bizzybody
asked Feb 22, 2011 at 3:52am
HP Color LaserJet 2500
Cleaning a CLJ 2500 without the toolbox software.
The original CD-ROM for the HP Color Laserjet 2500 contains "toolbox" software for checking the status of the printer, doing some basic diagnostics, updating the firmware, and running the printer's self cleaning process. (It stopped the horizontal streaking on mine!)
Problem is, the only way to get that Toolbox and status software is off an original HP CD-ROM. Only some updates for it can be downloaded from HP.
Also on the CD-ROM, uncompressed and ready to use, are the PRN files the Toolbox uses for calibration, cleaning and diagnostics, plus a couple of demo pages for wasting toner.
It's easy to use those to run the cleaning without having the Toolbox.
If the printer is connected by parallel port, enter this command from a command prompt. If your printer is on a different port number, change that part.
copy cleaning_page.prn /B LPT1
Remove all paper from the printer then place the printed page face down in tray 1 with the arrow pointed toward the printer.
Now enter this command.
copy clean_mode_page.prn /B LPT1
If the printer is connected to a USB port or a LAN, you must first share the printer from the computer you'll send the cleaning commands from. If you don't share the printer, the commands will return a network path not found error.
Open a command prompt and enter this. (Change HPColorL to your printer's share name.)
copy cleaning_page.prn /B \\\\127.0.0.1\\HPColorL
Remove all paper from the printer then place the printed page face down in tray 1 with the arrow pointed toward the printer.
Now enter this. (Change HPColorL to your printer's share name.)
copy clean_mode_page.prn /B \\\\127.0.0.1\\HPColorL
The printer will make a periodic loud banging noise for a while, then the page will come out the top, face down, with a heavy buildup of toner on the black diagonal stripe. Apparently there's a special path used for this process because normally the upper face of the paper is what gets printed.
I made a couple of batch files with instructions and the commands. If you want those and the PRN files (but not the demo ones) I can e-mail them in a zip file. I don't know if they'll work with anything other than the Color LaserJet 2500 series.
It's also possible to create a standalone installer from the original CD-ROM which only contains the Toolbox and Status software. I did that for English only, with support for Win9x through XP and all variants of the CLJ 2500. All that is 18.1 megabytes. I don't know how much smaller it would be if only support for a single Windows version and single version of the printer were included. Would be nice if HP would pack this up with everything and put it on their support site!
Problem is, the only way to get that Toolbox and status software is off an original HP CD-ROM. Only some updates for it can be downloaded from HP.
Also on the CD-ROM, uncompressed and ready to use, are the PRN files the Toolbox uses for calibration, cleaning and diagnostics, plus a couple of demo pages for wasting toner.
It's easy to use those to run the cleaning without having the Toolbox.
If the printer is connected by parallel port, enter this command from a command prompt. If your printer is on a different port number, change that part.
copy cleaning_page.prn /B LPT1
Remove all paper from the printer then place the printed page face down in tray 1 with the arrow pointed toward the printer.
Now enter this command.
copy clean_mode_page.prn /B LPT1
If the printer is connected to a USB port or a LAN, you must first share the printer from the computer you'll send the cleaning commands from. If you don't share the printer, the commands will return a network path not found error.
Open a command prompt and enter this. (Change HPColorL to your printer's share name.)
copy cleaning_page.prn /B \\\\127.0.0.1\\HPColorL
Remove all paper from the printer then place the printed page face down in tray 1 with the arrow pointed toward the printer.
Now enter this. (Change HPColorL to your printer's share name.)
copy clean_mode_page.prn /B \\\\127.0.0.1\\HPColorL
The printer will make a periodic loud banging noise for a while, then the page will come out the top, face down, with a heavy buildup of toner on the black diagonal stripe. Apparently there's a special path used for this process because normally the upper face of the paper is what gets printed.
I made a couple of batch files with instructions and the commands. If you want those and the PRN files (but not the demo ones) I can e-mail them in a zip file. I don't know if they'll work with anything other than the Color LaserJet 2500 series.
It's also possible to create a standalone installer from the original CD-ROM which only contains the Toolbox and Status software. I did that for English only, with support for Win9x through XP and all variants of the CLJ 2500. All that is 18.1 megabytes. I don't know how much smaller it would be if only support for a single Windows version and single version of the printer were included. Would be nice if HP would pack this up with everything and put it on their support site!
Hi.
Thank you for sharing.
I tried but can not use your advice since my system does not have that "cleaning_page.prn" file (this is what it says when I try to execute the command).
Could you please tell where to get it from?
Thank you,
V.V.
Thank you for sharing.
I tried but can not use your advice since my system does not have that "cleaning_page.prn" file (this is what it says when I try to execute the command).
Could you please tell where to get it from?
Thank you,
V.V.
E-mail me at [email protected] and I'll send you the files.
Hi bizzybody, I would like to clean my HP clj 2500n but I neither have a CD with a toolbox nor those prn files you suggested to use. Could you please be so kind and upload the files and post a link in this thread. I have already tried it with a 2550 toolbox on XP Mode but my printer is not recognized.
thanks in advance, kind regards gerul
thanks in advance, kind regards gerul
I've sent this to several people, around five or six just in the past week. Gone to people in many countries, there's a lot of these printers still in use.
http://www.axifile.com/en/78914D7FA7 PRNFiles.zip
http://www.axifile.com/en/78914D7FA7 PRNFiles.zip
Hi bizzybody, thanks a lot for the prn-files. I was able to print the cleaning page using your instruction. The printing results are much better now. Unfortunately I still have some black shadows recurring every three inches. Since the black toner is new and the drum unit lasts for another 5.000 pages (about 2.500 pages have already been printed with this drum) it looks like the fuser unit has to be changed (after aproximately 63.000 pages). Any other ideas? kind regards, gerul
Just wanted to thank you for this, sir. My computer is hooked to a Linux server and I have basically only Linux computers in the household (or at least no desire to chase down a no-doubt gigabytes HP printer driver disc and install it somewhere). This did the trick.
While the original page that's printed is apparently a special image (and I think that printed page is used to try to get the excess toner to stick to it), it appears that the real meat of it is the PJL code in the next file:
@PJL SET HOSTCLEANINGPAGE=ON
...this appears to cause it to work its magic. Pretty neat, and thanks again!
While the original page that's printed is apparently a special image (and I think that printed page is used to try to get the excess toner to stick to it), it appears that the real meat of it is the PJL code in the next file:
@PJL SET HOSTCLEANINGPAGE=ON
...this appears to cause it to work its magic. Pretty neat, and thanks again!
What would be nice to see are these cleaning files collected for every HP printer that had them on their original software discs, which is apparently the only place to get them.
What would be extra nifty is a cross platform program with a GUI that can detect the printer, where/how it's connected and send the matching files to do the cleaning.
What would be extra nifty is a cross platform program with a GUI that can detect the printer, where/how it's connected and send the matching files to do the cleaning.
I would love to use this fix. I've downloaded the files, but I still get the same response The System cannot find the file specified.
Couple of questions:
Where should I install the files specifically or how do I change the file location syntax in my command to the direct location I've installed them in?
If my printer is connected directly via USB port, how can I determine what the system name is for it?
Thank you for the help! I've had this printer for ten years and I don't want to change it out for a few more years. It still works great - just needs cleaning and with no support for Windows 7... well, here I am.
Couple of questions:
Where should I install the files specifically or how do I change the file location syntax in my command to the direct location I've installed them in?
If my printer is connected directly via USB port, how can I determine what the system name is for it?
Thank you for the help! I've had this printer for ten years and I don't want to change it out for a few more years. It still works great - just needs cleaning and with no support for Windows 7... well, here I am.
When you share a printer, you give it a name, use no spaces. That's what you put in place of HPColorL
You can do the copy command from anywhere, just open a command prompt and go to the folder. For example, unzip it to C: using the archive name as the folder name.
From run on the start menu, enter CMD and click OK. Next in the prompt, enter cd\\prnfiles and you're ready to send the prn files to the printer.
You can do the copy command from anywhere, just open a command prompt and go to the folder. For example, unzip it to C: using the archive name as the folder name.
From run on the start menu, enter CMD and click OK. Next in the prompt, enter cd\\prnfiles and you're ready to send the prn files to the printer.
Hmmm... thank you for the tips !!
I can send the data to the printer, but the output is only a page with the following text :
PCL XL error
Subsystem : KERNEL
Error : MissingAtrribute
Operator : BeginPage
Position 3
Any ideas ?
This is what I did :
copy /b \\\\127.0.0.1\\2550PS
I can send the data to the printer, but the output is only a page with the following text :
PCL XL error
Subsystem : KERNEL
Error : MissingAtrribute
Operator : BeginPage
Position 3
Any ideas ?
This is what I did :
copy /b \\\\127.0.0.1\\2550PS
See the first post, you left out the name of the file to send to the printer.
(Have a 2550n printing a vertical line with windows 8 and therefore no toolbox)
downloaded the files and moved the cleaning_page.prn & clean_mode_page.prn to my user file. users\\carol\\clean...
IN DOS: c:\\users\\carol>copy clean_page.prn /b dot4_002 (which I think is the share name of the printer: got it from after WHERE when I go to the top left FILE/PRINT)
but, when I do the copy in dos, it just makes another copy in the carol\\user file with the name dot4_002
downloaded the files and moved the cleaning_page.prn & clean_mode_page.prn to my user file. users\\carol\\clean...
IN DOS: c:\\users\\carol>copy clean_page.prn /b dot4_002 (which I think is the share name of the printer: got it from after WHERE when I go to the top left FILE/PRINT)
but, when I do the copy in dos, it just makes another copy in the carol\\user file with the name dot4_002
The chances of a cleaning page rectifying your problem are exactly zero.
From the description, I would say you have a defective drum wiper blade in your imaging unit. Open the lid and pull it out and look at the surface of the drum. You will undoubtedly see the line in the area it is printing on the page. You will have to replace the imaging unit.
From the description, I would say you have a defective drum wiper blade in your imaging unit. Open the lid and pull it out and look at the surface of the drum. You will undoubtedly see the line in the area it is printing on the page. You will have to replace the imaging unit.
Hi again Moe. thanks for responding.
do you mean the green roller in the imaging drum? there are two beige stripes on either side but they are outside of the dimensions of the paper. plus, the vertical line is only on the left side about 3" in.
what is the wiper blade and can I see it without dismantling the drum and perhaps clean it? it is worth a shot as a new drum is $250. !!!
do you mean the green roller in the imaging drum? there are two beige stripes on either side but they are outside of the dimensions of the paper. plus, the vertical line is only on the left side about 3" in.
what is the wiper blade and can I see it without dismantling the drum and perhaps clean it? it is worth a shot as a new drum is $250. !!!
I have attempted this on Windows 7. I shared my printer as I am connected via USB and I can watch the printer queue and see a document appear after running the first command but it goes away almost instantly and nothing gets printed.
Any other suggestions? I am using the PCL 6 drivers from HP.
Any other suggestions? I am using the PCL 6 drivers from HP.
New upload location for the cleaning files. https://mega.nz/#!ihgWVYgb
This works. https://mega.nz/#!XoIBRYSa!JrqhLphgLYkV23A8pTIIxqUI4hdwF_Iqcuao61Cbw4o Clicking "link without key" does not link it WITHOUT REQUIRING a decryption key. Silly people running Mega. :P - bizzybody
Just found this and the files thanks. I see a Linux user did it but if anyone knows how I'd like to learn as I have an iMac that needs it.
Took me quite some time to find the proper command on Linux, so here it is (so simple when you know...)
lp cleaning_page.prn -d hp_color_LaserJet_2500 (change the name of the printer if needed)
lp clean_mode_page.prn -d hp_color_LaserJet_2500 (change the name of the printer if needed)
Thanks a lot for the files bizzybody!! :)) https://mega.nz/#!XoIBRYSa!JrqhLphgLYkV23A8pTIIxqUI4hdwF_Iqcuao61Cbw4o
Please tell me what is the ICL roller and where it is in HP LJ 2500
The ICL is the Intermediate Cleaning Roller and I believe its part of the Imaging Drum. Its referred to in the Service Manual but no image provided
Hi
I know this is an old post but my 2550n is still working fine except a clean would be useful. I have the toolbox and have downloaded the prn files but I cannot get your process to work. I've tried 20 different ways but it can't find the file 'The system cannot find the file specified' even though I am using the file path to the desktop where it is situated. I even tried >lpr but that didn't work it just produced the Options list.
