"Rambo" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 20 May 2020 12:29:49 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Wednesday, 20 May 2020 18:55:50 UTC+1, AJH wrote:
I seldom need to print stuff nowadays and long ago decided I would use a
local print firm to do any high quality prints of photos etc. as I was
fed up with inkjet printers' print heads blocking from lack of use.

So I bought a cheap samsumg clp320 colour laser which worked okay, not
very good colour quality but okay for the occasional print

We were in the same position: we didn't use our inkjet sufficiently often to
keep the ink flowing, so I set a reminder on my phone to print a Windows
test page every week. But eventually colours started to fail, and then the
black failed. I didn't care about perfect colour reproduction, so I bought
cheaper clone cartridges, but being an Epson, it would intermittently refuse
to acknowledge that there was even a cartridge installed in one of the bays.
And it wouldn't print in black only unless all the colours were present and
not empty.

So we bought a laser printer - HP - and the reproduction of colour photos is
a lot better than I'd been expecting, given that they say inkjets give more
faithful and more subtle gradations than lasers.

, replaced the
toners with a "starter" kit as they ran out, because the full size
toners were more expensive than the machine, but it started smearing
colours over the page. Now it has got low on yellow and of course won't
even print in black and white.

Not a problem as I inherited a HP 1300 black and white printer. This,
despite giving the toner a shake, now prints faintly in the centre
portion. This toner also costs more than a replacement printer.

I am considering just junking them but wondered is there anything I can
diy to clean the samsung to stop the toner smearing, is it a problem
with the drum needing cleaning?

Else any recommendations for a reasonable, preferably colour, laser I
doubt I'll ever need to print more than a ream of so again.

Sometimes cleaning toner crud of the drum is all that's needed to fix
smearing. Can result from a full waste toner collector, or need for a
general interior clean. I'm not saying there are no other causes.

Definitely stick with laser/LED. While they're not perfect, inkjets are a
mare in comparison. My ancient HPs still work, albeit slow at processing
compared to newer machines.

We've not had the laser long enough to use up the cartridges it came with,
but I'm preparing for "ouch" prices when we need new ones. But they last
indefinitely until the toner is used up - toner doesn't "dry up" if you
don't print a test page every so often.

I have a Clp 320 which had the same problem as yours, clean and wash
out the toner collector clean the dust off the drum with a lint free
cloth, don't touch it with your fingers and your good to go.

And if you get any toner on your clothes, brush and bang as much out as you
can, and then wash the item in *COLD* water. *Never* warm or hot, or that
will cause the toner to fuse into the cloth as it is designed to fuse to the
paper.