Phaser 8550 not printing

[BillLee · Accepted solution]

To follow up and close out this thread:

After two months not being able to deal with the printer, I was finally able to get back to it today. And I have been successful in getting it working again! :smileyvery-happy:

The problem was a very bad paper jam! There was a page that was wadded up so far down inside that it didn't show at all until you looked down into the printer from the back! It was very difficult to remove. I had to take a few parts loose on the top front of the printer in order to get sufficient access to the jammed paper. But once I was able to get it out, the printer is now operational. And it didn't cost me any money! :smileyhappy:

Given that that was the problem, I simply don't understand how I was ever able to get sheets through the printer, blank or otherwise! Oh, well....

Thanks to all for the contributions.

Regards,

Bill Lee

[JohnM-Xerox]

I'm sorry that didn't resolve the issue.  I thought that it might do the trick for you.  At this point, you should try calling the folks in 2nd Level.  If for some reason they are not able to find a solution, they can get help from the Xerox Engineers and that should get you fixed up.  The number for U.S. and Canada support for Phaser products is 1.800.835.6100.

John

[BillLee]

Finally made it home. Downloaded and installed the latest firmware. No luck. :smileysad:

Printer now looks like this:

Version Information
        Printer Model   Phaser 8550DP
        Printer Serial Number   WYP343312
        Machine Address 00:00:aa:a1:3a:8a
        Operating System        4.354
        PostScript      4.12.10
        Networking      30.34.10.12.2006
        Engine  22.L0.4.12.10
        Adobe PostScript Version        3016.101 (2)

Still nothing but blank paper being output when a print job is sent.

[BillLee]

Thanks, John. I'll give that a try if the firmware reload doesn't resolve my problem.

[JohnM-Xerox]

Hi Bill,

I hope that the firmware does help, but if not, I didn't see in your posts whether you called the Customer Support line for Phasers and asked to speak to 2nd Level.  If the firmware does not help resolve the issue, I would ask that you try calling the folks in 2nd Level.  If for some reason they are not able to find a solution, they can get help from the Xerox Engineers and that should get you fixed up.  The number for U.S. and Canada support for Phaser products is 1.800.835.6100.

John

[BillLee]

Thanks, John. I have downloaded the new firmware and will install when I return home in a couple of weeks.

Already tried the various processes that I thought would apply as found when viewing the "Printhead cleaning" search results, i.e.:

White, Light Lines or Streaks (Eliminate Light Stripes)

Faded Images

Completely Blank Prints

How To Clean Ink Smears

I am hoping that the firmware reload will help.

Bill

[JohnM-Xerox]

Hi Bill,

No worries about the firmware upgrade. Now that you know about it, you can update your machine to the latest and greatest.

I understand what you're saying about the ink.  Just know that any warranty on the machine will be null and void now and that you run the risk of having problems in the future.

For cleaning the printheads, you should check out the Knowledge Base for the Phaser 8550 and search for "Printhead cleaning" (without the quotes.)  This search will produce several results, but you should focus on the 1st solution.  There are two separate actions that you can take and one of them may do the trick. The 1st solution should be: Solutions for : White, Light Lines or Streaks (Eliminate Light Stripes)

I hope this helps!  Post back and let me know what happens after you get the firmware loaded and you get the chance to try those solutions from the KB.

John

[BillLee]

John, I will see about updating the software. To be perfectly honest, I was unaware that this was needed and could be done. I DID look through a whole lot of online Xerox documentation and never saw any indications that this was possible.

(Will have to wait for a couple of weeks since I'm away from home now.)

As to the ink: if this problem had started to appear over some time, if I had seen degradation in print quality, if there had been ANY indication that there was a problem, then perhaps I could accept the non-Xerox (read that: "affordable"! :smileywink: ) ink as a possible culprit. But this was a sudden, catastrophic failure.

As for cleaning: only two things could be found in the Xerox online documentation. One is cleaning the wiper blade in the "maintenance kit", which was NOT done, but a complete new "maintenance kit"  installed. The second was a manual cleaning of the paper release blade with an alcohol-soaked cloth.

I also tried the smear  cleaning process as well as whatever else I could find from the Xerox documentation. (i.e., from the Print Quality menu on the Troubleshooting entry from the console) I did not " describe the cleaning process that you used when you cleaned the printheads" since I am not sure what "cleaning the print heads" means, and I certainly did not do that.

[JohnM-Xerox]

Two things I noticed right off are the firmware version and ink sticks.

Your Phaser is not running the latest version of firmware so you should update to the latest from Xerox.com.  Even if the new firmware does not resolve the blank pages issue, your machine should be running the latest firmware which is available for download here. (Just scroll to the bottom of the page to find the newest firmware download ver 4.12.10)

As for the ink sticks that you are using, they're not Genuine Xerox ink sticks which can actually cause problems since other companies make them differently than Xerox.  The issue that you are experiencing could be because of the ink sticks.  You mentioned in your first post that you performed the cleaning and bought a new maintenance kit but neither helped.  Can you describe the cleaning process that you used when you cleaned the printheads?

To answer your question about the fuser replacement - I apologize, the fuser in the Phaser 8550 is not a customer replaceable unit so I don't have instructions for you.

[BillLee]

Thanks for the response, John, I'll try to answer your questions as best I can.

"By any chance, did you replace any consumables the other day following your last "good" print job?"

No. OTOH, since this started, I replaced the "maintenance kit" with a remanufactured one from an eBay seller

"Possibly a fuser,"

No. (Could you provide a link that describes replacing the fuser?)

"or a ink stick or something?"

No, it has (and had) plenty of ink.

"How long have you had the machine?"

Purchased new in February 2007.

"How many prints are on it?"

22310

"Can you tell me what version of firmware is loaded on your machine?"

Version Information

Printer Model Phaser 8550DP

Printer Serial Number WYP343312

Machine Address 00:00:aa:a1:3a:8a

Operating System 4.302

PostScript 4.8.0

Networking 25.28.08.19.2005

Engine 18.P1.4.8.0

Adobe PostScript Version 3016.101 (2)

"Do you use Genuine Xerox Ink Sticks in your machine?"

No. Typically MediSciences or LD.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Regards,

Bill Lee

Edit to add:

Just noticed as I turned the printer on to gather the above information: the page that is printed with the checker-board color display is blank EXCEPT for approximately 1/8" down one edge, where I can see the very edge of the checker-board bing printed.