HP LASER Printer CM1312nfi MFP Toner Cartridges

I'll try to cover the low points of your stream of consciousness adventure in printer repair.

If you're looking for parts, the CP1215, CP1312, CP1515, CP1518, and CM1312 are all the same engine. Your CM1312 has the additional glass plate scanner/copier, but is otherwise similar internally.

I have a CP1518 in my office waiting for me to spend some time raising it from the dead. The previous owner ran about 60,000 pages through it in about 6 months. That produced enough wear on the plastic parts to have it stop printing. It looks new on the outside, but very worn on the inside. I would expect such a printer to last longer, but I guess that was only the old HP company.

Yes, the toner cart chip replacement works. I have had some defective chips, but they were quickly replaced by the vendor. I'll spare you my rant on refill, counterfeit, and profit protected toner carts.

Clone toner carts are cheap enough that I no longer refill the carts with toner. It's not the cost, but the mess that I usually make handling the old and new toner. Replacement carts are about $15/ea or $40 for set of 4 colors:

The deterioration in print quality you described was probably dirty optics. With cigarette and recreational drug smog, it coats everything with a layer of brown tar. Just cleaning the optics isn't enough. The printer will get hot, the residue on other parts will volatize, and you'll soon get another layer of tar on the optics. I suggest painting the insides with alcohol until most of the residue is gone. Make sure you have a plastic catch basin to trap the dripping dirty alcohol. I've only done this once, and have refused to do it again. In the future, you might consider a plastic printer cover when it's not in use.

Most toner carts use an optical method of determining toner use. Also used are simply counting pages and declaring the toner out after some number of pages. Both are rather conservative and tend to indicate empty when there's plenty of toner left. I vaguely recall that there's a setting to ignore toner out indicator or something similar, that will let you run the carts until they are really out.

liked to hold on to money except for certain things.

ly an environment. There were cigarette smokers, pot smokers and drug smoke rs around. Eventually the printing faded. I suspected maybe a HV problem or something because all colors were affected. It sat dormant for a time unti l I found a parts unit. I changed the HV board and whatnot, and finally the LASER assembly. That made it work. I took the original one apart and found that the spinning mirror was dirty as hell. All I would have had to do was clean it. So it is working, and I seriously do not remember going through an alignment procedure for registration. I have seen a bunch of color print ers and generally they print a color page and you set values in software to make the colors align. More modern units that include a scanner sometimes do it themselves, just scan the test sheet you just printed and it makes a few noises and sets itself.

t installed the LASER unit the registration was indeed off. But it did it i tself. It was not long before it was in perfect registration. (I went on a beer run I think) I figure it must have sensors like a late model three tub e rear projection TV with the "autoconverge" feature, though I saw no evide nce of any sensors.

chip on the cartridge. A new ("bootleg")chip is sold with the toner refill kit.

that you must change this chip before it runs completely out because someh ow it knows in software that is was empty. By then it is too late. Not sure if I believe this but it is possible.

e with the dirty mirror it should not have used as much as the usage should indicate. Right now the prints come out fine with perfect, deep color so i t is not low enough to fade by any stretch.

black already, no problem there. The guy must have changed it so it is pro bably not a "promotional" one that comes with it only half full so they can extract $ 70 each for them. All four add up to almost half the cost of the whole thing. (more than half of what I paid)

olor toners are wrecked but the black is fine. I believe there was cat urin e in that machine and that caused the problem.

n my cartridge with the good roller, and somehow extract the rest of the cy an toner to top it off.

but I think they come with the refill kit as I was unable to find it on th e web. At least in the past. Someone may say it is available now and stick up a link, which I would appreciate, but that won't cover how to get the to ner out of the other cartridge, which I would really like to do.

sed. Most of my printing is text in black so the first "bootleg" chip is mo st likely to go in the black so I can just throw in more toner as needed. I f so it'll probably last longer than I do.

non-use, one of them is a four ink type without the heads built into the c artridge. I am going to get the model number of that one, do a web search o n the subject and try to clean the print head, but if that doesn't work I'l l be back about it.

help in getting this LASER printer to be low maintenance is appreciated, so thanks in advance.

Do yourself a favour and bin the inkjets. Once ink dries in the head they'r e usually a waste of time, and they'll only clog again. If you must play, t ry alcohol.

Opening the cart: is there really no youtube vid showing a refill/recon on your cart?

NT

adventure in printer repair"

LOL, I do appreciate that. (that thread I said there was nobody whose opini on I respect more, that was a mistake, I meant YOU)

from the dead. The previous owner ran about 60,000 pages through it in ab out 6 months. That produced enough wear on the plastic parts to have it st op printing. It looks new on the outside, but very worn on the inside. I would expect such a printer to last longer, but I guess that was only the o ld HP company. "

If you want, I have almost every part for the thing from the parts mule. I might just send them to you for shipping. I will never use the thing enough to wear it to that point. If you want to pay something fine, just charge t he shit out of the customer of course. Whatever.

ips, but they were quickly replaced by the vendor. I'll spare you my rant on refill, counterfeit, and profit protected toner carts. "

Rant or not, I do hope it doesn't get on a moral train idolizing HP and the ir attempt to capture a market so they can gouge people. I know the rollers wear out but for one, how much ? And for two, form what I have seen of HP they don't give a flying shit about anything but money coming in, so do unt o other as they do unto you. After paying $ 500 for this thing the least th ey could've done is give me full toner cartridges with it.

s."

I figured that out when I saw the rotating mirror. things have changed and them people are gone. I don't even smoke cigarettes now, and if I burn one it is out in the garage. but this does not wear the gears, so that offer it not all that bad. If you want I'll gather up everything and list it so you can decide what you want and not. Plus, all that stuff did not come from t he printer I bought and used, it is from the parts printer.

suggest painting the insides with alcohol until most of the residue is gone . Make sure you have a plastic catch basin to trap the dripping dirty alco hol."

I saw the innards, the nylon is still white, the grease where it is is good , I think the mirror somehow attracted that smog more than the other parts. And it wasn't that old when it was taken out of service. I thought it was running low on toner, but it wasn't.

again."

You should see some of the jobs I had to do. (not really) Bad enough cleani ng capacitor crap, but sometimes there was roach and rodent feces, luckily not anything alive because they were careful about that. But it was still g ross, and the PAID. I made them pay. I mean, I would wash my hand BEFORE ta king a piss.

That seems harder to implement than in an inkjet.

e number of pages."

That is more profitable, so let's ponder just what a wonderful and benevole nt company like HP would do... ... ... Done.

something similar, that will let you run the carts until they are really ou t. "

I says to buy cyan toner, it also says override in use. The two concerns ar e if it gets really out completely, will it stop completely ? When I unplug ged the thing it wouldn't even scan so of course I cursed HP. (I worked on a couple of their scopes and they are as bad as Tek but without the good) a pparently that was a different issue because now it works. It has been sitt ing for quite some time.

Will operating it completely out of cyan toner damage it in any way ? I don 't see how but this is not my field of expertise. (to say the least) If it can tell which toners get used and I only print black and white, it should work forever right ? If so I can actually ignore the nag.

If that is the case I won't tamper with it at all. If it does run out, whic h I will see by the prints it makes, then I'll deal with it. That might be the best way to go.

Let me know if you want those gears and things. i cna gather up all the pie ces parts and take some pictures. I might still have the whole side assembl y with the gear train, but that might not fit a unit that is not all in one . I don't know. Just let me know.

're usually a waste of time, and they'll only clog again. If you must play, try alcohol. "

I didn't buy them. It's family. I bought the LASER printer because of that after I went through a dozen inkjets or so. But they will not spend the mon ey to print so rarely. they might end up either using mine or going to a re tail place or library where they do that.

n your cart? "

I checked years ago and I couldn't find one. Maybe things have changed. Plu s now I have the software to download it and not just from youtube.

Oe of my better moves was to get rid of an ink printer and go to the laser type with the toner. I do not really need any color printing for the most part. The laser really puts out the work and Ican set it to automatically print both sides or even to print two pages on one side of a paper if the print is large enough to read. The printer was on sale so the cost was not very much.

ey're usually a waste of time, and they'll only clog again. If you must pla y, try alcohol. "

t after I went through a dozen inkjets or so. But they will not spend the m oney to print so rarely. they might end up either using mine or going to a retail place or library where they do that.

on your cart? "

lus now I have the software to download it and not just from youtube.

A lazer printer for B/W printing. Only B/W printing. Sounds like a good opt ion. I never figured that.

Ihad one. An HP Laserjet 1100+. It was good, black and white, a tank of ton er that was huge, it was fast and got the job done. This was a while back a nd used the parallel port, I had to have two of them, one ran that and the scanner because the Zerox color inkjet woulds not tolerate anything inline, like you used to hook up flatbed scanners. I had a Visioneer 6100B that wa s VERY good, I mean phenomenal performance. Seen nothing like it before or since.

I bought the Xerox because it had a lengthy cleaning cycle, four color and the print head not in the cartridges. thing made all kinds of noise. Go to print something it was zonk, zong zoook zonk, zonk zook zonk zonk. And so f orth. That got irritating but it was supposedly cleaning the head. Well the thing clogged up anyway.

At least the ones with the heads integrated into the cartridge took care of that, but added to the cost of the cartridges. If you print alot you could refill them, but let it set and you need new ones. One day I was in a stor e and I saw a brand new printer for $ 5, a return. they didn't return the c artridges. After seeing the price of those it sat there I think until they threw it in the dumpster.

So up fill the landfills. The American way. That's why I bought the LASER. Ten years and nothing ever went wrong except the dirty mirror which was sue to that crazy lifestyle. (wake and bake etc.) And running out of toner. Wh en it wouldn't work it must have been a software problem in the PC because it would still make copies, which it will do on its own. The only thing I c an bitch about is the cost of the cartridges.

They include new rollers, do all (consumer/small office) LASER printer have that ? I am pretty sure the really big ones have a tank and you just fill it. Is there a lower end model like that ?

oner that was huge, it was fast and got the job done. This was a while back and used the parallel port, I had to have two of them, one ran that and th e scanner because the Zerox color inkjet woulds not tolerate anything inlin e, like you used to hook up flatbed scanners. I had a Visioneer 6100B that was VERY good, I mean phenomenal performance. Seen nothing like it before o r since.

d the print head not in the cartridges. thing made all kinds of noise. Go t o print something it was zonk, zong zoook zonk, zonk zook zonk zonk. And so forth. That got irritating but it was supposedly cleaning the head. Well t he thing clogged up anyway.

of that, but added to the cost of the cartridges. If you print alot you cou ld refill them, but let it set and you need new ones. One day I was in a st ore and I saw a brand new printer for $ 5, a return. they didn't return the cartridges. After seeing the price of those it sat there I think until the y threw it in the dumpster.

. Ten years and nothing ever went wrong except the dirty mirror which was s ue to that crazy lifestyle. (wake and bake etc.) And running out of toner. When it wouldn't work it must have been a software problem in the PC becaus e it would still make copies, which it will do on its own. The only thing I can bitch about is the cost of the cartridges.

ve that ? I am pretty sure the really big ones have a tank and you just fil l it. Is there a lower end model like that ?

If you want low end & long lived, look at HP laserjet 5 & earlier. Those th ings just go on & on & on. The 286 (I think it is) in them is a bit slow at getting it together but it works.

NT

I had a really huge old one a long time ago. Two guys to carry it. And just a printer, not even a copier. When turned on, periodically the lights woul d dim a few times for about a second each. I figure it was the HV rechargin g the drum or whatever so it would be ever ready to print. Luckily I had a