Drum/Toner: Now for the most exciting news we have ever reported on a toner cartridge in our nineyears of experience: We have been successfully using a drum coating in-house which has significantly improved the life of the OPC drum, while not affecting the print-quality or cartridge life. This coating is easily applied using cotton balls prior to each use and can preserve the OEM drum to the extent that it can be used for three or four uses (we have actually seen the OEM go six uses in house, but would not recommend pushing it that far in your customer's cartridges).

The Laser Group Drum Treatment (LGDT) has shown us that when used from day one on a long-life replacement drum, it can also significantly prolong its life, as well. The number of uses the LGDT treated long-life drum will go before wearing out increase by at least 25 - 50%. (Again, in the lab we have seen amazing increases in the longevity of long-life drums when using the LGDT.)

The only caveat we have at this point with regard to the Laser Group Drum Treatment is: DO NOT BE CHEAP! If you find you get one or two solid additional uses out of the OEM OPC or two to three additional uses out of a new, long-life OPC, be grateful. But, do not go overboard in your efforts to reduce the cost of the replacement drums. The only time you want your customer to come back is when the cartridge is empty and when they have a smile on their face from a good experience (NEVER SOONER). If your personal experience shows that a long-life drum can be used another two or three times, lean toward the more conservative second additional use rather than going for three additional uses. Keep in mind that even a single additional use of either the OEM or a long-life drum will significantly improve your profit margins.

Wiper Blade: Replacement wiper blades are now available for the EP-B/BX and they are quite easy to install (unlike the BX's little brother, the EP-L/LX). We recommend that you replace the wiper blade whenever you replace the BX drum (whether with a new long-life drum or a LGDT treated OEM drum). It is a cheap form of insurance.

Mag Roller Sleeves: Almost a day doesn't go by when we hear from yet another trainee who complains that, "We have done everything you recommended to the cartridge, replaced the drum, put in good, strong, graphics toner and the print is still light." When we ask them if they have replaced the mag roller sleeve, their answer invariably is, "No." As we found out over three years ago, the mag roller sleeve (especially in PCR-based cartridges) has a significant impact on the print quality and its performance diminishes over time. If you do not replace the mag roller sleeve with either a re-coated OEM mag roller sleeve or a new replacement sleeve, your cartridge will get lighter and lighter over time.

We still prefer the coated mag roller OEM sleeves (instead of the replacement sleeves), but either is a necessity. This single element will mean the difference between a good/mediocre cartridge and a great one.

Seals: For our money, the OEM-style, self-adhesive seals work extremely well and OEM-style seals are still the only seal available for the BX. (As we said before, if you are doing local pickup and delivery on the EP-B/BX, no seal is necessary. While your customer does expect a seal, this is a cartridge where the seal is expensive enough that a case could be made for not using a seal. We still recommend you put in the seal (as we do) since your customer expects to find some sort of seal in their cartridge).

(NOTE: If you use the OEM-style seal, make certain you remove the white nylon backing which is left in the cartridge from the original Canon seal. In addition, we have found some seals have a slit running down the center which is too narrow. Symptoms of problems associated with the seal in this cartridge are light print in the middle of the page.)

Drum Padding Powder: One of the interesting adjuncts to using the Laser Group Drum Treatment is the fact that the drum becomes so smooth, you no longer need to use drum padding powder. This fact, in and of itself, told us that we were truly on to something, since in the eight years we have been producing cartridges we have never been able to get away from the fact the the silicone wiper blade seems to invariably stick to the OPC drum if no padding powder is used. Using the LGDT, the drum becomes so smooth and friction-free, the wiper blade no longer binds against the outer surface of the OPC. Because the OPC is so smooth, it takes the cartridge from 1 - 5 test prints before the wiper blade seats firmly against the OPC. Bottom line? If you are using the Laser Group Drum Treatment (and we wholeheartedly recommend you do), skip the padding powder.

PCR: In this BX cartridge (and most of the PCR based cartridges) it is an absolute necessity to have the PCR recoated or replace it with a new PCR (we prefer the coated PCRs, not only because they are less expensive, but because we find the work as well, if not better than the more expensive new PCRs). After the coating has been stripped and replaced, you can reuse the PCR up to five times. Although the cartridge will work without a re-coated PCR, the performance of the cartridge can and frequently will drop off dramatically toward the end of the OEM PCR life.

- End -

PLEASE NOTE: We are always ready, willing and able to provide technical support to any of our trainees on any of the cartridges we have taught them to remanufacture. In order to make your interaction with tech support as productive and beneficial as possible, we make two assumptions: We assume that you have followed our procedures to the letter and used the supplies we recommended during the remanufacturing process. If a cartridge is remanufactured in a manner other than what we prescribe or with supplies other than the ones we recommend, the extent of our technical support can only be "generic" in nature, since we will have no firsthand experience with either the methods or supplies in question. In addition, we assume that you have already done your "swaps" (as outlined in the troubleshooting section for each cartridge) and that you will be able to answer questions based on the results of those swaps before you call and ask for help. We appreciate your understanding in this matter.

back to Tech - Support main page

© 2002 - The Laser Group - All rights reserved. Last update 05/08/02 08:48 AM EST.