Today I wanted to review the HP fuser unit and how to keep an HP laser printer functioning properly by periodically maintaining and replacing the printer fuser. First it is important to review just what a fuser unit’s main purpose is.  Have you ever wondered why or how the paper is warm when comes out of the a printer?

Well you can thank your HP fuser unit for that! The fuser unit is responsible for “fusing” or “embedding” the toner onto the paper using the combination of heat and pressure. The heat is generated from a heat lamp and the pressure from two rollers.  Hence the warm paper. The diagram to the right does a nice job of showing how the fuser unit works.

It is common for HP fuser units to come in two strengths: a 120v fuser unit and a 110v fuser unit, so it is extremely important to order the fuser unit that is compatible with your printer. Using a fuser unit of incorrect strength can cause serious damage to a printer and may even lead to fire hazard.  So when it comes time to order a replacement for the HP fuser unit remember to shop for a replacement either by the manufacturer code or printer model. Let’s say you own an HP LaserJet 5550 printer. It would be wise to perform one of the following searches when shopping for this particular HP printer’s fuser unit; “HP LaserJet 5550 fuser unit,” or “Q3984A.”

HP LaserJet Fuser Maintenance

After learning  that the HP fuser unit is responsible for getting a printer’s toner onto the paper, it should be clear why it is so important to constantly monitor and troubleshoot fuser unit maintenance issues. Think of the HP fuser unit as a car’s tires. The tires keep a car on the road and operating properly, similarly a fuser unit enables the laser printer to perform it’s primary function of printing. So just as it is important to keep tires in impeccable condition, equal attention should be paid to keeping the HP fuser unit in working condition in order to prevent printer damage.  You may be asking yourself, how can the fuser unit damage a printer? Well were you aware that your fuser unit takes up to 90% of a printer’s power usage? If the fuser unit is not working properly then the heat produced can damage the surrounding parts, resulting in expensive and potentially life-ending damage to a printer.

To maximize the life of the HP fuser unit we recommend to refrain from printing on non-standard media from the paper tray and to perform the following monthly tasks: vacuuming or dusting of the assemblies and rollers as well as applying cleaning solutions to remove toner build up. Remember to always wear repair gloves (latex gloves will work fine) when handling your HP fuser unit and assembly rollers as this practice will help reduce contaminating your HP fuser unit with skin oil and other debris.

Replacing your HP Fuser Unit

It is important to keep track of your HP fuser unit’s shelf life, that way you will know when a replacement is necessary. This information can be discovered by referencing the laser printer’s manual (look for the life expectancy chart) and find the fuser unit’s “expected page production life,” better known as the page yield. For instance the HP LaserJet 2200 fuser unit has a page yield of 100,000. This means one could expect their HP LaserJet 2200 fuser unit to function properly for approximately (depending on how the print quality settings are configured) 100,000 printed pages. After the thresehold of 100,000 has surpassed, it is important to monitor the fuser unit’s performance more closely and look to replace the fuser unit shortly thereafter.

If there is no way of keeping track of printed page count (most models will track this automatically), then it is necessary to pro-actively look for other warning signs or red flags including; an increase in paper feed errors or problems, and a decrease in print quality.  Neglecting to replace your HP fuser unit will inevitably lead to printer defects including; damage to printer sensors,  drive gears breaking from over use, heat lamp malfunctions, film sleeve tears, pressure rollers can become worn and scratched, and most commonly toner buildup will develop on the heating and pressure rollers.  Purchasing a replacement HP fuser unit is a small investment that will prevent these printer defects and significantly improve the overall life of your HP printer.

At the launch of Google Buzz, Sergey Brin, one of Google’s co-founders, highlighted an example of using their new social network within a business. Brin explained that when writing an op-ed for the New York Times, he posted a draft of his article on Google Buzz and invited his network to respond with their own ideas and edits. Shortly after posting, Brin says he received around 50 comments. With the ability to obtain all of that feedback in such a short amount of time, Brin introduces the idea of real-time collaboration in Google Buzz.

Here are some ideas on how businesses can take advantage of Google Buzz:

With the option to post privately to a small group of users, Buzz can be implemented among employees. They can use Buzz to toss ideas around with one another, schedule meetings (or lunch dates) and share informational articles through Google Reader.

Buzz can also be used externally, to reach out to customers, using the public settings. Unlike Twitter, Google Buzz does not limit users to 140 characters, which is an advantage for businesses looking to utilize the social network.

With Buzz, customers can interact with the company, as well as with one another. In this format, customers can address the company with product reviews and concerns. Then other customers can jump in with solutions or discussions, creating a forum-like atmosphere.

Companies can also use Buzz to update customers with current specials, upcoming promotions, product reviews and news updates pertaining to the company or their products.

What other ways do you think companies can utilize Google Buzz for business – have you seen any doing so? Or, do you think it will be too noisy and just not a fan of Google Buzz?

Let us know in the comments!

Think you can spare a few minutes to give your printer a little TLC? Doing so can assist in prolonging the life of your printer. By removing dust particles or ink smudges, your printer will work better and hopefully last longer as well. Cleaning your printer eliminates paper jams, ink blotches and abnormal lines. However, if you are careless when cleaning, you can permanently damage the printer.

Before you start cleaning, make sure the printer is cooled down. Unplug the printer also, just to be safe. You might want to try cleaning out the printer when you are replacing ink or toner cartridges, to avoid damage to existing cartridges.

Use a soft cloth to wipe the exterior of the printer. Dampen the cloth, not the printer, with a light liquid. Try distilled water or a light cleaner, but stay away from ammonia or alcohol as they can crack or damage the surface. It’s best to clean the outside of the printer first, while the cartridges and trays are still inside. This way, dust and other small debris don’t make their way inside.

The way you clean the inside of the printer will vary a bit between laser and inkjet printers. Most inkjet printers have cleaning processes that can be initiated from the software that accompanies the printer. This cleaning unclogs the printheads that shoot the ink. Other inkjet printers have cartridges with printheads on them, so the printhead gets replaced with each cartridge change and does not need to be regularly cleaned.

To remove dust and debris from the rollers, paper trays and other parts inside of the inkjet printer, use a small duster or damp cloth to gently wipe all of the parts down. If you are a fancier cleaner, you can use purchase tools such as a computer vacuum or cleaning sheet for a sparkling printer. For example, many printer companies manufacture their own cleaning supplies, such as the Xerox cleaning wipes shown here.

With laser printers, you can clean the inside parts the same as you would an inkjet printer, except a soft brush is recommended instead of cloth or a duster. If you don’t have a brush, make sure to steer clear of the mirror inside to avoid damaging scratches. Also, the transfer rollers are the only part of a laser printer than cannot and should not be cleaned!

The bottom line is that you have to be very careful when removing and replacing all parts. Remember to be gentle and leave out the elbow grease. Again, taking just a few minutes to detail your printer can improve the performance and add pages onto your printer’s life!

Printing on the run now has a new meaning. New iPhone apps now allow you to print just about anything directly from your smartphone! The top apps are reviewed, in no specific order…

1. “Print” by EuroSmartz – Price: $4.99

Tired of transferring your iPhone pictures to your PC for printnig purposes? “Print” for iPhone lets you print information from your iPhone/iPod touch to a printer connected to your computer, via network or local.

When you install “Print” on your iPhone and download the free WePrint software for your desktop/laptop computer, you can then print directly from your iPhone. You could even print remotely to your home or office printer. Imagine taking a photo while on vacation and then printing it on your home printer.

“Print” for the iPhone prints web pages, contacts and images. “Print & Share” also prints emails, stored files and also shares files with your desktop computer.

This app requires both an app installed on your phone and on your pc.

2. “Print Magic” by Wellala – Price: $5.99

Print Magic is the first application for the Apple iPhone & iTouch products, which allows for wireless printing through IPP.

With Print Magic, you can now print images, text, and even web pages directly from your iPhone or iPod Touch.  Print Magic can print almost anything, from any application, with no additional software to install.  If you can select it and copy it using the Cut and Paste feature of iPhone OS 3, Print Magic can print it — including from applications like Mail, Safari, and of course Photos.

This app only requires an app installed on your phone. It connects directly with your printer.

3. “PrinterShare” by Dynamix – Price: FREE

With PrinterShare you can print directly from your phone to anywhere in the world including your own printer. First, you need to install PrinterShare Mobile on your mobile phone and either login with your existing account or create new one of the fly (it’s free).

Then you need to find and select the printer you want to print to. The computer connected to the printer needs to have PrinterShare software installed, just like when you print from computer to computer using PrinterShare. In addition, from your mobile device you may look for printers shared by others, select one and print on it.

This app requires both an app installed on your phone and on your pc.

4. “ePrint” by Microtech – Price: $2.99

If you have ePrint and required printers, you don’t need your PC anymore to print. ePrint has print settings such as paper size or color. Print photos or contacts in your iPhone or iPod touch. You can also check printed image beforehand with print preview.

This app only requires an app installed on your phone. It connects directly with your printer.

5. “Printer Whisperer” by Lunaticity - Price: FREE

The “Printer Whisperer” iPhone app is great. Aside from being a completely free app, it can cause hours of problems for your office IT manager!! Don’t worry, it doesn’t cause any real harm to you printer. Here is what the app can do… If you have a networked printer (unfortunately it can only be a HP Laserjet networked printer) and it has an LCD display, this app is a must download. You simply type in the IP address for the pritner into the app and you can change the display message on the LCD screen. Favorite messages include “Printer Will Self Destruct”, “Pen is Stuck”, “Don’t Panic”, and many others. Have tons of fun while your IT guy scratches his head. The message resets when the printer is turned off.

This app only requires an app installed on your phone. It connects directly with your printer.