LBP674Cdw – White Streaking on Edge, Faded Printing After Warm-Up, No OEM Toner Left

[SarahP]

Hi everyone,

I have a new LBP674Cdw - just a few weeks old - that was printing perfectly for the first few workbooks I had to mail out to my customers. I got through 3 very lovely printed books with no problem. I print on 32lb. Hammermill Laser Paper - double-sided pages. But now I’m dealing with a persistent issue I can’t seem to resolve:

• There’s a white vertical band along one edge of the page (always the same spot). You can see it in all colors when printing pure CMYK color blocks - though sometimes it is just faded and sometimes it is a white band.

• Printing a pure black rectangle. White streak on side - using OEM ink.The colors fade after the first 10-15 pages.Colors are uneaven - this image is half grey and half green.Streaks through all colors.

• After 10–20 pages, the toner fades or doesn’t adhere fully. I have had to reprint several pages in the last few workbooks because the images are so light you can't see them. I have tried different paper settings and moved the printer to a much cooler room, but none of that helped. Some "grey" images, that are still saved as CMYK color, print half grey and half green now. They didn't before and when printed on my Canon Inkjet Pixma Megatank, look just fine.

• I’ve run all available maintenance cleanings, 

• including ITB and fixing assembly many times. The cartridge drums are fine. 

• It seems to get worse after the printer heats up during longer print jobs. The book I print the most is a 325 page workbook.

• I’m currently low on black OEM toner (~10%) and all the other starter cartridges are depleted. We couldn't find any Canon toner locally. I’ve had to install a set of off-brand replacement toner (V4INK) to run more test pages and to try and keep printing and filling orders (lots or reprinting pages or stopping the printer every 10 pages to let it cool down). As you can imagine, I’m hesitant to spend $400 on OEM replacements just to print test pages that may still come out flawed.

The only change recently was replacing the starter toner after it ran out. This seems like more than a toner issue — possibly something mechanical or transfer-related?

I’d love any insight before I go the service route. The printer’s new, and I want to rule out anything obvious first.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[shadowsports · Accepted solution]

Greetings,

You appear to have gone through the basic troubleshooting steps, except for switching to 3rd party toner.  It's not that you can't use third-party toner, there just isn't a guarantee of consistency or quality results.

On an aside.  I have two Canon lasers.  One lives in my office which gets a lot of sunlight in the afternoon.  I haven't noticed any printing issues even when it's warm.  Humidity can be an issue, but this depends where you live.  

Worth noting.  The LBP674Cdw has a recommended monthly print volume of 750 to 4,000 pages. The maximum monthly duty cycle is 50,000 pages, but this is a peak limit, and consistently exceeding the recommended volume could produce inconsistent results and shorten the products life.  

Personally, if you are within the return window, I would exchange the device.  Both of my lasers have operated flawlessly for about 2 years now.  Admittedly, however, I'm not printing 325 page workbooks.  Usually 20 to 60 pages at most.  My printer's duty cycle is well below yours.

If this is not an option:  You indicated the issue started with the OEM cartridges.  Because of this I suggest you contact support.  You'll need to register the product in your MyCanon account and then contact support.  1 800 652-2666.

Be prepared.  They are going to recommend Canon toner.  This can be purchased directly from Canon, Best Buy, Office Depot, Costco, etc.