Worth getting new transfer belt for HP Color Laserjet CM3530?

[aab1]

I've had my HP Color Laserjet CM3530 that I bought used on eBay for $1400 for about 5 years now. It worked great until about a year ago after I think I put in a sheet in the multi purpose tray with wet hands and ever since it's been making a black vertical streak on each page until I thought of passing an alcohol swab between the wiper blade and transfer belt which solved the issue but it comes back after a few months after which cleaning it the same way clears the streak for another few months.

Eventually I'm going to need to decide if I should spend over $500 for a new transfer belt or replace the printer. I really like this printer, my only concern with getting a new transfer belt is that I don't want something else expensive to fail after. It only has 57,000 pages printed which I think is quite low for this model and it's age (I think it's rated at 75,000 pages per month, it did less than that in well over 5 years).

If I get a new transfer belt are you aware of any common issues with this printer which could be expensive to fix or would it be a good bet to get a new transfer belt and expect at least another 3 years without any major/expensive problems?

By the way I do use only compatible cartridges as the price difference is astronomical ($1130 for genuine cartridges vs. $150 for compatibles), and the 2 out of many cartridges that did have an issue (lasting less than it should or leaving weird upside down V shaped patterns on the prints) were replaced at no cost.

Thanks

[subaro]

Re: Worth getting new transfer belt for HP Color Laserjet CM3530?

I don't know that particular model really. But if you said when you clean the wiper blade[ cleaning blade] it goes away, then most likely there is some hard buildup of toner inside the belt cleaning cavity. I would disassemble the cleaning section and vacum it. pass you fingers along the edge of the cleaning blade and make sure it is smooth .
I have repaired many transfer belts with similar problems. sometimes even a hair would get stuck in there and play havoc. It's worth trying if you are going to replace the belt anyway. Higher end HP colour gives good print quality, but the consumables are way to expensive.

[aab1]

Re: Worth getting new transfer belt for HP Color Laserjet CM3530?

I don't know that particular model really. But if you said when you clean the wiper blade[ cleaning blade] it goes away, then most likely there is some hard buildup of toner inside the belt cleaning cavity. I would disassemble the cleaning section and vacum it. pass you fingers along the edge of the cleaning blade and make sure it is smooth .
I have repaired many transfer belts with similar problems. sometimes even a hair would get stuck in there and play havoc. It's worth trying if you are going to replace the belt anyway. Higher end HP colour gives good print quality, but the consumables are way to expensive.

I may try that but am concerned I may damage the belt, is it easy to disassemble that part and put it back together (I'm not a tech just an end user, but I do have lots of experience fixing all sorts of things)? I need to use the printer daily for my work so I want to be sure I can get it working again.

When you say higher end HP colour, are you considering this CM3530 a higher end model? Since this is for my home office it's by far the most high end printer I ever had but to some here it may be considered low end. It's my second laser printer after a Canon multi function laser I hated (no toner level indicator, just "out of toner" when it's out, no duplex scanning, limit of 99 pages printed per job, even when printing from PC, etc).

Thanks

[subaro]

Re: Worth getting new transfer belt for HP Color Laserjet CM3530?

As i mentioned, i have never worked on that model, so i don't know the assembly composition. Maybe those who works on those can advise you better. On the other hand most transfer belt are designed similar and it will be your level of confidence and risk that you will have to consider.

[aab1]

Re: Worth getting new transfer belt for HP Color Laserjet CM3530?

As i mentioned, i have never worked on that model, so i don't know the assembly composition. Maybe those who works on those can advise you better. On the other hand most transfer belt are designed similar and it will be your level of confidence and risk that you will have to consider.

I noticed that a few months after cleaning when the issue comes back, by gently tapping the transfer belt on its side over a sheet of paper quite a bit of waste toner comes out so I have a theory that perhaps it's no longer able to empty the waste toner into the waste toner bin and it eventually "overflows" and starts leaving those streaks, is that possible and if so what would cause the waste toner to not get properly emptied into the waste bin?

BTW you didn't say if you consider the CM3530 high or low end? I won't be insulted if you say low end lol, I'm aware you guys normally work on bigger machines.

[subaro]

Re: Worth getting new transfer belt for HP Color Laserjet CM3530?

No, according to what i see on the net, this is a small office use machine and not for robust use. The print quality specifications are not bad and the real question is if you are happy with the output quality. The transfer belt may well be clogged and the reason being sometimes the toner gets hard as rock if it sits in there too long. this can be cause by non frequent use and others. you can also look at the port where the waste toner exits, and poke in there to remove any hardened toner.
Also, if the waste toner is not being removed after the belt is cleaned you would be getting dirty background prints, but you have not stated that and also noise of the waste toner backing up into the drum.
Maybe it's worth having a experienced tech look at this for you. You can call hp and ask them for a authorize service dealer in your area and give them a call. or if you are confident in taking things apart, size it up and see how it looks. take photos before so you can have a reference when putting it back.

[subaro]

Re: Worth getting new transfer belt for HP Color Laserjet CM3530?

Monthly duty cycle	Up to 75,000 pages
*Footnote for duty cycle	Duty cycle is defined as the maximum number of pages per month of imaged output. This value provides a comparison of product robustness in relation to other HP LaserJet or HP Color LaserJet devices, and enables appropriate deployment of printers and MFPs
Recommended monthly print volume	2000 to 6000 pages
*Footnote for recommended monthly print volume	HP recommends that the number of printed pages per month be within the stated range for optimum device performance, based on factors including supplies replacement intervals and device life over an extended warranty period.

duty cycle vs recommended monthly volume. does it make sense ? can anyone explain.

[aab1]

Re: Worth getting new transfer belt for HP Color Laserjet CM3530?

Monthly duty cycle	Up to 75,000 pages
*Footnote for duty cycle	Duty cycle is defined as the maximum number of pages per month of imaged output. This value provides a comparison of product robustness in relation to other HP LaserJet or HP Color LaserJet devices, and enables appropriate deployment of printers and MFPs
Recommended monthly print volume	2000 to 6000 pages
*Footnote for recommended monthly print volume	HP recommends that the number of printed pages per month be within the stated range for optimum device performance, based on factors including supplies replacement intervals and device life over an extended warranty period.

duty cycle vs recommended monthly volume. does it make sense ? can anyone explain.

I always wondered that, but based on the footnote my guess would be that it's capable of doing 75,000 pages per month but due to the yield of the cartridges (7000-10000 pages) it wouldn't be practical replacing the cartridges 10 times per month. Anyone have a better explanation?

[aab1]

Re: Worth getting new transfer belt for HP Color Laserjet CM3530?

By the way if this is any hint, the streaks tend to come back after I noticed the printer doing a cleaning cycle (it says "Cleaning..." on the LCD) and will then slowly start fading over the next few pages after a cleaning, but eventually they come back permanently until I clean the cleaning blade.

[theengel]

Re: Worth getting new transfer belt for HP Color Laserjet CM3530?

groan

[Iowatech]

Re: Worth getting new transfer belt for HP Color Laserjet CM3530?

Hey aab1, remember this?

http://www.copytechnet.com/forums/site-feedback-and-questions/59794-can-i-delete-my-account-useless-website.html

[subaro]

Re: Worth getting new transfer belt for HP Color Laserjet CM3530?

groan

I was wondering why the response, knowing you are a Hp specialist.

Well i did not pay attention to the 4 red squares on his title, and i really did not know what it means.

Now i have one of those red things, does this mean i am sort a bad boy ?. Oh no, i mean i try to be good.

[ZOOTECH]

Re: Worth getting new transfer belt for HP Color Laserjet CM3530?

I was wondering why the response, knowing you are a Hp specialist.

Well i did not pay attention to the 4 red squares on his title, and i really did not know what it means.

Now i have one of those red things, does this mean i am sort a bad boy ?. Oh no, i mean i try to be good.

Well, it looks like someone has already erased that red square, and you now have two green squares!

[nmfaxman]

Re: Worth getting new transfer belt for HP Color Laserjet CM3530?

302 Moved Temporarily

Do your own reading and take your attitude down the road.

Few here are willing to help. Hence the red tags. Get the idea? Or are you going to argue with the truth again?

[subaro]

Re: Worth getting new transfer belt for HP Color Laserjet CM3530?

Well, it looks like someone has already erased that red square, and you now have two green squares!

Actually, on reviewing my settings page i saw it was someone else that got that red square for replying ''''' , and i thought it was mine. so i guess i was not in the red at all.
Thanks zootech.