Homebrew PCBs

At 08:31 PM 7/30/2006 +0000, you wrote:
>Anyone know anything about or have any experience with using a 
>"QMS magiccolor 2" color laser printer for Toner Transfer?

No. But I have experience with one of these for their 'normal'
purposes .. see below.

>Someone GAVE me one yesterday, and it does work for printing on
>regular paper (Printer Test Page) but for how long I don't know
>as it has a "replace fuser" message after the self test.

That's probably why they gave it to you. ;-) There's a page counter 
running on the fuser, and when it runs out the message appears. It does 
NOT indicate the fuser has or is going to fail alltogether .. just that 
for 'best' quality printing it should be replaced. Your prints will get
more and more faded-looking.

There's a tiny fuse in the fuser that opens (blows) when the fuser
unit is inserted into the printer. To get rid of the message, and 
reset the counter, that fuse can be replaced. Some on eBay sell the 
fuse .. a .25 cent part for about $10, with instructions on how to replace 
it (it's really simple). The fuse doesn't seem to be commonly available 
(and I don't remember the part number), and it's a really low-current 
fast-blo fuse (about 65mA, I think). It's not a fuse made only for 
Konica/Minolta, tho.

If your printing doesn't look 'faded' (assuming there's still toner 
in the cart(s)) the fuser may have some life left in it. I ran mine 
almost twice its 'expected' life with no problem (after replacing the fuse
to get rid of the message).  

There's a guy selling refurbish 'kits' for the fuser (just the
sensitized roller and a fuse) .. I think the ebay name is printerdoctor.
DON'T DO IT! His stuff is crap .. I tried it. The fuser worked WORSE
with his new roller than with the original worn Minolta roller.
(I shouldn't have been so surprised .. and disappointed). Don't buy his
toner refill, either .. will REALLY make a mess in your printer and 
doesn't print worth a damn, either. :( Another lesson learned the hard
way.

If you don't have it, the user manual is available as a PDF from
the Knoica/Minolta site.

>Anyone have any experiences with this printer ? Good or Bad, I'de
>like to hear them.

I love(d) mine (Magicolor 2300DL) .. but replacing four carts gets
really expensive (over $300 each time), and now I need to replace 
the fuser, too. If anyone knows of an aftermarket solution that works
I'd love to hear about it .. privately please, as it's off-topic here
(isn't it?). Thanks!

So, now I'm back to my old mono LJ and DeskJet for color. The 2300 is in
a closet until I get the nerve to either raid it for parts .. or toss it. 
What a pity, as it performed -really- well for me. Zero problems and
almost no paper jams .. the few that occured were my fault. I'm still trying 
to decide whether to get another color laser (cheaper than 4 carts and a
fuser for my 2300 .. you don't think this is by design, do you?? ;-) haha) 
.. but I really miss having one. I do a lot of graphic design and need one 
for that.

Good luck!!
Ron Yost