The Importance of Firmware Updates & OEM Parts

Struggling with troubleshooting a stubborn HP Laserjet Printer? It may be as easy as a Firmware Update. I recently repaired an HP Laserjet 4250n Printer that had sporadic 13.01 Paper Jams as well as 49.4200 Errors and 49.CF1 Service Errors. Surprisingly, the Paper Jams and the Formatter Errors (49 errors) were related to an old version of HP's firmware. In May, HP just released the newest firmware for the HP Laserjet 4250 Series 08.015.0 (23 May 2008) and I recommend upgrading via HP's WebJetadmin Software or FTP Method ASAP. Onto a little clone vs. OEM discussion...

At STRS, we always use the highest quality HP Parts. Most of the time these are OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), but sometimes we find clone parts that are of the same quality as OEM. Unfortunately, we have also found some clone parts put in Cheap HP Printers are not worth the savings. I've been so frustrated troubleshooting an entire printer, only to find that the brand new part you put in is malfunctioning. In one case an Hewlett Packard 4200 Series Pickup Roller's rubber was spinning independently of the plastic, which is not supposed to happen. Through our experience, we use the best parts for our Refurbished Printers, Refurb Scanners and Tabloid Printers.

Star SP300 Refurb Printers now in stock!

Just got in a very large quantity of Star SP300 Receipt Printers here at the STRS warehouse. We have a few left of the Serial Port Version, but have replenished our stock of Star SP 300 Parallel Port Receipt Printers. Our Technicians are getting very good at refurbishing these Star Receipt Printers and have noticed that they have a very rugged design @ 18 Million Lines MCBF. They have a paper journal or audit rewind option and a print speed of 5.5 lines per second on certain models. We have also started a new relationship with a Purple Ribbon Supplier just for these Star Printers. Consider them for you POS (Point of Sale) applications today!

Oki C5200 C5150 Series Consumable Reset - Tips & Tricks

Oki C5200N Consumable - Reset

If you are replacing your consumable due to an error message on the printer saying its life is out, or if you have a malfunctioning consumable, you will need to reset the life remaining percentage on the printer. These percentages are not stored in any way by the consumables and are kept in the printers NV Ram. Below are the steps to reset all of the counts (ie fuser assembly, transfer belt, toner, image drums, etc) at once. If you are using the network port, please make a copy of your settings prior to doing a reset. You may need to reassign your network settings after the reset. This is not common, but possible. If you are using the usb port, it will remain unaffected. Here are the steps for the consumable resets. Use at your own risk.

1. Turn machine on while pushing and holding the two (+/-) menu buttons at same time.
2. Menu window will show "OKI USER"
3. Scroll to " Engine Dialog Mode" is indicated. Push ENTER button.
4. "Diagnostic Mode xx.xx.xx S-Mode is indicated.
5. Scroll to "NV-Ram initial" is indicated. Push ENTER.
6. Window shows "NV-Ram- Initial Table 1".
7. Push ONLINE and ENTER Buttons simultaneously and HOLD for 10 seconds after you see "Executing Reset" appear in menu window.
8. Restart printer. All toner, drum, fuser and transfer belt figures return to 100%

Some users, especially C5150N owners may have a toner sensor error after installing used sets of toner cartridges. The error is sporadic and can be bypassed. The toner sensor check needs to be disabled. Here are the instructions.

1. Turn machine on while pushing and holding the (+/-) menu buttons at same time.
2. Menu window will show "OKI USER"
3. Scroll to " Engine Dialog Mode" is indicated. Push Enter button.
4. "Diagnostic Mode xx.xx.xx S-Mode is indicated.
5. Press (- or +) button until (“ENGINE = PARAMETER SET 2”) is displayed.
6. Push Enter button
7. "TONER SENSOR = ENABLE" is displayed.
8. Push Enter button
9. Press (- or +) "TONER SENSOR = DISABLE" is displayed.
10. press "ON-LINE/CANCEL" buttons at same time.
11. (*) is displayed.
12. Restart Printer

Most reliable Oki Dot Matrix Printers

From our collective experience at STRS, our brand recommendation for Dot Matrix Printers is Okidata. We are very familiar with the full line of Oki and have repaired/refurbished countless of these printers. Heres the most popular and reliable equipment from this manufacturer that we sell:

For small duty cycles and for normal invoicing tasks, our customers have had great success with the Oki 320 Turbo Series (narrow carriage applications) and the Oki 321 Turbo Series (wide carriage applications). For heavier duty cycles and long report tasks, barcode printing as well as for car dealerships, we recommend the Okidata Pacemark 3410 Series. The heaviest duty printer Oki makes is the Okidata Pacemark 4410. These printers are tough as tanks and very fast at 300 lines per minute. You cant go wrong with Oki.