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Vipin Shah

Q: Laserwriter 8500 Toner too Faint

I have been happily using LW 8500 with my IMAC thru Ethernet. I have just changed the toner cartridge and the printouts are very faint. What do I do about improving the image quality to make it darker?
In the old days under MACOS9, I used to be able to access the Laserwriter 8500 using APPLE PRINTER UTILITY and increase/decrease the image darkness - how do I do this on MACOS10.5?
Thank you

IMAC G5 INTEL, Mac OS X (10.5.5)

Posted on Nov 18, 2008 1:14 AM

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Q: Laserwriter 8500 Toner too Faint

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  • by adsfushi72,

    adsfushi72 adsfushi72 Dec 20, 2008 12:10 PM in response to Vipin Shah
    Level 4 (1,115 points)
    Dec 20, 2008 12:10 PM in response to Vipin Shah
    I'm not sure about the LaserWriter, but I know that on the ImageWriter II, you can adjust a lever to control the darkness. Could there be something similar for the LaserWriter?
  • by Pmgrnvl,

    Pmgrnvl Pmgrnvl Jan 9, 2009 1:56 PM in response to Vipin Shah
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Jan 9, 2009 1:56 PM in response to Vipin Shah
    If the new toner is very faint, and the old one wasn't prior to running out, then the new toner cartridge is likely defective. I'd send it back.

    As for the adjustment, using the Apple Printer Utility under Classic or an old OS 9 machine is the best way to totally control that printer. I think you will need that to accomplish any changes. I keep an old OS 9 machine around just for that purpose; or if you have 10.4 on a PPC Mac, load up classic.

    Pete
  • by Judy,

    Judy Judy Feb 12, 2009 2:33 PM in response to Vipin Shah
    Level 4 (2,259 points)
    Safari
    Feb 12, 2009 2:33 PM in response to Vipin Shah
    I am curious where you get a new toner cartridge. What brand and model work with the LaserWriter 8500? I will be needing one soon.
  • by Stuart Hazeldine,

    Stuart Hazeldine Stuart Hazeldine Feb 16, 2009 9:36 AM in response to Judy
    Level 3 (600 points)
    Feb 16, 2009 9:36 AM in response to Judy
    You can use the Apple brand (M5893G/A)
    IBM Infoprint 20 (90H0748)
    Xante Elite XL
  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Feb 16, 2009 10:26 AM in response to Stuart Hazeldine
    Level 9 (61,292 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 16, 2009 10:26 AM in response to Stuart Hazeldine
    These printers were based on the same "Marking Engine"

    Some (maybe all) printers based on the Xerox/Fuji P880/Apple Lw8500 engine:
    Apple LaserWriter 8500
    IBM 4320
    IBM Infoprint 20
    Newgen Sys Laserimage 1200
    Newgen Sys Laserimage 1200nx
    Newgen Sys Laserimage 1200nx
    Xante Corp Accel-A-Writer 3 DN
    Xante Corp Accel-A-Writer 3 G
    Xante Corp Accel-A-Writer 3 N
    Xante Corp Platemaker 3
    Xante Corp ScreenWriter 3
    Xerox P880 Engine


    according to this site:

    http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/reference/pcr/engine/1947
  • by Judy,

    Judy Judy Feb 18, 2009 7:20 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Level 4 (2,259 points)
    Safari
    Feb 18, 2009 7:20 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    And I can search for them, true.
    And I have.
    And I get sites that may refill or sell refurbished cartridges

    But how do I know how reliable these sources are?
    I'd like to know if anyone has any current info and/or first-hand experience.