Why does my Brother MFC still display "CHANGE DRUM SOON"?

Don't worry. You're not alone. And the drum isn't defective.

This is a common question for users of Brother laser printers and multifunction devices.  After replacing the drum unit, the machine still displays the message "Change Drum Soon".

First of all, you should know that this is the final message which will be displayed when the drum unit approached end of life.  At this point, you can change the drum any time, preferably after you've gotten all the useful life out of it.  You will know it's time to replace it when the print/copy quality degrades.  Look for dark lines down either side of the paper.

Be advised that there are two cartridges or "units" inside the machine - the toner and the drum.  They are combined which often creates more confusion.  The toner sits in or on the drum.  The drum looks more like a holder for the toner cartridge.  Pay careful attention to which unit the machine is calling for and replace the correct one.  Usually, toners are used up at a faster rate than drums, about four or five to one.  

After replacing the drum, the machine will not automatically reset the message.  You must perform the drum message reset procedure.  Here's how:

1. Open the front cover.
2. Then:
1. For MFC-9700 Users: Press the Right Arrow key. 
2. For MFC-9800 Users: Press the Clear key.
3. The LCD will display REPLACE DRUM?  1.YES 2.NO. 
4. Press 1 to reset.
5. Close the front cover, pressing firmly on each side until they click into place.
6. Call Southeastern Laser and order another one to keep on hand for next time.

This reset procedure applies to Brother models MFC-9700 and MFC-9800.  The procedure for most Brother models is similar to this, but vary from series to series.  

Feel free to contact us if you need help.

877-233-2599 Toll Free

865-675-5900 Local

info@southeasternlaser.com

HP to stay in the PC business.

 We received the following letter from HP today.

HP Channel Partners;

Partners like you have made it clear to us how important HP’s entire portfolio of products, services and solutions is to the ongoing health of your business. On behalf of all us at HP, thank you for sharing your views and for your support. We appreciate your partnership.

After a deep data driven analysis, we have decided that HP and the Personal Systems Group (PSG) are stronger together. What this means for you is that HP will continue to partner with you across our complete technology portfolio.  We are committed to making the world’s #1 PC business even better for you, from the products and services we offer to the programs designed to grow your business.

Back in July, we restructured PSG to align with customer segments rather than product form factor. This approach improves our focus on capturing customers’ evolving needs and delivering innovation for them across our portfolio – from hardware to software to services. We will continue to drive initiatives that improve our quality, responsiveness and cost-competitiveness.

In closing, thank you for your ongoing commitment. You remain critical to HP’s overall success. We’re happy to follow up with you directly to discuss this or answer any questions you may have.

Meg Whitman

President and Chief Executive Officer

Todd Bradley

Executive Vice President, Personal Systems Group

False OPC low message on Xerox and Mac.

Lately, we've seen several occurrences of a problem with Xerox Phaser 6350 and 6360 series print drivers on Mac OS/X 10.6 and 10.7.

The driver causes a false message to display that the OPC or Optical Photo-conductor unit needs to be replaced.  The message is displayed only on the Mac, not on the printer.  Having checked the supplies via the embedded web page or the supplies status info on the printer, it shows the correct status is not low or needing replacement.

We have not seen this problem on Windows systems.

I was confused the first time I heard this from a client because Xerox does not use the term Optical Photo-conductor.  That was my first clue. Xerox refers to this consumable item as an Imaging Unit.

In an attempt to correct the false message, we deleted the driver and all files related to Xerox on the Mac.  Then we re-installed the driver from a fresh download.  This made no change or improvement.  The false message was still there.

With this false message, the printer will function normally.  The only effect is the annoyance of a pop up message.

At this time, we have no solution for this problem.  We expect Xerox will issue an update to the printer driver at some point.

Hang in there for now.

SE Laser.

HP Introduces Its Most Compact Color Laser Multifunction Printer

HP LaserJet Pro 100 color MFP M175nw delivers increased efficiency and productivity for small and midsize business.

The HP LaserJet Pro 100 color MFP M175nw,⁽²⁾ ideal for small to midsize businesses, provides professional-quality print, copy and scanning capabilities along with time- and cost-saving features that make the printer a smart strategic investment.

Priced at $349,⁽³⁾ the HP LaserJet Pro 100 color MFP M175nw helps businesses save time and money over competing laser products through efficient operations and energy savings from built-in features such as HP Auto-Off,⁽⁴⁾ Instant-on Technology⁽⁵⁾ and both Ethernet and wireless connectivity.⁽⁶⁾


Businesses gain the ability to print from virtually anywhere with HP ePrint, a mobile print solution that allows customers to conveniently print emails, photos, business materials and more directly to any ePrint-enabled HP printer using a smartphone, notebook or other mobile device.⁽⁷⁾


“The M175 printer series enables SMBs to demonstrate the quality and professionalism of big companies while addressing the needs of a smaller business,” said Heidrun Gross, product manager, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. “With its vivid color output, small footprint and low power consumption, the HP LaserJet Pro 100 color MFP M175nw will become a trusted and valuable business tool.”

Printer apps??? What's the use?

The battle of the apps was started long ago in the mobile phone industry.  All the cell phone manufacturers are trying to outdo each other with the most apps.

HP is putting apps on some printers now.  I am not sure I get it. 

Click here to surf over to Hewlett Packard's web site where you can see all the cool apps they are putting on printers.

Here's my question:

• Why would you go to your printer rather than using your computer to print the same thing?

Let's look at some of the apps from HP's app store:

Delta Air Lines:
"Avoid long lines at the airport. Check-in and print your boarding pass for your next Delta flight."
Wouldn't you just print your boarding flight from your computer?


Sesame Street Printables:

"Enjoy Sesame Street coloring pages, educational activities, and books from the Sesame Street eBookstore."
When my kids ask for coloring pages, we usually google the character name with the words "coloring pages".

Yahoo! Digest:

"Get today's top stories from the internet's #1 source for news."
Why would you print the news?



I love gadgets.  Others like me may like the idea of printer apps just because it's cool.  So I'll give a high-five to HP for that.  I've certainly wasted my share of time making something work just because I could.

Give me your opinion.  Do you think printer apps will be the next big thing?

HP affected by toner shortage

Hewlett-Packard warns distributors:

When parts of Japan were devastated by a earthquake a month ago, there seemed little doubt that the printer and supplies industry would be seriously impacted and there would be shortages of some key products. Now, according to an April 12 article, it seems that the industry’s top vendor, HP, which is dependent on Canon for production of laser printers and MFPs and toner cartridges, has sent a letter to various partners indicating that it is concerned about the future availability of certain toner cartridges and LaserJet devices. According to the CRN story, HP has warned its partners that in response to potential shortages it is restricting distribution of some toner cartridges.

HP has been experiencing shortages of the HP CE285A (or 85A) toner cartridge for months now, and just before the earthquake struck, it was said that another SKU, the CE278A (or 78A), was in short supply.

Canon had problems in ramping up production to meet demand for certain HP toner SKUs before the disaster in Japan, and now the firm faces an even bigger challenge. Some of its manufacturing facilities have been offline for weeks, and transportation systems and other key infrastructure in Japan have been disrupted. Although more manufacturing facilities in Japan are coming back online, all it takes is a disruption somewhere in the supply chain, a shortage of a crucial component in a toner cartridge or laser printer, to impact Canon’s ability to manufacture finished SKUs. HP is expecting to see some shortages and is taking the necessary steps to limit their impact by rationing distribution of some toner cartridges.

Why didn't Okidata go with new model numbers here?

Okidata sent me the following service notice.  They updated some printer models which require unique replacement parts when compared to the previous versions of the same models.  Manufacturers usually change the model numbers to accommodate parts identification and compatibility.  

This could get confusing...

ML600/ML300T/ML400 Serial & Network Card Compatibility Information

Oki Printing Solutions has recently released the ML600 Series and updated versions of existing printer models for the ML300Turbo Series and ML400 Series. The model names and equipment part numbers have not changed. However, there are changes to internal parts and also an updated RS-232 interface option for these products. In addition, there is a new NIC, part# 72008701 replacing part# 70046502, which will work in all versions of the printers. Please see the chart below for the serial # revision changes to determine compatibility of these two options for the newer version of printers.

If you have any questions please contact Oki Customer Service at 1-800-OKIDATA.

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 The revisions referenced in the table below can be found on the S/N label of the printer.

See serial number example directly below, the last two characters determine the rev level, which determines compatibility.

 

Additional Note for Service Providers - Due to internal part changes to the latest revision printers, there are updated iIlustrated part manuals, based on the revision of the printer serial number. These include many new part numbers, and these new numbers are identifed on the RSPL with the latest revision as part of the description, see example below:

ML420 Example: PCB: EXB ASSY MAINTENANCE SPEC (REV. E0)