If your Xiaomi printer starts to produce prints with vertical or horizontal stripes, the problem can be both mechanical malfunctions and software failures. Such defects not only spoil the appearance of documents or photos, but also signal possible serious damage in the future. In this article, we will discuss 7 key reasons why printers Xiaomi Mi Laser Printer, Xiaomi MiJia Photo Printer and other models of the series can “rinse”, and give step-by-step recommendations for their elimination – from basic cleaning to flashing the device.
It is important to understand that the nature of the strips (their direction, color, regularity) directly indicates the source of the problem. For example, vertical strips are more often associated with pollution or wear of the photo drum, and horizontal strips are more often associated with malfunctions of the transfer tape or development blocks. We will not limit ourselves to general tips like “check the cartridge” but instead offer diagnostic tests to accurately determine the culprit and repair methods available even without contacting the service center.
Dried or poor quality ink/toner
The most common cause of stripes on prints is consumable problems in Xiaomi inkjet printers (e.g. MiJia Photo Printer). 1S) Ink can dry in the head's duzes, and in the laser (Mi Laser Printer Pro) toner can be tracked or distributed unevenly, resulting in print passes that visually look like white or colored stripes.
How to check:
- 🔍 Visual inspection: Take out the cartridge and check if it's got toner drips or dried ink lumps. In inkjet models, check the nozzles of the head -- they should be clean, without crust.
- 🖨️ Test Printing: Run the test page print through the printer menu (Settings) → Service → If you see the gaps, the problem is the consumables.
- 📦 Originality Check: Do you use original Xiaomi cartridges or compatible? The latter often cause stripes due to poor quality powder.
Decisions:
- 🧹 Cleaning the head: In inkjet printers, run the cleaning function through the software (control panel) → Service → Clean the head. Repeat 2-3 times if the stripes are left.
- 🔄 Cartridge replacement: If the toner is sticking or the ink is dry, only replacement will help. Xiaomi laser printers are suitable for cartridges MLT-D105S (black MLT-C106S (coloured).
- ⚠️ Shake toner: Carefully shake the cartridge from side to side (without flipping!) to spread the powder evenly.It's a temporary solution, but sometimes helps.
⚠️ Warning: Never use alcohol or acetone to clean a laser printer's photodrum, this will damage the light guide coating. Only dry soft cloth or special office wipes are allowed.
2. Pollution or wear of the photodrum
A photodrum (or drum block) is a key element in a laser printer that transfers the toner to paper, and over time, it gets scratched, scratched, or stuck toner or dust, leading to vertical stripes on the prints. 1C/1S drum is integrated into the cartridge, and in the Pro-series models can be a separate node.
Signs of drum failure:
- 📄 The strips shall be repeated at the same interval (equal to the circumference of the drum).
- 🖼️ The prints show gray shadows or blurred contours.
- 🔄 Defects are aggravated when printing graphics or photos with gradients.
How to eliminate:
- Drum cleaning: Remove the cartridge and gently wipe the green drum shaft with a soft, lilaless cloth (dry!) gently. Don't use force - the coating is easily damaged.
- Replacement of the drum: If the stripes are not gone, the knot is worn out.For the Mi Laser Printer Pro, the Xiaomi drum fits MLT-U108B (resource ~12,000 pages).
- Coronal wire check: There is a thin wire (corotron) next to the drum. If it is contaminated, clean it with a cotton swab dipped in distilled water.
| Symptoms. | Probable cause | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Black vertical stripes | Scratches on the drum | Replacement of drum or cartridge |
| Bright horizontal stripes | Wear of the rackel (cleaning blade) | Replacement of the cartridge |
| Stripes on colored prints | Uneven distribution of toner | Shake the cartridge or replace it |
| The strip repeats every time. ~5cm | Damage to the drum shaft | Diagnostics in the service |
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If you have left the strips after replacing the cartridge, try resetting the reel resource counter through the printer's engineering menu. For the Xiaomi Mi Laser Printer, this is done by holding the Cancel button for 10 seconds when turned on.
Problems with the transfer belt (transfer belt)
The transfer tape (or transfer belt) is responsible for transferring the toner from the drum to the paper. 4-in-1 (This element often fails after 50,000 to 70,000 pages, and horizontal bands or blurred areas on the prints may indicate that the fingerprints are not visible:
- 🧲 Loss of elasticity of the tape (it stretches and loosely fits to the drum).
- 🔌 Toner or paper dust contamination.
- 🔧 Failure of tension rollers.
Diagnosis:
Open the front cover of the printer and examine the transfer tape (usually located under the cartridge) which should be uniformly gray, without dark spots or stains. If the tape is contaminated, it can be cleaned, but if you wear it, you will need to replace it.
Cleaning instructions:
Turn off the printer and wait for the cooling.|Remove the cartridge and put it aside.|Dry soft cloth wipe the tape along its length (not across!)|Make sure there are no villi left on the tape.|Return the cartridge to its place and start the test print.-->
⚠️ Note: Do not use wet wipes or alcohol to clean the transfer tape, this will violate its electrostatic properties. If the strips are left after cleaning, the tape should be replaced (for example, on Xiaomi). MLT-T107 Pro models).
4. Incorrect settings of the print or driver
Sometimes the stripes on the prints appear due to software errors, not hardware malfunctions, this is true for Xiaomi printers connected to a PC or smartphone via Mi Home.
- 🖥️ Outdated driver: Software versions older than 2023 may not handle graphics correctly.
- 📄 Incorrect Printing Mode: For example, choosing "Draft" instead of "High Quality".
- 🔗 Operating system conflict: Especially after Windows 11 or macOS Ventura updates.
How to fix it:
- Update the driver: Download the current version from the official Xiaomi website (Printers section) → For inkjet printers, also update your Mi Photo Print software to Google. Play/App Store.
- Check the printing settings: In the print dialog box (Ctrl)+P) select: 📌 Quality: “High” or “Maximum". 📄 Paper type: Corresponds to downloaded (e.g. "Glossy Photo Paper" for MiJia Photo Printer). 🔄 Color profile: "sRGB" for photos.
Reset the print queue
Sometimes, "hang" documents bring up artifacts. Open the control panel. → Devices and printers → Printing queue and remove all tasks.
If the problem only appears when printing from your phone, try:
- 📱 Reinstall the Mi Home app.
- 🔄 Reboot the printer and smartphone.
- 🌐 Connect to the printer via Wi-Fi Direct instead of the cloud service Xiaomi Cloud Print.
How to reset the settings of the Xiaomi printer to the factory?
Mechanical malfunctions: rollers, gears, belts
Stripes can be caused by mechanical problems in the paper supply tract or the cartridge movement system.
- 🛠️ Wearing of feed rollers: They slip and the paper moves in jerks, resulting in horizontal stripes.
- ⚙️ Damage to the gears in the cartridge movement mechanism (characteristic of MiJia inkjet printers).
- 📏 Stretching of the drive belt (in laser models).
Diagnosis:
Turn on the printer and listen to the sounds while printing:
- Screaming or crackling → gear-problem.
- Uneven hum → rollerwear.
- Extraneous knocking → Perhaps a foreign object got into the mechanism (clip, piece of paper).
Decisions:
- 🧰 Clean rollers: Wipe rubber rollers with a wet wipe dipped in soapy solution (no alcohol!). For hard-to-reach places, use cotton swabs.
- 🔧 Lubrication of gears: In inkjet printers, you can apply silicone lubrication to plastic gears (not metal gears!).
- 🔄 Belt replacement: In Xiaomi laser printers, the drive belt is replaced along with the transfer tape block (article) MLT-T107).
⚠️ Note: If the Xiaomi printer is under warranty, do not disassemble it yourself - this will void warranty obligations.
6. Problems with firmware or hardware
Less commonly, but accurately: the bands may appear due to firmware failures or motherboard malfunctions.This is true for Xiaomi printers, Released after 2020 (for example, Mi Laser Printer). 1C), where management is carried out through the built-in Realtek chip RTL8198. Symptoms of software malfunctions:
- 🖥️ Stripes only appear when certain files are printed (e.g, PDF gradientally).
- 🔄 The printer spontaneously restarts during printing.
- 📵 The display displays errors like E02 or E04.
Remedies:
- Update: Download the latest version of the software from Xiaomi and update the printer via Mi Home or USB-storage device (instructions in the archive with firmware).
- Reset: Perform a hard reset (see spoiler above) This will help if the stripes appear after the printing settings change.
- Power supply check: Unstable voltage can cause artifacts. connect the printer to another power source or use a network filter.
Critical information: In the Xiaomi Mi Laser Printer Pro series, firmware failures are often associated with overheating of the control chip. If strips appear after 20-30 minutes of continuous printing, let the printer cool for 15-20 minutes. If the problem recurs, a diagnosis of the board in the service is required.
External factors: paper, humidity, electricity
Sometimes the stripes are not caused by the printer.
- 📄 Poor quality paper: Too porous or wet paper absorbs the toner unevenly.
- 💧 High humidity: Leads to toner clumping in the cartridge (manifested as dark vertical stripes).
- ⚡ Voltage spikes: May damage the printer's power supply, causing print artifacts.
How to minimize the impact:
- 📦 Use paper with a density of 80-120 g / m2 (for photo printing – Xiaomi Photo Paper).
- 🌡️ Keep paper and cartridges in a dry place (moisture) < 60%).
- 🔌 Connect the printer through a voltage stabilizer (especially in rural areas).
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If the stripes only appear on a particular type of paper, the problem is that paper, and try printing the same file on another paper -- if the defects are gone, replace the consumable.