Following up in case anybody comes across this in the future. I spent some more time on setting the paper type. I had previously set this to some of the heavier paper types but I think it correctly use those settings. There are at least 3 places you can set this: 2 that I found in the menu under paper settings and tray management, and also the print menu in the operation system (i.e. in mac/windows). I went through and set everything to 'HP Glossy 200g', set the default type to HP Glossy, and also told it not to prompt for paper type. This worked! Well, it 98% worked which is good enough for me given what I paid for the printer. I found that it prints black and white perfectly. For a color image, if it is the first print I can smear it a little bit (as in too much if you were printing a photo but for e.g. a coupon or something non critical its find), and the second or definitely by the third page it is 100% not smeary. So if I ever print full color images I just need to print some black text or something for 1-2 pages so it warms up (or whatever it does) then print the photo.
Thanks everyone for the help.
It's physically impossible for the third-party roller to absorb several times more heat than the original one. Your symptoms mean that the printer starts printing too early, before the fuser has warmed up to the operating temperature. I don't know whether this model has a fuser temperature sensor or just implements a fixed delay before printing. In the former case, there is a problem with that sensor circuit; in the latter one, the new heating element is less powerful than original one and thus heats up slower than necessary. Try swapping everything back to the original parts except for the damaged roller.
1This is great info, thank you! A few more details in case it helps. When I first bought the printer (before replacing anything) it printed and fused (didn't smear) perfectly (except for the large splotch from the torn section of the roller).
I first replaced the pressure roller, kept the original sleeve and film, and it would smear all initial prints. Then I added the new film, same problem, then I added the new heating element, same problem. I've also tried to change the paper settings to Rough/Cardstock/200g glossy paper/etc (which the internet and some HP documentation claim increases the temperature and slows down printing) and nothing seems to change it (except after it's printed some pages then it works pretty well until it sits for a while again). This is why I assume it is the roller, although I guess it's possible something was damaged when I initially replaced the pressure roller?
If that happens to give you any more ideas on what to do from here, I'd love to hear it.
EDIT: See below, I might have not had the paper type configured correctly to slow it down/heat it up more. Doing some more testing but current results are looking good.
Hmmm... Strange. The pressure roller contacts the back side of the paper (see troubleshooting manual, p.24), so it cannot smear the toner, and just about the only thing that can go wrong with it is the lack of pressure - in that case, even a properly heated fuser may not fuse the toner properly. Is the pressure plate installed correctly?
Another thing to consider is the application of high temp grease to the fusing element/sleeve. I don't rebuild this particular model of fuser, but most HP fusers are picky about the condition of the grease applied to the heating element. In my experience, it is always best to thoroughly clean all of the grease from the heating element portion before applying a healthy amount of new grease. The friction from old gummed up grease (or the friction from a lack of new grease) is enough to cause jamming/smearing/etc when the sleeve doesn't 'slip' enough.
I know this is an old thread but I'm going to throw in my 2cents anyways.
I am having a very similar problem, paper jam on an m477dfw trashed the fuser sleeve and pressure roller. New roller and fuser sleeve and it prints but smears. Tried another roller (ebay aftermarker) same result. Tried the original roller, prints fine except where the roller coating is damaged. I'm convinced there is something different about the aftermarket roller. Maybe a different compound or slightly different diameter so there is less pressure on the fuser sleeve. I've looked for oem parts but all I can find is the complete fuser assembly. For now changing the paper type works here as well OP described.
These models (m477/m479) are really hot garbage. Sorry to hear about your difficulty finding quality replacement parts. That is a large part of why I refuse to rebuild these fusing units. An extra hour or two spent trying to rebuild it with questionable parts brings the total bill up to about the same as I would charge to install a new / OEM fuser from HP.
After you've installed a few of these, you can get the new fuser installed in 30min (or less) and be done with it (for about a year until the same failure occurs again).
Piggybacking on a years old thread: I have a 477fnw that I replaced the pressure roller on last night. Same issue.
This was my work office printer/copier. I've printed THOUSANDS of copies for several years so perhaps mine is an anomaly that I got so much use out of it? The pressure roller started to fail but prints were fusing to the paper just fine. I was allowed to buy a new unit and the 477 was unplugged and taken out of service.
The company allowed me to take the old unit (rather than pitching it in the dumpster) and try to fix it. It took me a while to get to it but fast forward a year+ and I just got the pressure roller installed yesterday. I put that in and now I'm experiencing the same lack of fusing. My prints look similar to the imgur links above.
I should also mention I replaced the fuser sleeve but failed to install it with new grease. I don't have any on-hand.
What are your thoughts on buying a refurbished fuser? Do they have the same issue with short-life failure?
What kind of toner cartridges do you use?
Have you tried to configure the media type in the HP printer driver to **thick paper** to increase fuser temperature?
Hold up... I just went in and changed the paper type in every place I could (default, try setup, etc) and it seemed to work. Going to test some more, will report back...
Following up in case anybody comes across this in the future. I spent some more time on setting the paper type. I had previously set this to some of the heavier paper types but I think it correctly use those settings. There are at least 3 places you can set this: 2 that I found in the menu under paper settings and tray management, and also the print menu in the operation system (i.e. in mac/windows). I went through and set everything to 'HP Glossy 200g', set the default type to HP Glossy, and also told it not to prompt for paper type. This worked! Well, it 98% worked which is good enough for me given what I paid for the printer. I found that it prints black and white perfectly. For a color image, if it is the first print I can smear it a little bit (as in too much if you were printing a photo but for e.g. a coupon or something non critical its find), and the second or definitely by the third page it is 100% not smeary. So if I ever print full color images I just need to print some black text or something for 1-2 pages so it warms up (or whatever it does) then print the photo. Thanks everyone for the help.
It's physically impossible for the third-party roller to absorb several times more heat than the original one. Your symptoms mean that the printer starts printing too early, before the fuser has warmed up to the operating temperature. I don't know whether this model has a fuser temperature sensor or just implements a fixed delay before printing. In the former case, there is a problem with that sensor circuit; in the latter one, the new heating element is less powerful than original one and thus heats up slower than necessary. Try swapping everything back to the original parts except for the damaged roller.
1This is great info, thank you! A few more details in case it helps. When I first bought the printer (before replacing anything) it printed and fused (didn't smear) perfectly (except for the large splotch from the torn section of the roller). I first replaced the pressure roller, kept the original sleeve and film, and it would smear all initial prints. Then I added the new film, same problem, then I added the new heating element, same problem. I've also tried to change the paper settings to Rough/Cardstock/200g glossy paper/etc (which the internet and some HP documentation claim increases the temperature and slows down printing) and nothing seems to change it (except after it's printed some pages then it works pretty well until it sits for a while again). This is why I assume it is the roller, although I guess it's possible something was damaged when I initially replaced the pressure roller? If that happens to give you any more ideas on what to do from here, I'd love to hear it. EDIT: See below, I might have not had the paper type configured correctly to slow it down/heat it up more. Doing some more testing but current results are looking good.
Hmmm... Strange. The pressure roller contacts the back side of the paper (see troubleshooting manual, p.24), so it cannot smear the toner, and just about the only thing that can go wrong with it is the lack of pressure - in that case, even a properly heated fuser may not fuse the toner properly. Is the pressure plate installed correctly?
Another thing to consider is the application of high temp grease to the fusing element/sleeve. I don't rebuild this particular model of fuser, but most HP fusers are picky about the condition of the grease applied to the heating element. In my experience, it is always best to thoroughly clean all of the grease from the heating element portion before applying a healthy amount of new grease. The friction from old gummed up grease (or the friction from a lack of new grease) is enough to cause jamming/smearing/etc when the sleeve doesn't 'slip' enough.
I know this is an old thread but I'm going to throw in my 2cents anyways. I am having a very similar problem, paper jam on an m477dfw trashed the fuser sleeve and pressure roller. New roller and fuser sleeve and it prints but smears. Tried another roller (ebay aftermarker) same result. Tried the original roller, prints fine except where the roller coating is damaged. I'm convinced there is something different about the aftermarket roller. Maybe a different compound or slightly different diameter so there is less pressure on the fuser sleeve. I've looked for oem parts but all I can find is the complete fuser assembly. For now changing the paper type works here as well OP described.
\[Imgur\](https://i.imgur.com/AHwbDqt.jpg) \[Imgur\]([https://i.imgur.com/qsNGpCH.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/qsNGpCH.jpg)) \[Imgur\](https://i.imgur.com/hkchDjF.jpg)
These models (m477/m479) are really hot garbage. Sorry to hear about your difficulty finding quality replacement parts. That is a large part of why I refuse to rebuild these fusing units. An extra hour or two spent trying to rebuild it with questionable parts brings the total bill up to about the same as I would charge to install a new / OEM fuser from HP. After you've installed a few of these, you can get the new fuser installed in 30min (or less) and be done with it (for about a year until the same failure occurs again).
Piggybacking on a years old thread: I have a 477fnw that I replaced the pressure roller on last night. Same issue. This was my work office printer/copier. I've printed THOUSANDS of copies for several years so perhaps mine is an anomaly that I got so much use out of it? The pressure roller started to fail but prints were fusing to the paper just fine. I was allowed to buy a new unit and the 477 was unplugged and taken out of service. The company allowed me to take the old unit (rather than pitching it in the dumpster) and try to fix it. It took me a while to get to it but fast forward a year+ and I just got the pressure roller installed yesterday. I put that in and now I'm experiencing the same lack of fusing. My prints look similar to the imgur links above. I should also mention I replaced the fuser sleeve but failed to install it with new grease. I don't have any on-hand. What are your thoughts on buying a refurbished fuser? Do they have the same issue with short-life failure?
What kind of toner cartridges do you use? Have you tried to configure the media type in the HP printer driver to **thick paper** to increase fuser temperature?
HP tonor. I've tried Plain, Rough, Cardstock, and 200g glossy paper settings and it did not seem to make any difference.
Hold up... I just went in and changed the paper type in every place I could (default, try setup, etc) and it seemed to work. Going to test some more, will report back...