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Page 1 of 4
August 2005 Featured Technical Article
The Wrong Fuser
Part Two
click here to read part one
Last month we discussed fuser interchangeability in HP monochrome laser printers. This month we will
cover the fusers for the HP color printers and most of the Lexmark printers, which in general are simpler
since they mostly do not interchange. We will, however, indicate those that do. Part numbers listed are for
the 110V or 115V versions of each fuser, just like last month.
HP Color Printers
HP Color LaserJet 4500/4550: Both of these use the same fuser (RG5-5154).
HP Color LaserJet 8500/8550: Both of these use the same fuser (RG5-3060).
HP Color LaserJet 4600/4650/5500/5550: Four very similar printers, four different fusers. None of them
interchange. Part numbers are:
Model Fuser
HP CLJ 4600 RG5-6493
HP CLJ 5500 RG5-6848
HP CLJ 4650 RG5-7450
HP CLJ 5550 Q3984A
HP Color LaserJet 1500/2500/2550: The 1500 and 2500 both use the same fuser (RG5-6903). The 2550
fuser (RG5-7572) does not interchange with the other two.
HP Color LaserJet 3500/3550/3700: All these printers use the same fuser (Q3655A).
HP Color LaserJet 9500: One of a kind. Fuser part number is RG5-6098.
HP Color LaserJet 2600: One of a kind. Fuser part number is RM1-1820.
HP Color LaserJet 2800AiO series: All use the same fuser (RG5-7602).
Lexmark Monochrome Printers
IBM/Lexmark 4019/4029: These printers are nearly obsolete, but some of the fusers are still available.
The 4029 came in four models: 4029-010, -020, -030, and -040. The -010 and -020 models used the same
fuser as the 4019. That fuser came in two versions, with and without an envelope-conditioning solenoid.
Only the version without the solenoid is still available—part number 1381889. The 4029-030 and -040
models use a different fuser, part number 1383522.
4037-5E: This one of a kind printer uses the 1381621 fuser, but the printer is obsolete and the fuser is no
longer available.
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4039/4049 (Optra L & Optra R series): These printers look similar to the 4019 and 4029—and so do the
fusers—but there is no interchange. The 4039 and 4049 came in a bewildering variety of models, but they
split into 3 basic groups, according to engine speed, and each group has its own fuser:

 10 ppm (4039 10P/10R) use the 1381626 fuser.

 12 ppm (4039 12C/12L/12R, Optra L/R/Rt) printers use the 1381639 fuser.
 16 ppm (4039 16L, Optra Lx/Lx+/ R+/Rt+/Rx) printers use the 1381640 fuser.

Optra E and E Series: These are small “personal” printers, similar to the HP LaserJet 5L/6L. There are
many different models in the series, with very little fuser interchange (Figure 1).

Model(s) Fuser Notes

Optra E
69G8312
(06A/06B/06D/070)
Optra E (06C/06F/071) 11A7390
Optra E310 12G0074
Optra E312 12G1935
E210 12G6773
No pressure
E320/322 12G4484
roller
No pressure
E220/321/323 56P1053
roller
E230/232/330/332 56P3309
Figure 1 - Compatible fusers for the Lexmark Optra
E and E Series printers. There is no interchange
between any two lines of the table.

Optra K 1220: This one of a kind printer uses the 11A4321 fuser, but the printer is obsolete and the fuser
is no longer available.

Optra M410/412: These printers are similar, but their fusers are different and do not interchange. The
slower M410 (12 ppm) uses the 12G3982 fuser; the faster M412 (17 ppm) uses the 12G3984 fuser.

Optra N: As we mentioned last month, this fuser (11A8233) interchanges with the fusers from the HP
LaserJet 5Si (RG5-1863) and 8000 (RG5-4447). Any of these three fusers will work in any of the three
printer types. This is the only Lexmark fuser that interchanges with any HP fuser.

Optra S: There are many models in this series, but they divide naturally into five groups. In each group,
the first two digits of the model number indicate the engine speed in ppm. The 16xx and 18xx groups
share the same fuser; otherwise, each group has its own fuser, and these generally do not interchange
with the other groups.

 Optra S 12xx printers use the 99A1185 fuser.

 Optra S 16xx printers use the 99A0966 fuser.
 Optra S 18xx printers also use the 99A0966 fuser.
 Optra S 24xx printers use the 99A1190 fuser.
 Optra SE 3455 printers use the 99A1192 fuser.

Optra T: The four basic models of the Optra T use two fusers. The Optra T610 and 612 use the 99A1969
fuser, while the Optra T614 and 616 use the 99A1977 fuser. The two fusers do not interchange.

T Series: This series evolved from the Optra T printers, and a group of printers that they generally look
very similar to. The fusers, however, are different and do not interchange with the Optra T fusers. For the
most part, they also do not interchange with each other.

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Model(s) Fuser
T420 56P0648
T430 56P2330
T520/522 99A2423
T620 99A2402
T622 99A2405
T630/632 56P2542
T634 56P2545

There is no interchange between any two lines of the table.

Optra W Series: This series contains three models, each with its own fuser and no interchange.

 Optra W810 uses the 12G2221 fuser.

 Optra W812 uses the 56P0884 fuser.
 Optra W820 uses the 12G4184 fuser.

Lexmark Color Printers

There’s not much to say about these printers, so we will simply list them in Figure 2.

Model(s) Fuser Notes

Optra C 11A2470
Optra Color 1200 11G0375
Kit, includes transfer
Optra SC 1275 12C0575
roller
Optra C710 12G1698
C510 20K0506
C720 15W0908 Kit, includes ozone filter
C750/752 12G6301
C760/762 56P2851
C910/912 56P9751
Figure 2 - Compatible fusers for Lexmark color
printers. There is no interchange between any two
lines of the table.

Conclusion

Sometimes, differences between fusers in the same

line of printer models are mostly cosmetic—like the
HP LaserJet 4300/4345—or are simply minor
improvements—like the HP LaserJet 5Si/8000—
that don’t make the fusers incompatible. More often,
the differences are important enough that you need
to use the correct fuser. In many of their newer
printers, HP has gone to helical gearing, where gear
teeth are not perpendicular to the direction of
rotation. This makes those fusers incompatible with
old-style gear drives (Figures 3 and 4).

Even where gears are the same style, they may

have different numbers of teeth to accommodate
different engine speeds. Increased engine speed
also usually results in a higher fuser temperature

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Parts Now! - The largest distributor of HP, Lexmark, and Canon printer parts Page 4 of 4

and different heating elements, since the paper isn’t

spending as much time in the fuser. All of these are
good reasons to use the right fuser for the machine,
but in most cases HP and Lexmark force you to do
so, as the wrong fuser either won’t fit or will give
you an error code.

It’s always embarrassing to install a fuser in your

customer’s printer, only to receive a “wrong fuser”
error. By using this article, along with last month’s,
these errors will be a thing of the past.

—Dennis Kosterman

Mr. Kosterman is a technical support representative

for Parts Now!.
Figure 3 & 4 - The new-style helical gearing
(top) and the old-style gear style (bottom).

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