Failure of OPC Drums

 

Impact damage

Mechanical damage

Reason of damage: Mechanical defect during transport, service or handling.
Appearance: Dings or holes causing print defects.

Contamination of drum surface

Reason of damage: Contamination with fingerprints, adhesives (label printing), molted toner particles (toner quality) etc.
Appearance: Filming, discoloration.

Damage of drum surface by solvents, oil, fingerprints and skin protection grease

Reason of damage: Contamination of the photoconductive layer by lubrication grease, oil, cleaning solvents or skin protection grease during storage, handling and installation of the OPC drum. This type of materials as well as chemicals evaporating from components of the copier, printer or cartridge (e.g. PCRs, cleaning blades, etc.) will create cracks of the OPC layer during further storage.
Appearance: Irregular thin black lines on prints.

 

Wear

Decrease of thickness of the photoconductive layer

Reason of damage: Abrasion of the photoconductive layer caused by the copier or printer design, supplies materials and OPC properties.

Appearance: Circumferential lines or scratches on the layer, which causes in extreme cases lines or background on prints.

 

Environmental conditions

Change of electrical performance of OPC

Reason of damage:
Chemical reaction indicated by:
– chemical vapors,
– extreme temperature and humidity conditions
– exposure to bright light

Appearance: Filming, discoloration of OPC layer. Poor or uneven print density. Blurred print image.