Tektronix Phaser waste cartridges

[e_dawg]

Does anyone know what a "waste cartridge" does and why you need to buy a new one? The group Tektronix 7700 refused to print so I look at its status panel. The "waste cartridge" needs to be replaced. So I pop the panel open and remove this thing, toner dust flying all over the floor after I tilt the thing accidentally.

Knowing that I can actually turn the cartridge upside down and empty it, what is the point of buying a new waste cartridge? Or do I have it totally bass ackwards? And why does the stupid printer not recognize that the cartridge is no longer full and refuse to let me print another page?

 

[Stereodude]

Check the manual. You can probably tell it you emptied it.

 

[i]

I'm just guessing here: perhaps there is a sensor that detects how full the cartridge is and it now has gunk all over it (a similar thing can happen with an HP DesignJet and its "drop detector" and "service station" assembly). Or perhaps it's one of those delightful cash-grabs, where a microprocessor inside the waste cartridge has given the game away. Your only choice may be to buy a new one.

But yes, Stereodude is correct. Try consulting your product manual first. If you don't have a copy anymore, Tektronix printers are common enough (or were common enough) I would have thought you could find a PDF version somewhere online.

 

[Mercutio]

The waste tray on the Phaser is part of a maintenence kit you're supposed to buy every 50k pages. There's a new tray and a couple sets of replacement rollers in the kit. The kits aren't cheap, but the kits are worthwhile for the new rollers regardless.

Your printer has a page counter that says "Buy a new kit" after x thousand pages, and now you are at that point.

 

[e_dawg]

Well I looked, but there is nothing that tells you how to tell the printer you changed the waste cartridge. There is a sensor for that, but it doesn't say where it is or how to reset it. The website does say to contact Xerox for repairs if you replaced the cartridge and it failed to sense it.

I know you're supposed to buy a new waste cartridge and other maintenance stuff, but the thing is that I don't have enough time to order the bloody thing. Nobody stocks the cartridge in the area, online ordering would take at least 2 days, and I need to print something and ship it out PDQ. I could go to a copy/print shop I guess, but if someone knew what the trick was (if any) to restore the printer to full functionality so as to buy me another day of printing while I meet immediate deadlines, it would be a whole lot easier, and I'd be grateful.