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Cleaning & Maintenance for the HP 4500 & 4550

A thorough cleaning of the HP ColorLaserJet 4500 or 4550 should probably be done once a year, or more frequently at high volume use. Most color laser printers are messy - they throw a lot of toner powder around inside a printer, and it can affect the optics, the sensors, and loose toner can get back onto the printed page again.

To do a good cleaning you should have a vacuum cleaner with a fine dust filter (a shop vac is good), at least six feet of hose and a brush attachment. A two-inch wide paintbrush would also be handy. It's not a good idea to blow compressed air into the printer as that will put toner into completely inaccessible areas. Remove all cartridges, drum unit, transfer kit and fuser (turn off and unplug printer first). The drum unit and transfer kit should be covered while out of the machine, as they are light sensitive. Not as sensitive as film, but prolonged exposure to light should be avoided. I usually put a cloth towel over them.

Start cleaning at the top, vacuum the empty toner position in the carousel. Brush areas where the vac head can't reach with the paintbrush, to get loose toner out. Use the carousel brake to rotate the carousel to the next position (the brake is a lever set in a small keyhole shaped hole to the right of the cartridge door on top of the printer, push a small flat screwdriver or similar tool down the hole, depressing the lever, to manually rotate the carousel). While cleaning the carousel toner positions be on the lookout for extraneous objects. The springs for the flaps covering the cartridges fall off and sometimes get into other things. The color-defining plastic tabs on the cartridges fall or break off.

In the drum drawer, under where the drum sat, is a density sensor. There is a diagram there which explains how to clean it. There is a little brush specifically meant for that purpose in the opening for the middle drawer.. While there, a general cleaning would be a good thing. With the middle drawer pulled out the bottom of the printer become accessible. There is a foam roller there which needs to be replaced when the fuser is replaced. This roller contributes to image quality and needs to be cleaned frequently and replaced periodically. It should be cleaned with a dry cloth or paper towel, rubbing lightly and avoiding leaving lint behind. Behind the foam roller is an area designed to guide paper to the fuser. Just some black plastic with guide ribs on it. This is an area which can accumulate loose toner. It should be wiped down.

In the back, where the fuser was, a general cleaning is good. The fuser itself CAN be blown off, or brushed off. Also, inspect the condition of the fuser rollers. A worn fuser roller (the upper roller) will cause double images down the page because it will pick up excess toner from the page and then lay it down again. The teflon coating SHOULD NOT pick up toner, but when the coating is worn it does. A worn upper roller looks dirty and discolored. A good roller looks shiny and clean.

Pull out the paper drawer and vacuum it out with the brush attachment. The drawer tends to pick up a lot of paper dust. There is a gray rubber roller in the drawer itself, toward the front of the drawer. This is a separation roller and it should not feel smooth. It should have some texture on the surface. If it’s smooth it needs to be replaced. If you reach into the cavity where the paper drawer was, you can feel another roller. About the same size. This roller should also have a textured surface, like ripples or waves. Don’t remove this roller unless you plan to replace it. It can be tricky getting the roller back in. Both these rollers can be cleaned with a damp lint-free cloth.

Reassemble the printer, plug it in and test.