HP printer trouble

Perhaps, but it might be worth trying some cleaning first. You can get sheets of cleaning paper for laser printers, and it also might be possible to clean the pickup roller in case it's got paper "powder" over it and it's slipping. Check the manual as to what can be used to clean the roller, but the usual thing is to use isopropyl alcohol. Further info here:

I have an Epson all-in-one inkjet printer that says it has a paper jamp. I've looked all over, can't find any paper in it. Also can't find the jam sensors so I could cut or short circuit one of them.

I've had the thing, broken, for 5 or 10 years now. When I have time I will try to fix it again.

Jeff's advice in the previous post is worth trying. Printers depend on very specific surface properties of the paper-pickup rolls. Accumulated dust and lint, or loss of volatile plasticizers in the rubber, lead to the rolls getting slick and not grabbing the paper correctly.

Start with isopropyl alcohol to clean the rolls. Step up to stronger solvents if that doesn't work. Aerosol carburetor cleaner or brake cleaner are more potent and worth a try. If one of them works but the effect fades with time the trouble is likely a loss of plasticizer.

A less-volatile cleaner might help in that case. Mineral oil in trace amounts softens rubber and evaporates over years. Brake fluid (ethylene glycol) does similar things and also evaporates relatively slowly. Either is worth a try if the printer is otherwise useless.

Do be careful of brake fluid; it's a remarkably potent but very slow- acting solvent for common paints and finishes. If spilled, wipe it up right away, rinse with water (it's completely miscible) and wipe again. Brake fluid damage takes weeks or months to become apparent, so clean up promptly and completely even if damage isn't visible right away.

Both mineral oil and brake fluid (and antifreeze, for that matter) will evaporate eventually, perhaps in a year. Annual mantenance isn't so bad.

hth,

bob prohaska

There are various plastic "paddle" sensors along the paper path that are used to detect paper jams or misfeeds. If the rubber paper feed roller slips slightly when trying to feet a page, the printer will detect that the paper is "late". The printer then declares a paper jam. If it correctly feeds a few pages, but then jams, my guess would be the same as the other Jeff's. You might have lint, dust, clay paper coating, loose toner, shreded paper, insects, etc that are causing the rubber rollers to slip on the paper.

For the CP1515, it's likely that the rubber has been polished smooth by the slightly abrasive paper. That will also make the roller slip. Try removing the rubber part of the roller from the plastic drum and flipping it over. That should give the roller a 2nd life. However, what works every time is to purchase and install a rebuild kit. At a minimum, you need at least the feed roller RM1-4426 and the separation roller RM1-4425. For example:

I can think of a few uncommon failures that might cause a paper jam indication. Try roller cleaning and replacement before we go down the rabbit hole.

Problem is, reaching that roller is very hard. I might have to open up the printer, risking not been able to assemble it again.

Well, your explanation allows me to understand what is going on, but I don't think I would be able to disassemble the thing.

You could try that tonerbuzz tip of soaking the centre of a sheet of paper with alcohol and running it a few times through the printer. No disassembly required.

What have you got to lose, given the state of the printer?

The suggestion of wetting a sheet of paper with your choice of solvent sounds worth a try, at minimum.

It isn't necessary to take the rollers out, just access them enough to squirt solvent on them. One of the long-reach nozzled found on aerosol brake or carb cleaner will at least help. If you can wipe them off that'd be better of course.

The idea of a faulty paper sensor didn't cross my mind. I didn't think they'd be mechanical, but in any case they're worth looking for. A bit of lint on a photocell could conceivably be the culprit.

Thanks for reading,

bob prohaska

Thanks for all the suggestions in the previous post. My current all in one inkjet no longer prints in red (after about 10 years of using cheap non-Brother ink), and though I very rarely print in color, a serious need for that occurred to me a few days ago. (Without a good printer, I would have to send two consecutive files to a drugstore for printing.) Even more incentive to fix the Epson

Probably doesn't apply here, but it reminds me... 40 years ago when I was constantly needing aerosol starter fluid to start my car in the winter, I put a can of it in the glove compartment and ran some aquarium tubing through the firewall (not a computer firewall) to the carbureter, with a short piece of polyethylene tubing stuck in the end. No more opening the hood. Just opened the glove box, spray a couple times and the car started right up.

I couldn't find any sensors at all. I'm sure I'll look some more when I try again.

No time to answer all parts of your post, but I've read that paper is so abrasive that using scissors to cut paper will dull the scissors. Amazing.

I will try first with a different brand of paper, and less weight, while I try to find the solvent.

I might be able to reach the roller with my hand and tissue paper or a brush; I have to pull out the paper drawer, and then push my hand inside.

Maybe I can get a camera at the end of something long, like a medical endoscope for mechanical work. Should exist, unless it is too expensive.

Won't it damage the... what's the name, toner cylinders when the paper gets to that section?

I might be able to reach the roller with my hand and tissue paper or a brush.

That's why mom would get so irate when her sewing scissors were used by somebody to cut paper.

It's certainly best not to touch the "drum", the photoconductive layer that forms the printed image. Whether the drum will be damaged by the solvent depends on the coating and solvent. But, again, what's to lose? If you could get the paper transport to at least try to pick up a page without the drum being present it'd be helpful. Also unlikely 8-(

A volatile solvent like alcohol has a good chance of being harmless. A chemical softener for the rollers, like light oil or glycol-based brake fluid, will almost certainly wreck the drum. But, drums are wear items and don't last forever. It'd be worthwhile to check the price, though.

A wad of cloth taped to a stick would be better than nothing.

Good luck, I hope you get it working!

bob prohaska

I just printed a job of 6 pages, lighter paper (80 grams/m²) and it went fine :-)

Seeking isopropyl alcohol meanwhile [...] found two candidates on Amazon.

Be sure to get high-purity isopropanol, not "rubbing alcohol" which is contaminated.

No, it is labelled for cleaning electronics.

Huh, I just noticed in Firefox an option to copy link removing tracking information :-)

No. Not alcohol. What makes rubber useful is that it is ductile (easily stretched without breaking or lowering in material strength). If you "wash" rubber with alcohol, the oils that give rubber its ductile nature will evaporate, cause the rubber to dry out, and eventually make it hard as a rock. Gasoline does the same thing to fuel lines but takes years for the rubber to harden.

If you want to use chemistry instead of just replacing the part, I suggest some made for the purpose:

I use ClearURLs with Firefox: