HP 8100 laserjet print shifts

[chenrysjr]

We have an HP 8100 laserjet printer that prints the pages approx 1/2 inch off the right side of the page. This happens when printing from Windows or a config page from the printer and from all the drawers with paper. We installed new pick up rollers in all the drawers. I'm suspecting a hardware problem but am not sure where to start to look.

Thanks,

[Mayet]

does it print normal font just to the side, or does it print squished up or stetched out fonts. is there any lines or other marks printed

I had a similiar problem under warranty that required a new mainboard.

[NooNoo]

Have you checked the menu for the offset settings?

[imaeditedbysowulo]

You can either replace the clutch on the registration assembly or replace the entire registration assembly. Whole assembly is easier, but just replacing the clutch is a bit cheaper.

[slgrieb]

A service manual for the 8100 is a very, very good investment if you haven't already acquired one. They are complex, finicky, and not very robust. I used to maintain a couple of them for a local bank and an oil company, and it wasn't too much fun. Not HP's finest moment. All-in-all, I think, these printers are a good argument for buying one of Canon's Image Runners.

Registration assembly is a good call, but I would still spend time checking all applicable printer settings. Application settings override driver settings which override control panel settings. Settings absent at one level default to the next lower control level. Of course, if you have JetAdmin installed on an administrative machine (not likely in most environments) it may sometimes also override paper size settings.

[imaeditedbysowulo]

A service manual for the 8100 is a very, very good investment if you haven't already acquired one. They are complex, finicky, and not very robust. I used to maintain a couple of them for a local bank and an oil company, and it wasn't too much fun. Not HP's finest moment. All-in-all, I think, these printers are a good argument for buying one of Canon's Image Runners.

Registration assembly is a good call, but I would still spend time checking all applicable printer settings. Application settings override driver settings which override control panel settings. Settings absent at one level default to the next lower control level. Of course, if you have JetAdmin installed on an administrative machine (not likely in most environments) it may sometimes also override paper size settings.

What wasn't fun about them? They are one of the easiest HP printers to maintain. The only thing that can possibly suck to maintain on them is the optional stackers.

If the configuration page from the information menu of the printer is off, it's definitely not a software setting.

[slgrieb]

Hey, edited! Missing the problem with the configuration page the first time around is certainly not one of my finer moments, but when did the 8100 get to be one of the easier HPs to maintain? You can't seriously be suggesting that this printer is less hassle to service than, oh, an LJ 4100, are you?

Saying that it is easy to maintain if you don't get the stacker (and presumably the extra paper trays) is a little like saying that a Cadillac is easy to maintain if you don't get the automatic dual-zone climate control, power door locks, heated power seats, power trunk closer, anti-lock brakes, traction control, and cruise control. That is pretty much why people buy these things in the first place, isn't it? I've certainly worked on some 8100s that had only two paper trays and no accessories, but they were certainly in the minority.

To put it another way, LJ4100 Service Manual = 334 pages. LJ8100 Service Manual = 580 pages + (Supplement for 3000 sheet stacker = 82 pages) = 662 pages.

What I experienced with 8100s was a high failure rate for the PCAs in the paper input units and failed paper pick up assemblies (stackers) that might as well have been throwaways. Except for the price. Face it; when your sales rep at PartsNow has the part numbers for these components memorized, that's a hint that they break often.

The other big issue with 8100s is that the optical sensors for the trays are too sensitive to dust and debris. Contamination on the sensors can cause the printer to generate a tray open error, but so can fairly small obstructions which prevent the drawer from closing that last silly millimeter.

Software issues could be endless. Even if all the paper size settings for the various trays were correct errors could be generated if drivers were mis-configured, or the apps for individual users were mis-set, or somebody running JetAdmin had inadvertently bolixed up printer settings.

I don't even want to talk about the times some frustrated engineer has slammed a paper drawer too hard and either damaged it badly enough to require replacement or mis-aligned it to the point that the tray required manual re-alignment to get the top and bottom margins correct.

HP's approach of modular design based on a fairly simple printer that could be scaled up to a departmental workhorse was a total flop. This was the worst printer since the 1100.

Anyway, now that edited and and I have bared our fangs, beat our chests and torn up the foliage, has any of this helped, chenrysjr? PartsNow and DepotAmerica are the two largest HP parts distributors in the world, and both offer excellent tech support to their customers. I would recommend both of them over dealing direct with HP for parts in terms of both price and service.

[imaeditedbysowulo]

Hey, edited! Missing the problem with the configuration page the first time around is certainly not one of my finer moments, but when did the 8100 get to be one of the easier HPs to maintain? You can't seriously be suggesting that this printer is less hassle to service than, oh, an LJ 4100, are you?

Saying that it is easy to maintain if you don't get the stacker (and presumably the extra paper trays) is a little like saying that a Cadillac is easy to maintain if you don't get the automatic dual-zone climate control, power door locks, heated power seats, power trunk closer, anti-lock brakes, traction control, and cruise control. That is pretty much why people buy these things in the first place, isn't it? I've certainly worked on some 8100s that had only two paper trays and no accessories, but they were certainly in the minority.

To put it another way, LJ4100 Service Manual = 334 pages. LJ8100 Service Manual = 580 pages + (Supplement for 3000 sheet stacker = 82 pages) = 662 pages.

What I experienced with 8100s was a high failure rate for the PCAs in the paper input units and failed paper pick up assemblies (stackers) that might as well have been throwaways. Except for the price. Face it; when your sales rep at PartsNow has the part numbers for these components memorized, that's a hint that they break often.

The other big issue with 8100s is that the optical sensors for the trays are too sensitive to dust and debris. Contamination on the sensors can cause the printer to generate a tray open error, but so can fairly small obstructions which prevent the drawer from closing that last silly millimeter.

Software issues could be endless. Even if all the paper size settings for the various trays were correct errors could be generated if drivers were mis-configured, or the apps for individual users were mis-set, or somebody running JetAdmin had inadvertently bolixed up printer settings.

I don't even want to talk about the times some frustrated engineer has slammed a paper drawer too hard and either damaged it badly enough to require replacement or mis-aligned it to the point that the tray required manual re-alignment to get the top and bottom margins correct.

HP's approach of modular design based on a fairly simple printer that could be scaled up to a departmental workhorse was a total flop. This was the worst printer since the 1100.

I could not disagree with you more. I've never run into any of those issues on an 8100. I've got 20-30 of them with over 2 million pages at a law firm. They don't even clear their own jams, I get called for that and it doesn't happen very often. Every one of them has a 2000 sheet tray 4, that's the only pickup assembly I've had to replace. The main input assembly seems to last forever. I'm the only one that works on these printers for four + years now, maybe you went behind technicians that used crap parts?? It's been my experience that re-manned parts are absolute junk for any model printer. At the law firm with all the 8100's we only use OEM. I've gotten 600K pages out of oem fusers there, re-manned ones often cause fuser late jams straight out of the box and the drive gear discintigrates within 100K pages.

The only thing I can think of is that poor quality parts were used in the printers you dealt with. That's what we use at most of our customers, and there is a huge difference in the number of calls vs places where we use OEM parts. Input assemblys get replaced a few times a year when they are not OEM. Fuser films eat themselves up and get replaced almost as fast as the toner cartridge. I'm tickled pink to get 100K pages out of a non oem fuser.

The only gripe I have with the 8100 is the low voltage power supply, I've had to do about five of those in the last year...funny thing tho is every single one of them had a lower quality fuser in them. Not sure if it's a cause or just a coincidence, but that's the one part I have to replace somewhat consistently that is kind of a PITA.

We only have a couple customers that use stackers/mailboxes. The only reason I don't like working on them is we don't stock a single part for them. Core charges make it impossible, but it's rare that we get a call where we have to replace anything on them. Maybe two a year for me personally, but they can be the most frustrating thing to work on.

Any chance you are thinking of 8000's instead of 8100's??? Those are a significant step down in durability from the 8100's from what I have experienced.

[slgrieb]

Nope, buddy, 8100s. To be fair to a product that I still don't like much, the printers at my bank and some other locations have been far less of a headache than those at the refinery. Also, I'm here in the heart of the area where Dust was invented, so even in office environments (as opposed to a porta-building or the like) conditions are very, very dirty.

In so far as parts quality goes, about the only non-HP part I would ever put in an HP printer would be a pick up roller or some such. Otherwise, you just can't justify the questionable results from the small cost savings. I have certainly used some refurbs, but PartsNow (sorry if I sound like a commercial) offers many that use HP cores and offer better warranties and pricing than HP's new parts.

Sometimes, I think that many people see engineers as fussy, precise folk. That just isn't so. If you want to see a product torture tested, give it to engineers to use. Still, even given that most of my 8100 users are hard on the printers, I have plenty of Image Runners running in similar circumstances with far fewer problems. I still think that HP failed to design the 8100 as an industrial strength product.

One of the things I like best about forums like this is being able to compare notes, and I'm often amazed at how different experiences can be. I just hope that chenrysjr may have found this helpful, and hasn't written us all off as grumpy lunatics.

[imaeditedbysowulo]

Fair enough. All of mine are in high end law firms, so I've never had to deal with dirt environments with that model printer. Funny thing tho, I ran into this exact problem yesterday right before lunch. About one out of 10 pages on a paper path test from any tray the border was shifted to the right by about 3/4 of an inch and the left hand border wasn't even on the page. Reg clutch fixed her right up.

I still love the 8100's.