Vertical yellow line on printing pages - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / repair

author: 2X
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2023, 09:42:02 am
content: Hello,I have a Xerox Phaser 6010N and when I print a page with colours it prints a vertical yellow line at the same place. I tried to see if this happens in certain colours or in all colours and I saw (as you can see in pictures) that at the green and the blue colour doesn't print the yellow line. On hte contrary at the red and the purple the yellow line is present. I cleaned with the rod like the below video shows but the problem didn't solved.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2023, 10:01:47 am
content: Remove theyellowmagenta module and flip the cover up and check the drum for any signs of damage in that location.Another option is that there is something jammed inside the printer in the area where it places theyellowmagenta toner on the paper, and this object is blocking/shadowing toner from getting onto the paper just in this spot. Could be a small piece of paper, some sticky tape, a paper clip etc... lots of things find their way into printers and jam things up or block things from working correctly

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2023, 10:09:07 am
content: Red is yellow and magenta mixed, so try printing a colour test page, one of red, green and blue, and then cyan, magenta and yellow, and see what the pages come out as. As the line is across the page, and well bounded, that sort of says the problem is a bad wiper on the magenta cartridge, or a blockage on the toner supply, so likely the cartridge, even though it is pretty full, would need replacing.Pull it out, and place upside down on a towel on a table, then check the drum surface is not showing a defect in that area, and if not then try gently shaking it, and place back in the printer, and try again. If the spot moves there is something inside the drum blocking toner spread. Are you using genuine Xerox toners, or refills, and is it still under warranty on the cartridge, as they normally come with a limited warranty from Xerox for faults in manufacture.If not that then the main memory in the unit, which is where the page image is stored to read out during printing, has a bad block of memory, and unless this unit uses standard DIMM units, this is a fatal failure.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2023, 10:11:04 am
content: Ops yes, i didnt notice the mix, magenta is the one to look at.

author: 2X
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2023, 07:51:34 pm
content: Quote from: SeanB on December 30, 2023, 10:09:07 amHello,I am using genuine xerox toners. I removed the magenta toner and I shaking it but the missing spot on the printing is still there at the same exactly place. So do you beleive that is the memory unit or there is something else that I have firstly to check?From the below video as I can see I don't see any DIMM unit or am I missing something?

author: Jwillis
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2023, 09:55:26 pm
content: This is speculative and based on experience with a different make and model of toner printer but I imagine (could be wrong) that there is a heating element some where that "melts' the plastic powder before laying it on the paper. If that element gets a build up of toner around it in one spot it will create dead spots where the powder can't be melted. On some cartridges, there is tab that can be pulled from one side to the other to clear that problem. For your xerox I can't be certain but it might be something to look into.Did you try clearing the LEDs with the bar ?

author: 2X
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2023, 10:12:57 pm
content: Quote from: Jwillis on December 31, 2023, 09:55:26 pmHello and Happy New Year. Do you have to suggest me any video(even from another midel) so I see approximately how this element looks like and where it is placed? Thanks o lot for the reply.

author: Jwillis
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 01, 2024, 04:02:32 am
content: Happy New year to you as well.As I said it was speculative. In the Brother I have, each cartridge has an element that can be wiped with a built in tab. Each cartridge spans the width of the paper. How does the xerox distribute the toner across the width of the paper. I'm thinking that theirs a blockage some place that is preventing the magenta from reaching that part of the paper.I'll look and see if I can find some information. Wish I knew more.I looked at the first video and it looks like it's the same concept as the brother. So either the cartridge has the element or it's below where the cartridge sits. They use that bar to clean that element. Now you said that you tried that. Sometimes the Brother cartridges get really caked and the element needs a really good cleaning.The toner on the xerox must dump into a hopper of some sort and there may be a blockage there.

author: Jwillis
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 01, 2024, 04:24:23 am
content: Found this if it helps.Service ManualCheck page 5-21. theirs something there about the Transfer Roller and the Fuser.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 01, 2024, 02:39:10 pm
content: It’s not the fuser: there is only ONE fuser for all the colors, and fuser failure doesn’t cause toner to go missing, it simply causes it to not adhere, instead leaving it as toner powder that can be smeared by hand. (But until it’s smeared it’s razor sharp.)It’s not failure of the toner blades: those wouldn’t leave a razor-sharp gap with 100% absence of toner, it’d be inconsistent across the gap. Shaking the toner cartridge (which caused the OP to make a mess) is pointless in this printer because the cartridges in this model do not contain the imaging drums and toner distribution hardware; they’re simply tanks that dispense toner into the imaging unit (which is permanent in this model) for that color.It’s not the transfer roller, because if it were, all the colors would be affected, not just magenta, and it would likely not be a razor-sharp edge.This is an LED printer. So either there is something opaque blocking part of the LED array, or part of the LED array has failed (that is, a driver within it, since a single failed LED wouldn’t cause a whole section to fail).Page 5-21 of the service manual is the troubleshooting for the symptom OP has, “blank vertical lines”, and the first step is to clean the LED window per the instructions on page 7-3.P.S. The service manual for this printer is astounding; it has the clearest illustrations of the printing process I’ve ever seen in a printer service manual, and has a surprising amount of detail about the theory of operation. I’m surprised they went to anywhere near this amount of detail given that it’s a low-end model that’s more likely to simply be scrapped than repaired.

author: Jwillis
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 01, 2024, 05:55:10 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on January 01, 2024, 02:39:10 pmOH Thanks. I understand it now . Each Individual colour has it's own LED array. That's what the bar with the swab is used for . To clean those arrays. So it's more likely that the print head for Magenta has partially failed if cleaning has become ineffective. So that array will need to be replaced depending if it is economically worth while and/or availability.Reffered here as item 4 on page 9-21http://blog.eparts.fr/exploded-views/files/XEROX/PHASER%20CENTER/Xerox%20Phaser_6000_6010_WC6015.pdf

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 01, 2024, 06:45:58 pm
content: Quote from: Jwillis on January 01, 2024, 05:55:10 pmThe same parts lists are part of the service manual you linked earlier.Anyway, since the head assembly doesn’t have a part number, and neither does the highest-level assembly it’s in, it means the part cannot be ordered. (Or rather, probably means it couldn’t even be ordered back when this printer was new. I’d be surprised if you can order any service parts for it now, so many years later.)Yes, each color has its own LED array and imaging unit (which itself consists of the imaging drum and all the stuff needed to make it work). Each color exposes and develops (=transfers toner to the unexposed areas of the drum) simultaneously, then transfers the toner to the transfer belt, where the 4 colors of toner meet. The joined toners then transfer to the paper, which then travels through the fuser which melts the toner onto the paper.The service manual explains this process step-by-step with lovely visuals. I highly recommend reading it.Each print head consists of 57 “self-scanning LEDs” (SLEDs) ICs, which each contains 256 individual LEDs. It wouldn’t surprise me if the missing magenta is exactly 1/57th of the printable width.If it is the print head, there’s no way to repair or replace it. But this printer actually disengages the color imaging units when black and white mode is selected, so it should be possible to at least use it as a black and white printer without it consuming any color toner at all.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2024, 12:15:48 pm
content: Ah, an led array per color, ok that makes more sense.Yeah, check the magenta LED array for any foreign object in the beam and failing that its probably a block of dead LEDs and 1/57 is missing like tooki said aboveSometimes if you lift the printer up like 1cm and then drop it, Or lift it up and give it a good shake, you can dislodge foreign object debris and, even if it doesn't fix the issue, it may move the issue around a little on subsequent prints. Which gives proof that the issue is foreign object debris in the beam vs something actually broken.But if a shake/jolt fixes the problem completely, even temporarily, then it's probably a loose connector or broken ribbon cable.I tend to leave this drop/shake test as more of a last-resort though, as it's obviously not so good for the printer and can create other issues if you're too aggressive.Another option is giving the printer a really good clean out with compressed air.I recommend doing that outside should you hit the waste toner bottle and blow its contents all around the room

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2024, 02:43:18 pm
content: I wouldn’t recommend any of Psi’s recommendations for clearing the optical path. The cleaning instructions from the service manual have already been referenced, and that’s all OP should do.

author: nali
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2024, 03:30:51 pm
content: Agree with Tooki. The data into the LED head will be a serial stream, so it's either there or it's not. Toner is MESSY (as I well know from 15+yrs working for a printer manufacturer)Missing stripe isnormallyforeign object, although this one doesn't really look like it. Basically if the edges of the stripe are slightly fuzzy it's something blocking the light path, if the edges are a nice sharp "digital" edge it'll probably be the head or controller.I don't know how easy it'd be for that particular printer, but you may be able to unplug & swap the heads with a different colour if you really wanted to prove it. (Not familiar with the Phasor, but on other machines the heads don't need precision alignment as they need to key into the drum cartridge; the registration/deskewing is done digitally afterwards). YMMV!