Slightly Slanted print jobs from HP LaserJet 1300

[Daave]

A colleague of mine has an HP LaserJaet 1300 printer. Last week she
asked me to help; her printed pages were quite messy. It turns out there
was something wrong with the toner cartridge -- there was toner all over
the place!

I cleaned the inside of the printer as best I could and placed a new
cartridge inside. The print jobs are now nice and clean. However, I
noticed that they were slightly cockeyed. That is, if you were to print
a horizontal line, it would slant upward ever so slightly from left to
right. As far as I know, this printer may have always been this way. Or
perhaps it's the result of toner getting stuck in the gears.

Any suggestions? I'm tempted to recommend the purchase of a new printer
at this point, but I figured I'd ask here first. TIA.

 

[smlunatick]

A colleague of mine has an HP LaserJaet 1300 printer. Last week she
asked me to help; her printed pages were quite messy. It turns out there
was something wrong with the toner cartridge -- there was toner all over
the place!

I cleaned the inside of the printer as best I could and placed a new
cartridge inside. The print jobs are now nice and clean. However, I
noticed that they were slightly cockeyed. That is, if you were to print
a horizontal line, it would slant upward ever so slightly from left to
right. As far as I know, this printer may have always been this way. Or
perhaps it's the result of toner getting stuck in the gears.

Any suggestions? I'm tempted to recommend the purchase of a new printer
at this point, but I figured I'd ask here first. TIA.

If there was toner all over, you need to check / clean the pickup
rollers. The pickup roller may not be taking the paper "straight"
from the tray.

If the rollers are okay, the it could also be the printer's fuser
system that is damaged. If this fuser is damages, then it is may not
be worth replacing since a newer printer may be cheaper.

 

[Daave]

Known problem with the LJ 1200 and LJ 1300. I suspect it's common,
but few people notice. HP has suggestions for skewed print:

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c00003059&locale=en_US


Probably the print was skewed from the start, and the colleague just
didn't notice. In that case, it's not really a problem for her.

Thanks for the link.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

I agree that the first and easiest thing to look into is the paper
transport system to make sure the paper is being delivered straight and
square. Clean the pick up rollers with some rubbing alcohol.

If that isn't the cause, it could be another wonky cartridge that is not
in the printer squarely, but more likely a out of kilter mirror or laser
, much more costly to get resolved.

Art

 

[Arthur Entlich]

On that page I found this:

Print is skewed (crooked)

* Make sure that the media is loaded correctly. Be sure to center
the paper with the side media guides. Verify that the guides are not
adjusted too lightly or too loosely against the paper. Check for broken
or missing guides and replace as necessary.
* The input bin might be too full.
*
The paper weight or surface finish does not meet HP
specifications. Check the media type and quality. Click here to go to
"Printer media specifications" for more information .

Art