What causes those horizontal color streaks on my printer's output?

Ever since I acquired it, less than a hundred pages ago, this printer's paper output has featured horizontal bands - the denser the color, the denser the streaks.

The printer is a Canon i-SENSYS MF-8340Cdn.

The original test image :

Original test image

The same test image, printed and scanned :

Scanned test image

The printer's diagnostics tell me that the toner cartridges are full. I see no contamination of any sort inside the printer.

Can anyone tell me what is going on ?

Jean-Marc Liotier

Posted 2013-03-27T11:28:10.180

Reputation: 459

1It is probably best if you return it as defective. – Simon – 2013-03-27T11:35:07.560

Looks like dirty or defective ink cartridges. Have you tried new ink cartridges? – CharlieRB – 2013-03-27T11:40:49.260

The integrated toner/drum bits are clean as far as I can see. – Jean-Marc Liotier – 2013-03-27T22:52:56.880

I'm now hunting for an answer from Canon - I'm not holding my breath. I'll post the answer here if Canon solves the problem before Superuser ! – Jean-Marc Liotier – 2013-03-27T22:54:15.840

dont mess with it; return it as defective. – Lorenzo Von Matterhorn – 2013-03-28T18:10:36.753

Answers

The 'starter' toner cartridge that came with the printer were defective. I replaced them and the problem simply disappeared. I probably should have started with that...

Jean-Marc Liotier

Posted 2013-03-27T11:28:10.180

Reputation: 459

Usually this indicates that your heads are dirty and need serious cleaning. if the stripes were vertical, that would indicate fuser or transfer rollers, but horizontal means that the problem originates from the application of toner. look at this article on cleaning print heads: http://www.ehow.com/how_5195058_clean-clogged-canon-printhead.html

Frank Thomas

Posted 2013-03-27T11:28:10.180

Reputation: 29 039

3This is a laser printer - so there are no print heads that might get clogged (when that happen on inkjet printers, I wipe them with a moist tissue)... I'll take a closer look at toner-related bits. – Jean-Marc Liotier – 2013-03-27T12:01:52.047