Xerox 3250 printing blank pages

Today seems to be Xerox day. We have a 3250 that is randomly printing blank pages with a new cartridge. The old cartridge always works fine, but we've tried two brand new Xerox brand cartridges and they both exhibit the same behavior. It usually works for a while after turning it off and back on again. I saw a note on Xerox's support site that suggested removing and reseating the cartridge and we've tried that. I can only guess that something is different about the new cartridges and they aren't making good contact; I may look inside to see if the contacts can be bent a little, but I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

I've had similar experiences with other printers. Sometimes the paper tray is too full. Sometimes the wrong size paper is selected in the print menu (though this shouldn't effect you). Sometimes I get what is called a printer mis-pick where the mechanism for feeding paper grabs the paper incorrectly. The later is usually caused by dirty rollers. I'm just surprised that your problem is cartridge specific. I thought that Xerox machines where usually leased and not purchased. Does the leasing company provide any support as part of the cost of leasing?

mdyoung wrote:I've had similar experiences with other printers. Sometimes the paper tray is too full. Sometimes the wrong size paper is selected in the print menu (though this shouldn't effect you). Sometimes I get what is called a printer mis-pick where the mechanism for feeding paper grabs the paper incorrectly. The later is usually caused by dirty rollers. I'm just surprised that your problem is cartridge specific.

What you're describing is where the printer pulls though an extra sheets of paper. Everything sent to print is printed, but some stray blank pages sneak in. I get the impression that the OP is having a different problem.

mdyoung wrote:I thought that Xerox machines where usually leased and not purchased. Does the leasing company provide any support as part of the cost of leasing?

This isn't a "Xerox machine" in the normal sense of the term, but a $230 laser printer sold under the Xerox name.

I get the impression that the OP is having a different problem.

Good point. Are the blank pages in place of missing pages e.g. Page 1, Page 2, blank page, Page 4? Are the blank pages inserted between printed pages e.g. Page 1, Page 2, blank page, Page 3? Or are the blank pages being fed out of the printer along with printed pages concurrently?

I think I found the post craiggsmith mentioned at http://forum.support.xerox.com/t5/Print ... /td-p/1620. Anyway, from the sound of it, it seems as though the cartridge isn't making good electrical contact with the printer. Try looking at the contacts on the printer and cartridge and see if they are clean. Additionally, compare the old and new printer cartridge contacts and see if you can see a difference in cleanliness or geometry (maybe the old one has contacts that are slightly raised etc.)

In my mind there's only two things that can cause a blank (as opposed to all black) page - no laser or no voltages on the cartridge.

Some cartridges have a shutter that closes when it's pulled out of the printer to protect the drum. I don't think these have it, but it's wroth checking. I think the voltages have been covered. Beyond that, we're looking at a defective printer.

Thanks everyone. Yes, all pages are blank, not just extra blank pages interspersed with good pages.

It does seem that something is not making good contact. The contacts where I believe the data is transferred look the same on both the old and new cartridges -- they are clean and have scratch marks on them from contact. I need to look more closely at the contacts on the side where I think the power is transferred though.

But the strange thing is that it usually works for a short while after restarting the printer, without doing anything to the cartridge.

craiggsmith wrote:But the strange thing is that it usually works for a short while after restarting the printer, without doing anything to the cartridge.

Might want to verify that it always works on the old cartridge.

I hate to throw good money after bad but if you had another new cartridge besides the one that prints blank pages you could use it to test if the printer is going bad or if you just got a bad cartridge of toner. Since the old cartridge seems to print reliably I suspect it might be the new cartridge that has some defect. Can you take the new cartridge back to the store, provided you bought it from a brick and mortar store, and exchange it for another new one?

Or if there's another printer that you can borrow the cartridge from or test the new cartridge in.

Thanks everyone. The old cartridge still always works consistently. We got another new cartridge, both factory Xerox cartridges, and it is doing the exact same thing. No, these ones don't have a cover over the drum.

I looked at the side contacts and they look the same on both the old and new cartridges, and there is nothing that can be bent or adjusted to make better contact. The corresponding contacts in the printer are spring-loaded.

The printer typically works for a little (not very long) while after the cartridge is removed and re-installed, but after some random number of pages they start coming out blank again, often in the middle of a job. It is really a pain for the financial clerk.

We do have another one or two of these printers in the stake; I'm going to try the cartridge in them and see if I can duplicate the issue.

craiggsmith wrote:We do have another one or two of these printers in the stake; I'm going to try the cartridge in them and see if I can duplicate the issue.

Sounds like a plan.