Black print faded and printed as grey.

[Jeff Wayne]

Apparently...the picture would not post...I will try again.

[Jeff Wayne]

Andy, as it happens I ran that test just before I printed the page I sent earlier.  As you can see from the attachment, the Black / Grey is faded and has a streak. The others were solid and dense color.  Maybe this will help. I won't go further until you tell me.  I have no wand.  Jeff Repeated Defect - Black is faded

[andymbody]

Jeff, Thank you for that example it is helpful.

Can you please print a test page set (Repeated defects) from the printer?

Here are the instructions

What this should do is to print all colors on separate sheets. This is helpful to see if the defect that you are seeing is being cause by uneven density in one or more of the colors. The green sheet represents yellow (since yellow on white paper is difficult to judge). These sheets should have solid color of medium density (except for a blank area around the edges, which is normal). The toner density should be even over the entire page with no faded areas or streaks.

If this is not the case, take a picture of those sheets that are not even and post them here please.

As far as I know there is a cleaning wand in this model that will allow you to clean the windows that expose the drums. If these windows are dirty, you will see uneven density (faded areas) in the prints that I've asked you to print. These windows get dirty (especially after changing the drums - loose toner drops down on the windows while replacing the drums). These windows should be cleaned periodically to maintain good exposure of the drum with each print.

Here is a video showing you how to clean the windows (But DONT clean them until you print the test sheets above). We want to see if the cleaning makes a difference (before/after).

Cleaning the ROS windows 

Andy

[CherylO-Xerox]

Hi Jeff, 

I am going to jump in here, hope you don't mind.  In my experience the faded print issue is usually because the color toner density (CDT) sensor is dirty.  Please take a look at the article on How to Clean the CDT sensor.  If that does not fix the problem then hopefully someone else will jump in with another idea.  

[Jeff Wayne]

A photograph of what we print will not show you the issue.  But I have attached one , anyway. 

The print, clearly labelled on this photo, as BLUE shows the depth of color we are all used to for our BLACKS.  The BLACKS, both bold and regular are grey.Example of Faded Black on C405 Printer

Consider this...we have tested other colors on the same print body and found that they are vibrant and dark, as shown in the attachment.  The blacks are faded grey.   This unit have very few pages and they were fine to start.  

Others have suggested changing the drum which should not be necessary after only 3500 copies. BUT, even those who do have said that it worked for two weeks and the same problem returned.  This should not be rocket science.  I am sure Xerox has run across this multiple times.

As this is apparently a common issue, I am composing a letter to Steve Bandrowczak in the hope that he is concerned with his small clients, as well as his big ones.  I was about to send that but I will hold off pending your finding the solution in a timely manner.  Thank you. 

[andymbody]

For those who are seeing this issue now or in the future...

We need to see what you see in order to offer advice. Otherwise we can only guess.

1. Print a test page DIRECTLY from the print driver. The test page can be a common reference for comparison purposes. You can do a Google search to find out how to do this.

2. Take a picture of the test page in good light. Post the picture here.

This will allow us to inspect the defect you are referring to and offer a possible solution.

ALSO... the driver that you are using can have a dramatic affect on what your prints look like. Including fonts and text.

Also keep in mind that text that is made up of color (on screen) will normally print lighter than dark black. And text in spreadsheets is rarely black (although it looks black to our naked eye - it is made up of 3 color components). So that text can also print as a lighter shade.

Again, we need to see what you are seeing to determine where the defect is originating from. We need your help with showing us so we can offer the best solution.

Andy

[Jeff Wayne]

This is apparently a known issue and the fix is likely extremely simple. Xerox will not answer simple questions on known issues without a $25 fee.  That is known as poor customer service and retention.  It is also know as Highway Robbery.

Since having anyone complain in this forum represents hundreds to thousands of real users, you would think that Xerox would want to do the right thing and either respond to the issue, since it is simple, with a Bulletin or on the phone without having to nickel and dime users of their machines.  I am about to write to the Executive Offices to make my concern known.  It appears that Xerox does not respond with useful information unless we pay for the technicians lunch.

[TammyL-Xerox]

Jessica2, 

If reinstalling the black toner and imaging drum  click here for instructions, then power the printer off and back on again isn't clearing the error.  I would suggest calling into the support department for assistance @ 1-800-821-2797. 

[Jessica2]

No error or fault codes were appearing - it was simply printing gray instead of black, even with a new black toner. 

It was recommended that I try re-inserting the new black toner. When I tried that, now an error code appears about the toner being improperly inserted (tried reinserting it and restarting over 9 times). So now I can't even use the device as a copier!

[TammyL-Xerox]

Jessica2, 

I'm sorry I must have misunderstood your post, I thought you were looking for a place to order supplies.  Are you having an issue with your printer, do you have any messages or fault codes on the display?