What causes a ghosted image on the printout?

Answer 1

When you get ghosted images on the printout of a laser printer this is caused by the failure of the cleaning stage of the printer. There are 4 stages to the laser printer process. Writing, Charging, Transferring and Cleaning.

Answer 2

Ghosting is a object that is repeated several times down the length of a page at even intervals. The repeated image appears as a light or dark area relative to the surrounding image. (Defined as slight images of previous print jobs that are embedded in newly printed pages.)

This occurs when a large black pattern is followed by a fine gray scale. The condition is caused by residual electrical charges left on the surface of the electro-photographic drum or a lack of toner in the developer region.

There can possibly be a problem with the toner cartridge needing cleaning, a problem with the power supply or bad drums.

The most common form of ghosting results from a developer condition known as developer starvation, which occurs when so much toner has been required to print the first image that the developer does not have enough time to pick up enough new toner and charge it sufficiently.