How to Clean Hewlett Packard Laserjet Printers

By Bruce Santucci

  • Overview

    The HP Laserjet Series of printers has long been considered the best and most reliable laser printers sold on the market. Unfortunately, those who purchase and install the printers often just take them out of the box, plug them in, learn the basic settings, check to see if they print correctly and then walk away.

    • Step 1

      Find the HP Cleaning Utility cd that came packaged with your printer. If you have misplaced the cd or you don't have one, go to the Hewlett Packard website and download the correct cleaning utility for your specific printer. The HP LaserJet Cleaning Utility removes paper and toner specks that often collect on the fusing assembly rollers. The buildup of toner and paper dust can lead to deposits and other spots on the fronts and backs of printouts. Running the HP LaserJet Cleaning Utility every two weeks or once a month will help the fuser last much longer and minimize the need for service.

    • Step 2

      Install the HP LaserJet Cleaning Utility by copying all the files in the utility to your Laserjet folder. The HP LaserJet Cleaning Utility may be copied and distributed only to users of an HP LaserJet Printers. All files on the disk must be copied without modification. All files of the cleaning utility must be distributed together. The HP LaserJet Cleaning Utility may not be distributed for profit.

    • Step 3

      Open the folder and double click the "Hppclean.exe" file name. The cleaning utility main screen should appear on your screen. To begin the cleaning process, click "Clean" from the command bar. The Print screen will now appear.

    • Step 4

      Identify and choose your specific printer for cleaning in the Print Screen. Click "OK." If you cannot find a printer on this screen, close the HP LaserJet Cleaning Utility, go to your control panel in MS windows and choose "Printers and Hardware." Set your printer as the Default Printer and then restart the HP LaserJet Cleaning Utility feature.

    • Step 5

      Go back to the Print screen and enter the number of cleaning pages you will need. Three copies are usual. Very dirty printers may need six to twenty pages to completely clean the fuser. Hit "OK" from the Print screen to start the first cleaning pass.

    • Step 6

      Each page coming out from the printer into the output tray will have a black stripe. When the last sheet is finished, take the sheets and put them black stripe down in tray1 to feed back into the printer. Press "OK" on the dialog screen to continue. Cleaning will begin. When all the pages are finished, throw the sheets away and press "Exit" on the main utility screen. You can cancel the utility at any time by clicking the "Cancel" button or the "X" in the upper right corner of each screen. If you need to check which version of the cleaning utility you are using, just click the "Help" button.
    • Skill: Moderately Easy
    • Ingredients:
    • Hewlett Packard Laserjet Printer
    • Hewlett Packard Cleaning Utility Software CD
    • Tip: Keep your fuser and copies clean by running the HP LaserJet Cleaning Utility whenever the print cartridge is changed or when random spots begin to appear on printouts.
    • Tip: Three to four cleaning pages are recommended for the HP LaserJet 5L,6P and 6L series printer and six to seven pages for the HP LaserJet 5P series of printers.
    • Tip: If the Tray1 light flashes, press the "Go" button on the front panel.
    • Tip: The Paper Input Bin or the Single Sheet Slot can be used for feeding paper in the first and second passes.
    • Tip: In the 5L and 6L HP Printer Series, put the cleaning sheets in the paper bin/slot with the cleaning stripes facing the rear of the printer.
    • Tip: In the 5L and 6L printers, if the data light in the middle starts flashing, press the "Front Panel" button, or click on the "Resume" button in the main screen window to continue cleaning.
    • Tip: Three cleaning pages are recommended for the HP LaserJet 5 series printer.
    • Tip: The Laserjet 5Si has a reputation of getting really dirty so only use 12 cleaning copies. Also, with the 5Si Laserjet, put the cleaning sheets in Tray 1 CLEANING STRIPE side up as toner build up is normally on the upper roller rather than the lower roller.
    • Tip: If you want to clean the whole width of the fuser rollers, select "Landscape" orientation for letter/A4 paper.
    • Tip: The HP LaserJet Cleaning Utility can also be run on a networked HP LaserJet series printer.

    Trending Now

    © Demand Media 2011