Can you reuse waste toner box? (ColorForce 8050)

[brianfarris]

The time came for us to change the waste toner box in our ColorForce 8050. We had a new one to put in, but now I'm not sure what to do with the old one. Do we just throw it in the dumpster? Can we dump out the old toner and reuse it when the time comes again to change it out? What's up with these things?

tonerbox.jpg

[seeb]

You can dump out the waste toner container and reuse. Also the 100k PM kits include two new waste toner containers.

[RRodgers]

The time came for us to change the waste toner box in our ColorForce 8050. We had a new one to put in, but now I'm not sure what to do with the old one. Do we just throw it in the dumpster? Can we dump out the old toner and reuse it when the time comes again to change it out? What's up with these things?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6449[/ATTACH]

Yeah, just dump the toner and put it back it. It works on weight.

[brianfarris]

Cool.

What makes the toner collect like that? That looks like a BUNCH of toner.

[jzheld]

The time came for us to change the waste toner box in our ColorForce 8050. We had a new one to put in, but now I'm not sure what to do with the old one. Do we just throw it in the dumpster? Can we dump out the old toner and reuse it when the time comes again to change it out? What's up with these things?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6449[/ATTACH]

not a "green" solution but works =)

[Stirton.M]

Yeah, just dump the toner and put it back it. It works on weight.

Actually, it is an opto-sensor that detects the level, along with the counters which estimate usage. The opto sensor looks at that thin strip seen on the left side of the image above.

[Stirton.M]

Cool.

What makes the toner collect like that? That looks like a BUNCH of toner.

The toner is the collective accumulation of toner throughout the entire transfer process.

Basic theory....

The drum is comprised of an organic material that is sensitive to electric charge. Rub a balloon against your hair and it becomes statically charged. The drum gets the same way, but through electrical influence from the charge wire unit, in this case a very high negative charge. The laser unit shines on the surface, and wherever that surface is touched by the laser light, it becomes more "positive" charged relative to the background. As the drum turns, the developer unit turns a magnetic roller that creates a "brush"...think of it like graphite on paper, roll a magnet under the paper and the graphite stands on end. The developer has this same effect, and the toner that is in this mix will go along for the ride on the brush. The developer is at the same electrical potential as the background of the drum unit. So anywhere the laser wrote to, toner will be attracted to that slightly more positive spot.

As the drum turns towards the transfer belt, the transfer belt has yet an even more positive charge right across it. Most of the toner on the drum will be attracted to the belt, but not all of it. As the drum turns further, a cleaning blade will "scrape" the remaining toner on the drum into the recycling system.

As the belt itself turns, it meets up with the paper and a second transfer roller under the paper will have yet a slightly more positive charge to attract the toner off the belt and onto the paper. Again, like the drums, not all the toner is transferred. The residual toner is scraped off the belt by another cleaning blade on the belt unit and that goes to the recycling bin.

The more coverage area, the more toner. The heavier the coverage, the more toner. Multiply that by 4 and you can see it adds up.

Due to the constraints of the design, it is not practical to recycle toner directly back into the chambers of the dev unit.

Also, if you do a lot of toner refresh cycles, this can go through a LOT of toner very quickly. Try not to do this unless the machine has been sitting for a week or more and there is a possibility the toner has acclimatised itself to the environment...humid or dry...

And the bottle, once emptied, can be cleaned with water and a little bit of dish soap....the dish soap helps break up the toner.

[Stirton.M]

not a "green" solution but works =)

KM toner is biodegradable.

[brianfarris]

This is the best description of how the laser printing process works that I've read. Thanks!

[fixthecopier]

When you dump it, be sure to double or triple bag it. Somewhere on this forum is my description of what it is like to have the bottom of the trash bag split open with 5 pounds of waste toner, on the top floor of Army Special Operations Command Headquarters.

[Stirton.M]

When you dump it, be sure to double or triple bag it. Somewhere on this forum is my description of what it is like to have the bottom of the trash bag split open with 5 pounds of waste toner, on the top floor of Army Special Operations Command Headquarters.

ROTHLMAO

I can just imagine....heh

Looking down at the mess with a dumbfounded frozen stature as you eyeball the surroundings of all the officers running for cover like you dropped a grenade.....

[jzheld]

KM toner is biodegradable.

just toner not the mix with the developer