[Misc] Wrinkling and crinkling pages- 1 out of 10 are crinkled

[rdavisalan@gmail.com]

I am working on a Lexmark opta T612 and recently installed a maintenance kit. It seemed to be working fine for about 3 days then I get called back for crinkled pages. I started playing with the the paper types and it seemed a little better but still crinkled pages. I removed and installed the fuser several times with no luck. At this point I am about to send the fuser back. Any ideas?

[OMD-227]

Tried fresh paper? Slightly damp paper will cause this.

or, possible fuser bearing not seated correctly (uneven pressure on upper/lower heat rollers). A close inspection will tell if there's anything wrong. I have seen some Lexmark maint kits come as two types.... a 'new' kit, or a 'refurb' kit (refurb'ed fuser only, all other parts new). You may have a poorly built or damaged fuser unit.

[prntrfxr]

Is it happening when it goes into the fuser, when it comes out, or when it is in the redrive (exit/delivery asm)? Usually, it is fuser related, but I've seen broken vanes on the redrive or p/u issues create the problem before.

To find out:

Remove the redrive entirely and run a print test. Check if the paper gets caught in the flags or if it comes out smooth. If it passes the test, replace the redrive.

If it happens when it goes into the fuser, the paper will be crumpled before it gets to the fuser flags. If that happens, remove the fuser. Inspect the fuser entrance guide and make sure it's seated properly (pins on the guide should be in holes in the frame). If it is out of position, carefully, reseat the entrance guide. If it is in position, make sure the metal tabs on the fuser frame are not bent and that the fuser is seated properly in the printer.

If it happens before the fuser, try a new or known good cartridge, inspect the PF guides to make sure they're seated properly, check that transfer roller is seated properly and installed in the right direction (HP printer transfer rollers go in reverse - sometimes techs install them wrong by accident), and check auto-compensator function. For auto-compensator troubleshooting, see if you have the same problem from tray 1.