Any laser printer techs here?

[Skyzoomer]

I have a HP 3390 all in one laser printer. Feeding paper from the paper tray works fine but single sheet feeds via the slot in front produce a "No paper pickup" error.

When I insert the single sheet in the slot, the input rollers grab the paper and feed it in about 1/2 inch as it always did. But when it's time to print, the paper doesn't move and the "No paper pickup" error message is displayed on the printer's LCD.

Pressing the ENTER button feeds the single sheet to eject it but no printing occurs. Pressing the ENTER button again feeds a sheet from the paper tray and printing occurs normally.

Any ideas why only the single sheet feed gets the error message? What's different about the single sheet feed from the paper tray feed? They both use the same input rollers so it can't be the rollers.

Thanks,
Sky

 

[AE-Ruffy]

Have you tried the service manual?

What are the rules here for posting links? feedroller site(google) has the full service manual free.

In my experience, always suspect rollers(not just the initial feed rollers)

If it's not taking the paper(IE Not even trying) then it's usually a lever/switch sensor that's jammed, a opto sensor has a fleck of paper on it, or one roller is slipping causing the paper to be pulled in at an angle, Worst case is gears worn/damage causing the lift mechanism to do nothing

That being said,

 

[pcunite]

fixyourownprinter.com has some techs who frequent.

 

[Lemon law]

No laser will feed right with 15 bond paper, its why I use 25 pound bond.

 

[sufs]

My experience is entirely from larger printers, but your problems seems to come from a bad sensor. Check if there is a jammed lever in the single sheet tray, and clean all (if any) optical sensors.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

My experience is entirely from larger printers, but your problems seems to come from a bad sensor. Check if there is a jammed lever in the single sheet tray, and clean all (if any) optical sensors.

Probably. It wouldn't hurt to clean all the rollers you can reach with an alcohol wipe though.

 

[Skyzoomer]

AE-Ruffy, pcunite, Lemon law, sufs and dave the nerd,

I must apologize for not following up on my initial post. I had posted on the hp website also and stupidly, forgot that I had posted on this anandtech website. I actually found this thread again while searching again for an answer. I'm very sorry for being stupid.

To recap, printing from the paper feed tray works fine. Only printing from the single sheet feeder gets a "No paper pickup" error.

In the HP 3390 all-in-one laser printer:

When feeding paper from the paper tray:
..... The paper is picked up from the paper tray with large rollers at the front, goes upward and curls toward the back via the plastic stationary guides, effectively doing a 180 degree turn. The paper is now heading toward the back of the printer. It presses on a micro-switch (*1) and then feeds through smaller diameter rollers (*2) which push the paper through the toner print path and then the paper feeds through the rest of the print path.

When feeding paper from the single sheet feeder:
..... When a sheet of paper is inserted via the front slot, the paper presses on the *1 micro-switch which tells the printer a single sheet has been inserted. The printer then turns the *2 feed rollers which pull the paper in about 1/2 inch (which is normal). Then the *2 feed rollers stop turning and the printer waits for a print command. When the PC sends the data to be printed, I can hear the motors turn on again but the single sheet is not fed and the "No paper pickup" message appears on the printer's LCD panel. The single sheet doesn't even move at all.

So, as you can see, the same *1 micro-switch and *2 feed rollers are used for both tray feed or single sheet feed. In single sheet feeding the *1 micro-switch does sense that a sheet of paper has been inserted since the *2 feed rollers do pull the paper in about 1/2 inch. Since the same *2 feed rollers are used as when feeding paper from the paper tray, it can't be the grabbing ability of the feed rollers.

I have applied rubber rejuvenator to all of the rollers. I did this once before about a year ago when I had feed problems and it corrected the feed problems so I know the rubber rejuvenator works. I don't see any sensors that could be causing the single sheet feed problem. Especially when I feed an envelope, only the center 4 inches of the paper path is used and I don't see any sensors anywhere within that 4 inch path.

I visited the feedroller website but they want $61.28 for a service manual.

Any other ideas will be much appreciated. I promise no to forget to revisit this website again.
Thanks!
Sky