printing, the LP produces a white blank sheet

Loss of contact between the metal pads on the TC body and the internal elements of the cartridge. To eliminate the defect, the TC is completely disassembled and cleaned, then the contact circuits are checked using an ohmmeter (see above).

Low sensitivity of the SB due to exposure to bright light (the drum coating should have a darker shade in this case), aggressive environments (ammonia or corrosive fumes). The best way to check the quality of the SB is to replace it. You should also check the fastening of the gear on the SB shaft (it can rotate relative to the drum).

2. When printing, the LP produces a black sheet.

A possible cause of the malfunction may be a lack of contact between the metal rod of the PCR shaft and the contact pad on the TC body. Often a malfunction can be caused by the fact that when filling and cleaning the TC, the PCR shaft is simply forgotten to be installed.

3. Black vertical stripes are visible in the image.