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Leaky toner

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PlainName:
Refurbing our HP4650, which is a decent enough printer but is picking up more than one sheet at a time. Anyway, in doing this it turns out half the toner cartridges are leaking toner, one badly enough to leave a streak down every page. Replacement seems to be the fix, but that leaves me with a cartridge with a significant amount of toner in. So...

Has anyone tried using toner as an enamel substitute? Obviously, it won't be very protective but wouldn't it make a nice thin, colourful layer if the toner was heated enough to melt? I was going to suggest PCB mask, but it's electrically conductive so probably not a good idea.

tooki:
It doesn’t adhere that well. I tried doing toner transfer to aluminum and it scrapes off when you look at it wrong. (I don’t know if it might do better on anodized aluminum, especially the type of anodizing that leaves a matte surface.)

I’ve also tried it as “ghetto silkscreen” on a home-etched PCB. It’s not resistant to many solvents (so cleaning the board may remove it) and it’s certainly not tolerant of soldering temperatures, making it completely useless as solder mask.

FYI, toner streaking is often due to the wiper blade in the toner cartridge drying up over time.

PlainName:
Apparently this model is notorious for it, particularly with third-party cartridges. Shame, because otherwise it's a quite decent printer (though I haven't dared check the standby power).


--- Quote ---I tried doing toner transfer to aluminum and it scrapes off when you look at it wrong
--- End quote ---

Oh well :) Although I was thinking more of heating it in situ so it would flow (and presumably lock into imperfections) which the usual toner transfer might not do.

Or I could just spread some on a T-shirt and hot wash for a tie-dye effect (the maintenance manual says clothing will be permanently marked if not cold washed).

tooki:
I really doubt you’ll get anything even remotely pleasant. You’ll just make a gigantic mess, potentially cause respiratory hazards, and contribute to microplastic pollution.

Just write it off and call it a loss.

Whales:
I've also tried toner on aluminium foil.  My issue was I was trying to print directly onto it, but it crumpled.

I've also transferred it to use as a silkscreen.  Mostly works, looks pretty, but easy to scratch off.

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