Another minor problem with 1525NW HP tech support accidentallyadmitted was a piece of rubbish

[myfathersson]

I posted on this thread:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!s...omp.periphs.printers/lhHtNejc-vU/5GWE0OchB9EJ
about the printer which wouldn't handle anything more than 20 lb paper according to HP's own recommendations (and they tell you not to use Tray 2, leading to the obvious question: What on earth is it for? To which they didn'tknow the answer)

After that I went to the HP forum where they tried earnestly to solve the problem before noticing that this printer couldnt be made to work properly with the sort of paper users might want to use with it.

Since then I haven't dared to use colour on it because photos don't come out all that well on cheap copy paper. So in theory the colour toner carts should still be full

This week, the black toner ran out so I had to replace it to print in black

But the utility mysteriously shows ALL COLOUR CARTS as completely empty!!!I know that ink jets can discharge onto a sponge if left unused but can alaser printer also discharge all its toner as well? Or is this just the printer telling me to buy new cartridges when they are still full? Or is something else going on?

 

[myfathersson]

Thanks for that very helpful response. I know black is empty because it started printing very faded around the centre of the page so after a few shakes of the black cartridge (and these carts aren't exactly gigantic so there isn't much shaking to be done) I simply buy another relatively inexpensive black cart. But I kinda knew about using tiny bits of colour even for blackprinting and wondered when the whole printer was going to stop printing because it thinks/says the colour ones are completely empty. Which they cantpossibly be.

I wonder how to reset the utility so that it shows what is actually in the colour carts? Or does it count the pages and show empty after a certain number like the black one does? (that one has been showing empty for about 2-3 months before it actually was empty)

After what HP told me about this printer not being RECOMMENDED for use withanything more than 20lb cheap copy paper (despite what it says in the specifications) I am not sure I would dream of trusting HP enough to buy another one! Especially now that I see it telling me to buy all new colour cartswhen they aren't even empty. I need a utility designed to tell me what isgoing on, not one designed to increase HP's profits!

Incidentally, can you get a faintly decent colour photo out of your printer? Is it worth the bother buying lightweight paper and trying again after i have wasted my money on heavy colour laser paper which I cant use?

 

[Brian]

So ..despite any messages, you don't have to worry
about continuing printing ..just keep on until your
pages are showing only faint lines and lots of blank
space - or until you finally give up and either get
new reading spectacles or replace the black cartridge
with a new, refurbished or re-filled one!

As far as I'm aware laser printers aren't harmed by continuing to print
with cartridges that are running out of "ink" (toner), unlike inkjet
printers where the printing head can overheat and burn out if no ink is
present inside it.

 

[Brian Carroll]

I posted on this thread:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!s...omp.periphs.printers/lhHtNejc-vU/5GWE0OchB9EJ

[..]
Since then I haven't dared to use colour on it because
photos don't come out all that well on cheap copy paper. So
in theory the colour toner carts should still be full

They probably are! )

Don't worry, laser cartridges don't discharge by themselves
..and they can last a looonng time beyond their useby date!

When printing 'black' with HPs CP1515/1525xx and perhaps
minimally, all the cartridges are used to make the 'black'
print. Look closely and you'll probably think it's a sort of
dark chocolate brown!

It sounds silly, it probably is, but that's one of the
'features' of HPs CP1515/1525xx laser printers.

That's the printer I am using.

Just in case your printer does stop working because it's
apparently 'out of toner' - look in the printer's menu,
reached via your printer driver or from it's LCD control panel
and, for the black cartridge, select the option that allows
you to extend/continue the printing until the black cartridge
is visibly exhausted.

The auto 'stop printing at 0 pages left' only applies to the
black cartridge - the three colour cartridges will continue to
print anyway until they're completely out of toner, despite
any messages to contrary..

So ..despite any messages, you don't have to worry about
continuing printing ..just keep on until your pages are
showing only faint lines and lots of blank space - or until
you finally give up and either get new reading spectacles or
replace the black cartridge with a new, refurbished or
re-filled one!

The colours, of course, you merely replace when they finally
and visibly appear exhausted.

Once the black cartridge is replaced the counter resets itself
and the colours then display whatever their current status is.

I'm sorry if I can't quite remember the CP1515/1525's menu
selection to allow the black cartridge to continue past '0
pages left', but it's easy to find..

but not so easy to identify.

In the HP ToolboxFX utility, or the web site embedded in the
printer, see 'Device Settings -> System Setup' and set 'Auto
continue' to ON. Also provide a figure for 'Cartridge low
threshold'. Mine is set at the lowest value, 1%, which has let
me run down the magenta toner to zero. Even then, the printer is
still printing colour pages correctly so I am deferring the
change of cartridge until I can detect faulty magenta colour
output. The other 2 colour cartridges have a very little way to
go before reaching empty and black is about 1//3 full.

[ ... ]

Hope helps - at least in some part.. )

Me too.

Brian.

 

[stan.birch]

After what HP told me about this printer not being RECOMMENDED for use with anything more than 20lb cheap copy paper (despite what it says in the specifications) I am not sure I would dream of trusting HP enough to buy another one! Especially now that I see it telling me to buy all new colour carts when they aren't even empty. I need a utility designed to tell me what is going on, not one designed to increase HP's profits!

Incidentally, can you get a faintly decent colour photo out of your printer? Is it worth the bother buying lightweight paper and trying again after i have wasted my money on heavy colour laser paper which I cant use?

I just finished running a sheet of 69 lb. 260g/m inkjet photo paper through my HP 400 451nw without
incident, other than a few barely perceptible roller marks across the page when held up to reflect
the light in the right way, that were not as shiny as the remainder of the page. Otherwise the heavy
duty photo paper did just fine.

For a photo, the quality was typical for a colour laserjet resolution, but not close to a Canon
Inkjet.

BTW, I just bought a Canon inkjet with their new teeny weeny inkcartridges. It was out of ink after
full page 25 pics. It has already been consigned to the recycling bin. Until Canon brings out a
printer with a somewhat more generous ink supply, I'm going to join the millions of happy customers
who are now using Costco!