Ink-Related Issues
Ink-related Issues
Light or missing stripes
Ink-related issues may appear as missing stripes of one or more colors on the
"Light Stripes Test" page. Print a copy of this page from the menu panel of
your printer as follows:
Scroll to "Troubleshooting" Menu, then "Print Diagnostic Pages". To perform a cleaning, select "Eliminate Light Stripes".
Phaser 860/8200
Scroll to "Support" Menu, then "Improve Print Quality", then "Print Diagnostic Pages". To perform a cleaning, select "Eliminate Light Stripes".
Many print-quality problems can be corrected by performing the cleaning procedures outlined in your Phaser® User Guide. If you do not have a copy for your printer, please see the links below for cleaning procedures. In general, the "Eliminate Light Stripes" procedure (help info, pdf) may be used to restore your printer to full operating condition. The cleaning procedure may need to be repeated 2 or 3 times before the problem is corrected. Sometimes, turning your printer off overnight, then re-running the procedure 1-2 more times may help clear-up a missing inkjet.
Also, make sure to keep the maintenance drawer wiper blade clean (clean blade with a paper towel or cloth), as a build-up of residue here can sometimes cause missing stripes to appear (the drawer is labeled "A" when you open the front of the printer).
Some people have reported success at recovering one or several missing jets by printing one of the pdf files below using the photo-resolution setting on the printer. Print several pages of the affected color - cyan, magenta, yellow, or black. Remember to specify High-Resolution/Photo Mode before printing.
Colors have
shifted or appear "off"
If the printer or a particular ink color have not been used, or used only slightly,
over a period of several weeks, the melted ink may change color due to the high
temperatures of the printhead reservoirs. This is especially noticeable in the
cyan (prints as a green-blue color on the light stripes test page) and sometimes
in the yellow (prints as a golden brown) and especially affects the Phaser 850
printer. This color shift may affect all solid inks, regardless of manufacturer.
To correct this, the cooked ink must be purged from the ink reservoirs and replaced
with new ink. Either perform the eliminate light stripes cleaning several times
(described above), or a more economical solution is to print a page of pure
cyan or pure yellow using the downloadable pdf documents below. It may require
printing 50-60 pages before the color returns to normal.
