Samsung CLP-510 Horror story

[AnnaInVA]

Aug 2005 I purchased the above from Costco with a one-year in-house
service warranty.

January 2006, after 700 pages, the printer stops and wants a new waster
toner tank, keeps saying it is full, and depleted toner is barely
visible, maybe 1.4 inch high in the waste toner tank. Called their
support. Sorry, lady, waste toner tanks are consumables and you have
to purchase a new one first before we send anyone to look at your
printer. Spent $23 on a new one. One day later, same message, - waste
toner tank full -, printer stops printing.

Called service techs again. Ok, we will have someone from your area
call you. 3 days pass, nothing. Called again. Oh, you called ?
Faxed a service authorization with explanation what was wrong, (have
told them that three times already).

One week later, got a call from a local electronics repair shop. What
can we do for you? I explain. He says, sorry, but I do not have the
parts to fix what is seemingly wrong, which is the unit which detects
if the toner waste tank is full. Lady, did Samsung sent you the part
? I said no. He says, they normally first send the part to the
consumer, then have the consumer repair the printer **** HIMSELF
****, and if that doesn't work, only then do we come out. He said,
Samsung client service notified him from the Cayman Islands, and they
didn't seem to know much about printers.......

The next day, I returned the printer to Costo, and purchased a Brother,
albeit not color, but at least it works.

NEVER AGAIN another SAMSUNG product !!

 

[measekite]

NEVER BUY AN EXTRA WARRANTY ON ANYTHING. THE ODDS ARE AGAINST YOU. AT
COSTCO THE ODDS ARE 100% AGAINST YOU SINCE THEY WILL TAKE ANYTHING BACK
AT ANY TIME EXCEPT COMPUTERS AND WILL DO THAT WITHIN SIX MONTHS. COSTCO
HAS A 6 MONTHS SATISFACTION GUARANTEE.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Aren't the Caymans a tax haven?

Can't you just empty the waste toner tank into some other container and
refit it to the printer?

Thanks for the warnings!

Art

 

[Davy]

Never had a problem with my El' Cheapo Samsung ML1510 - it's a rea
work horse and had to or three refills to date

Dav

 

[Commentator]

Never had a problem with my El' Cheapo Samsung ML1510 - it's a real
work horse and had to or three refills to date.

Davy

I look at it this way - people who don't have poblems rarely feel compelled
to share. Those who do have problems make a lot of noise - understandably
so.

I have two Samsung lasers, including the model the OP is unhappy with, and
nary a problem.

<shrug>

Some people will read the post and think yes, what a horror story, and
others will think you call that a horror story?

Nobody should buy a printer based solely on what they read here, whether it
is positive or negative.

 

[AnnaInVA]

Art, this site http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/forums/laser/29156
shows you how to empty the tank, clean the "sensor" part of it, and
reuse it. I did that several times with may an hour of success each
time, then it started to give that message again.

anna

 

[AnnaInVA]

I know, I didn't purchase the warranty, it came with it. That is why I
felt so confident in purchasing this item.

Thank you for your good advice.
anna

 

[AnnaInVA]

PS: Art, here is a better site if you are interested in this
printer. http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/forums/laser/34677#7

Some helpful posts, unfortunately, were posted after I had already
returned it. Seems that the printer support techs in this area are
lacking info and proper parts as well.

Also, what might be of interest, the Samsung support guy, when cornered
by me re having to first purchase a new tank before they send out
someone, finally told me that the new printers which come out this
year, do not have a sensor which tracks the waste toner instead this is
built into the toner cartridge itself.

Best,
anna

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Which just goes to show some people end up with lemons, or buggy product
due to the product itself or the person or both. ;-)

Art

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Well, I agree that experiences differ, but that doesn't mean other
people's experiences need to be completely ignored. There are trends.
Sometimes either a bad design in one product, or even a certain run. As
you are well aware, manufacturers have recalls of specific runs of
product; could be a secondary parts supplier, a bad machines in the
manufacturer's assembly line, a mis-trained employee, or even sabotage.

Sh*t happens. Could even be a shipping related problem (high humidity
or too hot, or a shipping container got dropped).

So, that type of information, if it can be interpreted correctly, might
just save someone from buying a lemon.

I do agree that in news groups, in general, complaints will get a lot
more "space" than satisfaction. But review sites seem to get more
rounded feedback. In general, I look for specific issues. If a lot of
people, for instance, complain about very poor battery life in a
specific digital camera, that's a good warning that it may be model or
brand specific.

However, as you state, one needs to understand how to interpret what one
is seeing and not to allow one incident to cloud one's overall sense of
reliability of a product.

Art

 

[me]

PS: Art, here is a better site if you are interested in this
printer. http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/forums/laser/34677#7

Some helpful posts, unfortunately, were posted after I had already
returned it. Seems that the printer support techs in this area are
lacking info and proper parts as well.

Unfortunately I suspect this printer is heading towards the realms of
disposability - ie paying someone for a few hours fiddling about to
repair it rapidly approaches the value of a new one.

 

[Davy]

Further to my last post

Is'nt it a fact that some - not all comes with a half filled tone
when bought from new - why maybe someone could explain..??

Don't mention the fear of spillage cos they ship new ones full
loaded..

Like me buying a new ink tank, opening it and saying this ain't full
the suppliers not to know this

Dav

 

[Davy]

quote="Arthur Entlich"]Which just goes to show some peopl
end up with lemons, or buggy product

due to the product itself or the person or both. ;-

Ar

The toner unit cost about £10 more than the printer.... and tha
included the £6 delivery charge for the printer...

Dav

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Sad.

Art

quote="Arthur Entlich"]Which just goes to show some people

end up with lemons, or buggy product

due to the product itself or the person or both. ;-)

Art

The toner unit cost about £10 more than the printer.... and that
included the £6 delivery charge for the printer...!

Davy

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Explanation is simple... once again its the razor and razor blade
business model. The sooner you run out of toner the sooner you need a
new one. They call the ones they supply either complimentary or
"starter cartridges. I guess they are there to allow you to "test" the
equipment.

I don't think spillage is an issue at all. They usually send the toner
cartridge as a separate unit, outside of the printer and you need to
pull a tape to open the toner section so it can be distributed to the
drum, etc.

Nope, the only reason I can think of is to sell you toner more rapidly,
since that's where the profit is. (and I very much doubt those starter
cartridges use any less quality components or drums, so the whole
concept is very environmentally wasteful unless you refill it.

Art