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Remanufacturing the HP LaserJet P1006

• By Mike Josiah
• Feb 01, 2008

The HP P1006 series of laser printers is based on a 17-ppm, true 600-dpi Canon engine. The cartridges use a chip that controls the toner-low functions. Physically, the 35A cartridges look like a small 12A (1012) cartridge, but there are many differences.

The printer itself has a very small footprint. It’s a nice small office/home machine. The first page out is stated to be less than 8.5 seconds from a power save mode. The memory is fixed and not expandable at 8MB. The recommended monthly volume is from 250 to 1,500 pages per month, but the maximum monthly duty cycle is 5,000 pages. Unlike many small printers these machines have an input tray that can hold 150 pages — a nice touch!

The system that holds the halves of the cartridge together is completely new. The good news here is that you don’t have to cut holes in the cartridge to get access to the pins.

The toner inside is also new. HP states that the toner now has "spherically shaped particles.” We are currently investigating if this means the toner is chemical or conventional toner that has been thermally rounded. My guess is that it is thermally rounded toner, but until our investigations are finished, we won’t know for sure.

In addition to the new toner, the chips have had "intelligence” added to help aid cartridge ordering when supplies are low. Again, we are investigating the chips for these cartridges as I write this. I can say I have run the same cartridge now five times and the chip has not shut the printer down. Just the toner-low features are not working.

So far there are four printers based on this engine: the P1000, P1006, P1007 and P1008. At the time of this writing, only the P1006 has been released. The other models are referred to in the service manual.

Cartridge troubleshooting as well as running test pages, cleaning pages and some simple printer troubleshooting will be covered at the end of this article.

1) With the handle facing you, remove the right-side screw and end cap from the cartridge. Be careful of the drum cover spring; remove it with the end cap. See Figures 1 and 2.

2) With the pair of needle-nose pliers, release both hopper tension springs. See Figures 3 and 4.

3) Slide the waste/drum section over to the left side. Separate the halves. See Figures 5 and 6.

4) On the waste/drum section, lift the drum up from the gear side. Twist and remove from the hopper. See Figure 7.

5) Remove the PCR and clean with your standard PCR cleaner. See Figure 8.

6) Remove the two screws and the wiper blade. See Figure 9.

7) Clean out all the waste toner from the hopper. Be careful not to damage the recovery blade located next to the wiper blade. If this blade is bent in any way, the cartridge will leak. Make sure the wiper blade foam seals are clean. See Figures 10 and 11.

8) Coat the new/cleaned wiper blade with your preferred lubricant. Install the wiper blade and two screws. See Figure 12.

9) Install the cleaned PCR. Place a small amount of conductive grease onto the black holder side of the shaft. Just a small amount of grease is more than sufficient. See Figure 13.

10) Place another small amount of conductive grease on the metal drum axle. See Figure 14.

11) Install the new/cleaned drum, hub-side first. See Figure 15.

12) Place the waste/drum section aside.

13) On the right side of the toner supply chamber, remove the two screws and end cap. Note that these screws have lock washers. See Figures 16 and 17.

14) Remove the gears from the hopper as shown. Leave the large auger gear in place. See Figures 18 and 19.

15) Remove the single screw and end from the opposite side. See Figure 20.

16) Remove the magnetic roller assembly. Be careful of the bushings as they are very fragile. See Figures 21 and 22.

17) Remove the doctor blade and two screws. See Figure 23.

18) Clean out all the remaining toner from the hopper. Make sure the magnetic roller seals and the doctor blade seals are all clean. See Figure 24.

19) Fill the hopper with 100 grams of P1006 toner. See Figure 25.

20) When a seal becomes available, remove the seal port plug and install the seal. Bring the tail out through the seal port hole. Install the plug. See Figures 26 and 27.

21) Install the left-side end cap and screw. Make sure the small contact piece is installed correctly on the end cap. See Figures 28 and 29.

22) Install the doctor blade and two screws. See Figure 30.

23) Install the magnetic roller, black bushing side first. Turn the roller until the keyed end locks in place. See Figure 31.

24) Install the gears as shown. See Figure 32.

25) Install the end cap and screws. See Figure 33.

26) Place the drum/waste hopper into the toner hopper. Slide it over so the round hinge pins fit into their respective holes. See Figures 34 and 35.

27) Set the hopper tension springs back in place. See Figures 36 and 37.

28) With the drum cover spring as shown on the end cap, install the end cap. Lift up the tail of the spring to fit onto the hopper. See Figures 38 and 39.

29) Lift up the drum cover sprint tail to fit as shown on the drum cover. Install the screw into the cover. See Figures 40 and 41.

30) Replace the chip. See Figure 42.

Repetitive defect chart

• OPC drum: 75 millimeters
• Magnetic roller: 31 millimeters
• PCR: 27 millimeters

Running test pages

Test pages must be run from the P1006 menu. Access the Printer Preferences menu, then Services, and Information pages. There are three test pages that can be selected: Demo, Config and Supply Status.

Running the cleaning page

The cleaning page for these machines can only be run from the Printer menu. HP recommends that for best results, a transparency be used. If a transparency is not available, use copier-grade paper with a smooth surface.

To run this page, access the Printer Preferences menu. Click on Device Settings and press Start. The cleaning cycle takes up to two full minutes. The page will start and stop. Do not turn the printer off until the cleaning page has finished printing.

Printer troubleshooting

As with all low-cost machines these days, this series of machines does not have a display panel. All the error codes consist of a different pattern of the two lights. Information on the lights is very poor, as is the service manual.

Top light blinking: Cartridge door open, no print cartridge installed, or there is a paper jam.

Both lights on: Fatal error; turn the printer off and unplug it for 30 minutes. If the error still exists the printer has a major problem. There is no information yet on what these problems may be (The service manual has not been released yet.)

Both lights blinking: A printer initialization is in progress.

Mike Josiah is technical director at Summit Technologies, a division of UniNet Imaging Inc., a global distributor of toner, OPC drums, wiper blades and other supplies. Josiah has been with the company since 1987. He and his technical support team regularly contribute articles and teach seminars at association meetings and trade shows. Contact Mike Josiah at 631-218-8376 or mjosiah@uninetimaging.com.