Recharger Magazine

Remanufacturing the HP LaserJet P2015 Toner Cartridge

• Jan 22, 2007

First released in December 2006, the HP LaserJet P2015 series of printers is based on a 1,200-dpi, 27-ppm Canon engine. As with all the new HP cartridges, these cartridges use a chip to monitor toner-low functions. They use the older larger-format chipboard as found on the 4200/4300 series, not the smaller version found on many other newer cartridges like the CLJ 2600.

The P2015 cartridge looks somewhat like an updated version of the 1320 (Q5949X) cartridge but is not interchangeable with them. Testing is ongoing and it is very possible that many of the current 1320 supplies will work in these cartridges. Check with your supplier, as this should be settled by the time you are reading this. The cartridges for the P2015 are the Q7553A and Q7553X and are rated for 3,000 pages and 7,000 pages, respectively.

The LaserJet P2015 series of printers uses a 400 MHz processor and the most basic unit has 32MB of DDR2 memory expandable to 288MB. They all show a first page out at less than 8.5 seconds. The entire series has a duty cycle of 15,000 pages per month, but the recommended monthly page volume is only 3,000 pages. Obviously this is not designed as a workhorse machine. The cartridges are listed on HP’s Web site with prices of $80.99 for the A and $147.99 for the X cartridge (pricing as of December 2006).

So far, the machines based on the P2015 engine are the LaserJet P2015, P2015d, P2015n, P2015dn and P2015x.

Like some of the other recent HP cartridges, there are parts that use plastic rivets/plastic welding to hold them together. While there are still some normal screws used, the cartridge is not as straight forward or “recycling friendly” as one would like.

As with all other HP black cartridges, the chips on these cartridges do not shut down the entire cartridge, they disable the toner-low features. The cartridge will run if the chip is removed, but the error message must be cleared first. As with past HP chips, the toner-low function is disabled if a used chip is installed.

Printing test pages, cartridge troubleshooting as well as some simple machine troubleshooting is covered at the end of this article.

The theory for these cartridges is the same as most of the other HP/Canon monochrome cartridges so we will not go into it here.

Remanufacturing instructions

1) Remove the drum cover by prying up the main bar on the top of the cartridge. See Figures 1 and 2.

2) Note that on each end of the cartridge there are small silver pins. To separate the halves these pins must be removed. Like the HP 1200 cartridges, these pins cannot be pulled out or pushed in from the outside of the cartridge. Small holes must be put in the top of the cartridge to allow the pins to be pushed out. Figures 3 and 4 show the area uncut.

3) To remove the pins, cut the holes with the Dremel tool and a side-cutting bit. See Figures 5 and 6.

>4) Push the pins out with a small jewelers screwdriver, remove them with the wire cutters or pliers. See Figures 7 and 8.

5) Separate the halves. See Figure 9.

6) On the waste section, take a common jewelers screwdriver and insert it between the drum and side wall of the cartridge. Gently pry the metal drum axle pin out from the cartridge. Remove the axle pin with the wire cutters. This must be done this way as the opposite-side plastic drum axle is held in with plastic rivets. While they can be drilled out and screws used, there is then the possibility of mis-alignment and premature drum wear. See Figures 10, 11 and 12.

7) Remove the photoconductive drum. See Figure 13.

8) Remove the Primary Charge Roller (PCR) by prying it out of the clips on either end. Clean the PCR with your preferred cleaner and place aside. See Figure 14.

9) Remove the wiper blade and two screws. See Figure 15.

NOTE: Be very careful not to damage or distort the thin Mylar recovery blade next to the wiper blade. If this blade is bent or damaged in any way, it should be replaced.

10) Clean out any remaining waste toner. Make sure the foam seals under the wiper blade are clean and not damaged. See Figure 16.

11) Lightly coat the new blade with you preferred lubricant. Install the wiper blade and two screws into the cartridge. See Figure 17.

12) Clean the two PCR holders and place a small amount of conductive grease on the black PCR holder. Install the PCR. See Figure 18.

13) If you are reusing the drum, check to make sure the grease on the drum drive gear and hub is clean. If not then remove it and replace. White lithium grease can be used here. Install the drum. See Figure 19.

14) Replace the conductive grease on the end of the metal drum axle tip, and install on the cartridge. See Figures 20 and 21.

15) Place the waste chamber aside.

16) On the supply section, remove the two screws from the left-side (non-gear side) end cap. See Figure 22.

17) Gently pry off the end cap, a plastic rivet will snap off just below the doctor blade. So far in our tests it has not been a problem, but it is possible that this section may need to be secured. See Figures 23 and 24.

18) Remove the mag roller assembly from the cartridge. See Figure 25.

19) Remove the mag roller drive gear so it does not get lost. See Figure 26.

20) Remove the two screws and doctor blade. Pry the bar up while being very careful not to break the alignment pins. See Figures 27 and 28.

21) Clean out any remaining toner.

22) There is no fill hole in these cartridges so it must be filled through the doctor blade slot. Fill the cartridge with 330 grams (preliminary weight) of P2015 toner. See Figure 29.

23) If a seal is available, install it now.

24) Make sure the doctor blade seals are clean. If they are coated with toner, clean them lightly with a cotton swab and alcohol until they are sticky again. Install the doctor blade and two screws. See Figures 30 and 31.

25) Clean the mag roller contact plate on the contact end cap. Replace the conductive grease.

26) Install the mag drive gear. Make sure the locking part of the gear faces the roller. See Figure 32.

27) Clean the mag roller sleeve with a dedicated mag roller cleaner.

28) Install the mag roller. Turn the stationary magnet so that the keyed end will fit into the drive gear and the end cap. See Figures 33 and 34.

29) Install the contact end cap and two screws. If the end cap does not fit, the stationary magnet is most likely set incorrectly. See Figure 35.

30) Place the halves together. Make sure the springs are set, and install the two pins. See Figures 36, 37 and 38.

31) Set the spring on the drum cover arm as shown. Snap the arm and cover into place. Make sure the spring-loaded arm is set right. See Figures 39 and 40.

32) Replace the chip. See Figure 41.

Running the cleaning page

The cleaning page helps keep the fuser free of toner/dust particles. HP recommends a sheet of transparency be used for the best results. If this is not available, use copier-grade (18-24 lb.) smooth surface paper.

1. Make sure the printer is idle and the ready light is on.
2. Load the transparency in tray 1.
3. On the printer’s control panel, press and hold the “GO” button until the ATTENTION, READY and GO lights come on. When all three lights are on, release the “GO” button.
4. Press “GO” again. The cleaning page will run. This process takes about two minutes to complete.

Printing test prints

Demo page

1. Press the “GO” button when the READY light is on and the printer is idle.
2. The demo page will print.

Configuration page

1. Press the “GO” button until the READY and ERROR lights start blinking.
2. Release the “GO” button.
3. The Configuration page and Supplies Status page will run.

Supplies Status page
The Supplies Status page will automatically print when the Configuration page is run.

Cartridge Troubleshooting

Repetitive defect chart:

• Drum 75.4mm
• Lower pressure roller 69.0mm
• Upper fuser film 56.5mm
• Transfer roller 46.2mm
• Mag roller 44.0mm
• Registration roller 43.0mm
• PCR 37.7mm

A dirty or bad Primary Charge Roller (PCR): This will show on the test print as vertical gray streaks down the page, as a gray background throughout the page, or as ghosting where part of a previously printed area is repeated.

Dirty PCR connection: This will show as horizontal dark black bars across the page, or as shading throughout the page.

Scratched drum: This is shown by a very thin, perfectly straight line that runs from the top to the bottom of the test page.

Chipped drum: This will show as a dot or series of dots that repeat every 75.4mm.

Light-damaged drum: This will show up as a shaded area on the test print that should be white. Again, this will repeat every 75.4mm.

Worn-out drum: This will usually show up as shading on the right side of the page. It will usually start right from the edge of the page and work in towards the center. The pattern will normally look like tire tracks.

Bad wiper blade: This will show as either a gray line approximately 1/8-inch thick or as shading across the entire page. In either case there will be a film of toner on the drum surface that matches the defect.

Bad mag roller bushing: When this round-shaped bushing wears out, grayscale pages and pages with heavy graphics will exhibit light and dark lines across the page.

Printer troubleshooting

These machines do not have a text display, just a series of lights. Some of the more common error light patterns are:

• Toner light on: Toner low
• Toner light blinking: Toner missing
• Attention light blinking: Engine error
• Attention, Ready and Go lights all on: Fatal error

If a fatal error is showing, press and hold the “GO” button and a secondary message will show. Some of these are:

• 
  Ready light on: Laser/Scanner error
• Attention light on: Engine error
• Attention light blinking: Fan error
• Ready and Go lights blinking: Fuser error

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Contact Mike Josiah and the technical staff of Summit Technologies at 631-218-8376 or visit www.summitechnologies.com.

This article originally appeared in the February 2007 issue of Recharger.