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The following question was marked as opinion based. As a result, it was closed and the author deleted the post before I could even give a factual answer.

https://superuser.com/questions/1866778/can-someone-identify-potential-issues-with-my-hp-laserjet-pro-m402dn-printer

They give a photo which clearly shows that ink is not transferred to the paper, which means that the fuser doesn't get warm enough to burn the ink onto the paper.

Some people may mistaken the fuser for the drum and therefore say that it is clean, but the photo of the print itself tells the whole story already.

And if it were the drum, then the printer would have ink spots at the same places throughout the print.

So: too much ink, drum, too little, fuser.

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  • Also, third party cart, not initially mentioned on the question. Self deletion aside, I mean we could reopen and close with a more correct close reason? Commented Dec 21, 2024 at 0:46
  • @JourneymanGeek what do you mean? I mean, if we're going to reopen it to close it again, there's no point. What is incorrect again? Commented Dec 21, 2024 at 0:47
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    The question had/has insufficient information to answer Commented Dec 21, 2024 at 0:49
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    @JourneymanGeek I disagree with that assessment, based on the photo clearly showing everything one needs to know to answer it. The question basically is: my printer does this. Why? They did come up with a possible reason: the cheaper toner, but they did provide a clear image that shows the problem very clearly with enough details to answer it without question, I think. Commented Dec 21, 2024 at 0:52
  • Actually, I looked at the first version of that question, and they stated that it printed the first few pages fine. Cheap ink can also cause this. I guess the question was vandalised by the edits. Commented Dec 21, 2024 at 0:55
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    @LPChip - They bought a used cartridge for the used printer. This information was not included in the question. Furthermore, they asked if they should purchase a new one, but we can't tell them whether a new cartridge would solve the problem. Commented Dec 21, 2024 at 6:27
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    @Ramhound yes, that information was in the very first verison of the post, it got edited out and then edited back in with different and confusing words. Or rather, it was a new cardridge but one from a factory that creates cheap knockoffs. Commented Dec 21, 2024 at 10:23
  • @LPChip - It actually wasn’t in the first revision here it was only in a comment. It was only in the revision prior to the question being deleted Commented Dec 21, 2024 at 15:18
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    @Ramhound first line literally says: " and a new printer cartridge" Commented Dec 21, 2024 at 16:18
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    @LPChip - The “new cartridge” was one of those “new” used refurbished cartridges. That fact was only shared in a comment, only discovered because I asked, if the cartridge is new why do you suspect replacing it would change the behavior Commented Dec 21, 2024 at 16:20
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    @Ramhound ah. The question was closed already and all comments were deleted when I first saw it. Commented Dec 21, 2024 at 16:22
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    @LPChip - So the question was, “I purchased a refurbished cartridge, my printer isn’t working m, would replacing it solve my problem”. Now if the problem is the cartridge we can’t say for sure, unless someone knows it can’t be caused by the cartridge I suppose, but my suggestion was simply return these used products as not functioning properly. Commented Dec 21, 2024 at 16:27

2 Answers 2

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It's unfortunately characteristic of this site and it's siblings, that questions are closed because a couple of people don't know the answer.

It's not entirely unreasonable, for two reasons: (1) this is a user driven community, and hence driven by both the knowledge and the ignorance of the community, and (2), the community gets to limit the subject matter to whatever narrow subset the regular contributors wish to answer, even if that is based on ignorance.

I think that a reasonable change would be to request re-opening with an answer, rather than requiring an edit.

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  • Upvoted for your first sentence, which is especially true for SU based on my years of experience with it and why I always prefer SO nowadays, but the second paragraph is patent myopia, and that's the politest way I can put it. Just because a question is not currently answerable (or Googlable, because that's the extent of expertise for most on SU) by the most active answerers doesn't preclude it from being found later through Google and answered by an actual subject expert, and it's about the dumbest reason to close a question I've ever heard. Commented Jan 3, 2025 at 17:30
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I can't see the deleted post, but printers are relatively simple mechanical devices.

IF toner is not on the drum THEN
   check that there is toner
   fuser is getting hot enough
   drum is not worn out
   drum is not covered in lost paper or similar

etc etc, work backward.

These are not opinions, these are simple problem-solving suggestions and eliminating possibilities. As such it is more likely a duplicate than an opinion.

Another possibility is OP solved their own problem and was too embarrassed to share that the cartridge still had a shipping seal in place or that it was a remanufactured cart..

If there's no dupe, it was eminently answerable based on your description and I'd try an answer.

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    The question was significantly void of information. The author purchased a used cartridge but failed to mention that in the question body. Commented Dec 21, 2024 at 6:29
  • @Ramhound okay thanks I was not aware. Yes that would absolutely be a significant fact worth editing into the question. And... who would bother buying or selling a used toner cartridge? Remans are quite cheap, and I've frequently found the consumable I need on our local ebay (trademe) even as new-old stock. Commented Dec 21, 2024 at 12:10

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